The defeat of Rafael Nadal against Botic van de Zandschulp, the 80th in the world (6-4 and 6-4), forces Carlos Alcaraz to win his match with Tallon Griekspoor no matter what to prevent Spain from being eliminated in the Davis Cup quarterfinals. In case of a 1-1 tie, the Murcian should join Marcel Granollers in the doubles.
Rafa, somewhat predictably, paid for the months away from the competition and showed that training is one thing and matches are quite another. If the national team wants to lift the Silver Salad Bowl, it will have to start looking for alternatives like Roberto Bautista, who has just won the ATP tournament in Antwerp..
The match began with the emotional moment of seeing Rafa excited when he heard the anthem. The match was what was expected. A combination of equality at the beginning and lack of competition rhythm from the Balearic Islands later. The result of all this was a break by Van de Zandschulp in the ninth game. He would later confirm the break to go ahead on the scoreboard.
MÁLAGA, 11/19/2024.- The Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal against the Dutch Botic Van de Zandschulp during the first match of the quarterfinals between the teams of Spain and the Netherlands, this Tuesday at the José María Martín Sports Palace Carpena of Malaga (Andalusia). EFE/ Jorge Zapata
Rafa’s right wing paid for inactivity. 113 days had passed since his last individual match in the second round of the Paris Games. And there were many. Roberto Bautista, who had chosen to be the number two of the national team until the last minute, watched him from the bench.
The second set began with a dangerous 0-30 for the champion of 22 majors. The noisy and dedicated Martín Carpena stands had become silent. Only Dutch screams could be heard.
Rafa lost that first game, with a forehand that went down the doubles aisle. It was the moment of the comebacks with which Nadal has delighted tennis fans for so many afternoons.. To find the last time they had turned around an adverse score, you had to go back to July 20 in the semifinals in Bastad.
The manacorí tried but was a second too late to hit. The only hole that Botic showed was his second serve. He was permanently threatened by the double fault. Nadal did not remain and thus it was impossible to turn around such an adverse score.
A Van de Zandschulp, a tennis player who neither suffers nor suffers even if he is given two foot faultsSpanish tennis players are especially good at it. It should be remembered that he was the executioner of Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the US Open.
Nadal’s shifts were an ordeal: long, intense and suffered. He made his debut in the second set with a 2-0 deficit.
Rafa saved a critical moment with a direct serve at 3-1 and a break point down for 4-1. He couldn’t handle his opponent’s second attempt.. He wasn’t going to give up so easily on his last dance. Three breakage options were manufactured. In the third round he made it 4-2 with an unforced error from the Dutchman with his backhand.
Two double faults in a rowimmediately after (from 30-0 to 30-30), they put the seventh game in check. He carried it out with the heart and the desire to win that has differentiated him from the others. “Yes you can, yes you can“, was heard. At 38 years old, and in the week of his farewell, Nadal died with his boots on. The defeat was only the second in singles for the Balearic legend in the highest competition by country after 29 straight victories..
