Rafael Nadal’s immense career came to an end on Wednesday in Malaga, after Spain lost 2-1 to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals against the Netherlands.
The Dutch pair of Wesley Koolhof and Botic van de Zandschulp – winner of “Rafa” in singles earlier in the day – beat Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/3) to put an end to the professional career of the 38-year-old double Olympic champion from Mallorca, winner of 22 Grand Slam titles and four Davis Cups with Spain.
After Roger Federer in 2022, the left-hander from Manacor is the second member of the “Big 3” of tennis to put away his rackets for good, the Serbian Novak Djokovic being the only one still playing. In the first singles of the day, Nadal lost 6-4, 6-4 against van de Zandschulp, the 80th player in the world who had never managed to defeat the Spaniard in their only two meetings in 2022.
Alcaraz then tied his team and the Netherlands (1-1) by winning 7-6 (7/0), 6-3 his duel against Dutch No.1 Tallon Griekspoor (40th). Hard-fought, the decisive doubles was fatal to Spain, in search of a seventh Davis Cup title. Thanks to their victory, the Netherlands reached the second semi-final in their history in the competition, after that of 2001.
