Rafael Nadal’s defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp, the world number 80 (6-4, 6-4), means that Carlos Alcaraz must win his match against Tallon Griekspoor to prevent Spain from being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup. If the match is tied at one, the Spaniard would have to team up with Marcel Granollers in the doubles.
Rafa, something predictable, paid for the months out of competition and showed that one thing is training and quite another is matches. If the national team wants to lift the silver salad bowl, it will have to start looking for alternatives such as Roberto Bautista, who has just been crowned in the ATP tournament in Antwerp.
The match began with the emotional moment of seeing Rafa thrilled to hear the anthem. The match was what was expected. A combination of equality at the beginning and lack of competitive rhythm of the Spaniard afterwards. The result of all this was a break by Van de Zandschulp in the ninth game. He then confirmed the break to take the lead.
Rafa’s forehand paid for the inactivity. It had been 113 days since his last singles match in the second round of the Paris Games. And that was a long time. From the bench, Roberto Bautista, who had been in contention until the last minute to be the number two of the national team, watched him.
The second set began with a dangerous 0-30 for the 22-time Grand Slam champion. The noisy and dedicated crowd at the Martin Carpena had fallen silent. Only the Dutch shouts could be heard.
Rafa lost that first game, with a forehand that went down the doubles corridor. It was the moment for the comebacks with which Nadal has delighted tennis fans for so many afternoons. To find the last time he had turned around an adverse score you had to go back to July 20 in the semifinals of Bastad.
The Spaniard tried, but he was a second late to the shot. The only hole Botic showed was his second serve. He was permanently threatened by the double fault. Nadal did not return and so it was impossible to turn around such an adverse scoreline.
Van de Zandschulp, a tennis player who neither suffers nor endures even if he is signaled two foot faults, is particularly good against Spanish tennis players. It should be remembered that he was the executioner of Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the US Open.
Nadal’s service games were a real ordeal: long, intense and hard-fought. He got on the scoreboard in the second set after falling 2-0 behind.
Rafa saved with an ace a critical moment with 3-1 and break point against for 4-1. He could not do it at the second attempt. He was not going to give up so easily in his last dance. He had three break chances. At the third attempt he managed 4-2 with an unforced error by the Dutchman with his backhand.
Two double faults in a row, immediately afterwards (from 30-0 to 30-30), put the seventh game in jeopardy. He pulled it out with the heart and desire to win that has set him apart from the rest. “Yes, we can, yes, we can,” was heard. At 38 years of age, 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 top competition by country after 29 straight victories.
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