Retiring Rafael Nadal loses in singles opener of Spain's Davis Cup quarterfinals

Retired tennis superstar Rafael Nadal lost to Botic Van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-4 in his Davis Cup quarter-final singles match on Tuesday as the Netherlands took a 1-0 lead against Spain. The 22-time Grand Slam winner will bid farewell to his career in professional tennis at the end of Spain's participation in the tournament in Málaga, after two years battling injuries. Doubts remained over Nadal's participation until an official announcement from team captain David Ferrer confirmed that he would play in the first singles match of the preliminary final.

The 38-year-old looked emotional during the Spanish national anthem and fans filled the field with chants of “Rafa, Rafa” when the anthem ended. Nadal has won his last 29 Davis Cup singles matches – out of 30 played since his tournament debut in 2004 – and both of his previous meetings with the Dutchman.

The veteran player's early troubles were resolved when he won the first game from 15-30 down. World number 80 Van de Zandschulp double faulted three times in his first service game at 40 love up, but also managed to steady himself.

No doubt bearing in mind his poor physical condition, Nadal, ranked 154th in the world, tried to keep the points down with big serves and occasional flashes of his deadly forehand, accompanied by a classic fist pump and roar. Tried to.

Van de Zandschulp tried to keep Nadal on his backhand and the Spaniard struggled to return, the indoor hard-court tournament on a far from ideal surface for the record 14-time Roland Garros winning 'King of Clay' .

The Dutchman opened two break points at 4-4 and took the lead with a superb cross-court winner in the second, and then quelled the Spanish excitement by converting his second set point.

give everything

Nadal fought back from 0-30 down early in the second set but could not convert it into a hold and his opponent secured the first break when the Spaniard raced long enough to increase the pressure.

After a set and a break, Nadal, looking for a foothold, survived heavy pressure on his serve in the third game, leading to the loudest roar of the night.

Van de Zandschulp denied Nadal the chance to gain momentum by holding and then broke for the second time after a tense rally to take a 4-1 lead with another cross-court winner, giving the Spaniard no chance.

Nadal showed his never-say-die spirit by claiming a break back in the sixth game, converting his third break point to spark a glimmer of hope which grew when he reduced the deficit to 4–3.

The Spaniard survived a break point and claimed back-to-back games for the first time in the match as he gave everything to prove in his final match.

Van de Zandschulp finished the eighth game with two spectacular aces and was left serving for the match after Nadal did the same. Nadal tried for a long time to lose the match point and then gave victory to his Dutch rival by hitting a shot into the net.

World number three Carlos Alcaraz will face Talon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in the second round to keep Spain's Davis Cup dream alive and prolong Nadal's departure.

The winner will face Germany or Canada in the semi-finals.