Neither Rafael Nadal nor Spanish captain David Ferrer would say Monday whether the 22-time Grand Slam champion will play at the Davis Cup Final 8, his last event before retirement. Spain is scheduled to face the Netherlands on Tuesday in the quarterfinals on an indoor hard court at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena in Malaga. The winner will play in the semifinals on Friday. The championship will be decided on Sunday.
At a team news conference held at a hotel in Fuengirola, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of the competition venue, Nadal was asked how he has been feeling in practice in recent days and whether he is ready to play.
“That's a question for the captain,” Nadal responded, drawing a laugh from Ferrer, sitting to the star player's left.
Moments later, Ferrer was asked about Nadal's participation.
“I don't know yet,” Ferrer said. “At the moment, I have not decided the players that are going to play tomorrow.” Nadal is 29-1 in his Davis Cup singles career, 8-4 in doubles.
There will be two matches in singles and one in doubles in the best-of-three matchup between Spain and the Netherlands. Nadal could appear just in singles, just in doubles — perhaps alongside Carlos Alcaraz, his partner at the Paris Olympics this year — in both or not at all.
It's up to Ferrer. There's a reason, though, that the 9,200-capacity arena is sold out for Tuesday: This could be the last chance to see Nadal play a match that matters.
“His last moments on court probably are going to be super special. Not (just) for me, but for everyone,” Alcaraz said. “For me, for the team, and for everyone here in Spain, it's going to be an emotional day.” Monday represented the first chance for the 38-year-old Nadal to answer questions from reporters and explain at length his decision, announced last month, to walk away from tennis after the Davis Cup.
Nadal has been dealing with a series of injuries the past two seasons and has been limited to only 23 official singles matches in that span; that includes a 12-7 record this year.
"I'm not here to retire. I'm here to help the team win. It's my last week in a team competition and the most important thing is to help the team. The emotions will come later,” said Nadal, wearing the squad's red polo shirt with a tiny red-and-yellow Spanish flag on the left sleeve.
“I'm enjoying the week. I'm not putting too much attention to the retirement," Nadal said. "It will be a big change in my life after this week.” Nadal said it doesn't “make sense to keep going knowing that I don't have the real chance to be competitive the way that I like to be competitive because my body” won't allow it.
“OK, I can hold for one more year. But why? To say goodbye in every single tournament? I don't have that ego to need that,” Nadal said, adding that he has “been thinking for a long time” about retiring.
He hasn't played a real match since the Olympics in early August. Nadal lost in the second round of the singles to Novak Djokovic there, then in the quarterfinals of the doubles alongside Alcaraz.
“I've tried to prepare as hard as possible for the last month and a half. I'm trying to give my best for this event," Nadal said. "When you don't compete so often, it's difficult to maintain the level consistently. But the improvement is there every day. I believe that.” In addition to Nadal and Alcaraz, Spain's Davis Cup team includes Marcel Granollers, Roberto Bautista Agut and Pedro Martinez.
As they all walked out of the hotel conference room at the conclusion of the question-and-answer session, Alcaraz placed his right hand on Nadal's left shoulder and whispered something.
They might share a court one last time this week. Or maybe they won't. It's not certain yet. What is clear is that Nadal soon will know for sure that his career is done.
What will he miss the most? “I mean, probably the feeling of competition, (to) go on court and see the fans out there, the atmosphere when you play big matches,” Nadal said. “And at the end of the day, (it) is about the adrenaline that you feel before, at the end, and during the match.”
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