After the disappointing elimination against Holland in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, Spain captain David Ferrer talked at a press conference about Rafael Nadal’s tennis farewell. The 22-time Grand Slam champion played the last match of his glorious career playing for his country, fighting for every ball, but losing in straight sets to Botic van de Zandschulp.
It will be difficult for everyone, from fans to his rivals on the court, to imagine tennis without Rafael Nadal. Everyone wanted to pay tribute to the legendary Spaniard, from opponents, to tournaments, to fans. And Ferrer’s words – who said with Nadal a special person for the sport is gone – sum it all up, I think.
“Saying goodbye to Rafa is very sad, a very special person in the world of sport is leaving, but he will always be remembered. Beyond the friendship we have, he is a player who has been all over the world and has left his mark. Now it’s a bit strange, we are focused on the Davis Cup, but when you lose everything goes back to normal. The important thing is that Rafa leaves happy, proud and calm, being privileged. A person so great, with such respect and humility towards everyone, is difficult to find,” explained the former ATP No.3
Carlos Alcaraz & Rafael Nadal, Davis Cup Finals 2024© Stream screenshot
The former Spanish tennis player analyzed how each player experiences retirement differently, and in his case he handled it very well. As for Rafa, Ferrer thinks that his countryman will also take it well, he will be happy, because he is curious and has many things to do, stressing that Nadal is a great ambassador and that he will like to stay close to this world.
“He won’t travel very much because he’s very familiar, but he’ll remain very connected to this world. It’s not like someone who retires and doesn’t know what to do, he’ll continue to have a full schedule, almost as if he were still a professional tennis player, but with a different facet,” he added.
The Spain captain then explained that he chose to have Rafa play because his legendary countryman had been improving physically day by day, so on Monday Ferrer had decided that Rafa would play singles and Marcel Granollers would play doubles.
“Then I decided that Carlos would play doubles with Marcel. It’s not easy because I had several options, like Roberto Bautista, but in the end I bet on them for this first round,” he said.