Journalists desert Malaga after Nadal's last one

Since its reform, the Davis Cup has suffered from a lack of visibility. A problem it didn't have under the old format.

But this week, thanks to - or because of - Rafael Nadal's announced retirement, the buzz in Malaga was quite different.

Unfortunately for Spanish fans and media, it only lasted for one day of competition.

For although the media hype had been high since Nadal's arrival in Malaga, the adventure ended sooner than the journalists on hand had hoped.

As L'Equipe reports, half of the journalists present at the Spain-Netherlands quarter-final had already left the following day. The sports daily reports that the press room was deserted by at least "50 to 60% of its members" on Wednesday.

Nadal was the event of the week, but everything depended on the collective performance.

And so the week continued in a different atmosphere, with fans from the other nations present to fill the hall in Malaga.

During the quarter-final between Germany and Canada, the stands were "two-thirds full", which clearly describes the problem of the finals being played at the same venue every year.