Lopez and Haggerty defend themselves: "Rafa had the ceremony he wanted".

Since Rafael Nadal's retirement, there has been much criticism of the farewell ceremony held on Tuesday evening, in the wake of Spain's defeat.

A disappointing farewell that was commented on by many close to the Majorcan, who will certainly have other tribute ceremonies in 2025.

Questioned by the media at the conclusion of the Davis Cup, Feliciano Lopez, Director of Finals and Nadal's close friend, defended himself: "I think we should remember that Rafa chose this competition to retire, rather than talking so much about the ceremony.

Honestly, we did the best we could."

ITF President David Haggerty concurred: "What we did was listen to Rafa, who told us what he wanted and how he wanted to do it.

That's exactly what we did. The important thing is that he got the ceremony he wanted."