Maylin on the decision to play Nadal in singles: "It's almost criminal to have lined him up".

On Sans Filet, Benoît Maylin discussed David Ferrer's decision to play Rafael Nadal in the first singles of the quarter-final against the Netherlands.

The journalist criticized the Spanish captain's decision, citing a choice that weighed heavily on the final outcome of the match: "When I see that Ferrer has decided to field Nadal in the singles, I can't help thinking that this isn't a Davis Cup match against a player ranked 888th in the world.

No, we're talking about a top-class opponent, who pushed Alcaraz to his limits at the US Open and has already reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam.

So we know he's capable of playing well. He's not an unknown. We might have had our doubts about Botic's performance.

But when I see Nadal's match, I think it was almost criminal to line him up.

It's one thing for him to say "I want to play, I can play".

It's reminiscent of the injured players we sometimes field in soccer, with all the consequences that can have. Sometimes it's more the coach's decision than the player's."