Video - The day Nadal "closed the loop" after his last Davis Cup match

A tremendous champion and living legend of tennis, Rafael Nadal has left his mark on the sport's history for twenty years. Winner of 22 Grand Slam titles (including 14 at Roland-Garros), the Spaniard has also shone for his country.

Indeed, he won the Olympic gold medal in singles in 2008 in Beijing and in doubles in 2016 in Rio with Marc Lopez, but he also won the Davis Cup five times (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2019).

It was in this competition that the Majorcan played the last match of his impressive career in November 2024, at home in Malaga. A month earlier, the former world number one had announced his retirement following the Final 8 held in Andalusia.

Moreover, David Ferrer had decided to field him in the very first singles match during the quarterfinals against Botic van de Zandschulp. Unfortunately for him and for the large Spanish crowd that came to see their idol play one last time, victory was not to be.

Facing a solid Dutch opponent, who had already beaten Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the US Open a few weeks earlier, the Spaniard quickly ran out of steam, having not played any official competitive match since the Paris Olympics.

In the end, van de Zandschulp won (6-4, 6-4 in 1 hour 50 minutes), and the Netherlands subsequently eliminated Spain, paving their way to their first final in the competition.

Alcaraz and Granollers lost in doubles during the decisive match, which meant this was officially Nadal's last career appearance, 23 years after his professional debut in 2001. In the press conference after his defeat, Nadal then reflected on his first steps in the competition.

"I lost my first Davis Cup match, and I also lost the last one. The loop is closed," the Spaniard stated. His first match in the competition had taken place in the first round of the 2004 edition against Czech player Jiri Novak (7-6, 6-3, 7-6).

A defeat that would have no impact on the young Rafa, who was 17 at the time, as Spain went on to win the Davis Cup that year. Nadal then beat Andy Roddick in the final, and his country ultimately triumphed 3-2, allowing the Iberian nation to win the Davis Cup for the second time in its history, four years after the first.

But in 2000, the king of clay was not there, and the year 2004 marked the beginning of a beautiful love story between Nadal and the Davis Cup, which lasted until 2019, the date of La Roja's last triumph in the competition.