If Rafael Nadal’s last match before his retirement ended in a Davis Cup defeat on Tuesday against the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, it went exactly as it was supposed to: fighting.
The scoreboard read 6-4, 6-4 in favor of van de Zandschulp, but those numbers don’t tell the story of all the little battles and little wars that make up a tennis match – this one in particular. Rafa, an icon of his native Spain, started strong and took a one-game lead which he managed to hold until 4-3 in the first set.
But the sharpness he had shown began to dull, and we saw the less precise and more familiar Nadal of last year. His serve, which had been big and dazzling during his first four service games, began to disappoint him. He ceded the lead thanks to several double faults and missed shots, and soon van de Zandschulp took over and won the first set.
Nadal was unable to gain the upper hand from the start in the second set. Van de Zandschulp took a 2-0 lead before Rafa won one match, then won the next two to go up 4-1.
But then we saw the fighter. Nadal was not going to fall like that. He battled back to earn victories in back-to-back matches to give himself a 3-4 chance to make the dramatic comeback the crowd so desired.
The end of the story book would have been magical, but it wasn’t meant to be. Rafa managed to win an additional game, while van de Zandschulp won two to win the set and the match. The Netherlands leads 1-0 over Spain in the final.
If this was Nadal’s final professional match, it was fittingly a microcosm of the final years of his career. There were some brilliant moments where we got to see Nadal take magnificent shots that only he could attempt, perhaps for the last time.
But those moments were surrounded by reminders that Rafa is 38 and his body simply can’t keep up anymore.
It’s not a secret or something shameful that no one should talk about. For professional athletes, that day always comes. And if Nadal denied this, he would not retire. Accepting this means there is no shame in losing; it’s simply time to move on.
And Rafa will become one of the most beloved tennis players of his generation, or any generation.
It’s possible we haven’t seen the last of Nadal. He could play another match this week if Spain manages to win their two remaining matches against the Netherlands. There’s still a chance Rafa could end this storybook.
