Tears welled up in his eyes and his hands visibly shook by his side. Finally, the last stage ofthis epic 30-year journey had begun, a moment that he never wanted to arrive but had no choice but to face. N adaljs audience responded to his outpouring of emotions, clear to see on the big screen, with thunderous chants of "Rafa!
Rafa!," Not even those deafening, constant roars from the crowd could help to push Nadal beyond the limits of his bruised and broken body. Despite fighting for every last point with the diligence and desperation that has defined his entire career, Nadal was comprehensively defeated 6-4, 6-4 by Botic van de Zandschulp in the opening Davis Cup rubber between Spain and the Netherlands.
The defeat carries significant symbolism in the final journey of Nadal's career; this is his first singles loss at the Davis Cup in 20 years after winning 29 consecutive singles matches. He was last defeated in this competition on his debut in 2004.
This has been a surreal, frenzied few days in the buildup to the farewell for arguably Spain's greatest ever athlete. The streets around the arena are filled with as much signage saluting Nadal's career as there are advertisements for the Davis Cup, one of the most significant events on the tennis calendar.
This story is from the November 20, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the November 20, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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