Rafael Nadal has been selected to compete in singles for Spain against the Netherlands in the Davis Cup Final 8, marking this event as his final appearance prior to retirement.
The matchups for both teams were confirmed about an hour before the quarterfinal clash commenced on the opening day of the competition, which is being held on an indoor hard court at the packed Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena in southern Spain.
At 38 years old, Nadal is set to take on Botic van de Zandschulp, who is currently ranked 80th in the world, in the first singles match. Following Nadal’s match, Spain’s No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz will challenge the Netherlands’ No. 40 Tallon Griekspoor. Notably, Nadal has an impressive record, having won 29 consecutive singles matches in the Davis Cup.
Should the best-of-three-match series reach a tie at 1-1 after the singles matches, Alcaraz will team up with Marcel Granollers to face Van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof in the doubles match, which will determine which country moves forward to the semifinals.
