Rafael Nadal faces Botic van de Zandschulp in the final tournament of his career as Spain take on the Netherlands in the Davis Cup - follow live.
LIVE: Nadal v Botic van de Zandschulp in first singles match22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal will retire at end of competitionRafael Nadal skips into a fist pump after burying a crowd-pleasing forehand winner as he moves to 30-0, but Botic van de Zandschulp finds the line with Nadal stranded at the net to stay in touch.
With the media room at the Palacio de Deportes too small to accommodate everyone, hundreds of reporters and photographers were instead asked to go to the five-star Higueron Hotel in the hills overlooking the tourist resort. His ongoing 32-match winning streak across both singles and doubles in the competition is the longest in Davis Cup history.Botic van de Zandschulp manages to steady himself after a concerning run of points to get the Netherlands on the board. Big relief, that.The body and mind might slow down, but his heart will always remain as ferocious as ever.Nadal spins on his right foot, drags his left foot across the court and jabs the air with a right-handed upper cut.
“There’s no ideal farewell. Movie-script finales are for American movies and I realised a long time ago that I wouldn’t have one of those, so it’s not something that I’m worried about," Nadal said in the build up. “I know that I’ve done everything I can, my time has come, accept it as such without any kind of drama so that I can leave with the personal satisfaction that I always made the effort required by the situation."
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