Toni Nadal explains what he saw from Rafael Nadal in his training sessions before the Davis Cup finals.
The 38-year-old played the final match of his illustrious career in Malaga while representing Spain in the prestigious team tournament he had won on four previous occasions.
The former World number one’s family was in attendance to watch him bid farewell to tennis, except for his uncle and former coach.
Therefore, Toni Nadal was not in attendance to watch Spain suffer a shock defeat to the Netherlands and see his nephew lose his last match to Botic van de Zandschulp.
What did Toni Nadal see in Rafael Nadal’s training session before the Davis Cup finals?
Rafael Nadal was selected to play in the opening match of Spain’s Davis Cup quarter-final title against The Netherlands.
The same competitive spirit and resiliency was still on show, and there were glimpses of the brilliance that made Nadal a legend. But he could produce the type of consistent tennis needed to beat Van de Zandschulp, who claimed a 6-4, 6-4 victory.
Some suggested that perhaps Roberto Bautista Agut should have played singles instead of Nadal, while the 22-time Grand Slam champion should have played the deciding doubles match with Carlos Alcaraz.
But after watching him train before the final event of his career, Toni Nadal says Nadal was ready to play singles, but he was unable to produce some Davis Cup magic one more time.
“I saw him training in Manacor, even playing against Bautista and some others on the circuit. The truth is that my nephew was playing at a very acceptable level, taking sets from these players, and David Ferrer must have thought the same,” the 63-year-old told El Larguero on SER radio.
“In the end, what usually doesn’t happen often happens: Rafael used to play better in matches than in practice. This time, between the emotions, the lack of matches, it was the opposite.
“It feels worse because you are defending your country and this time it didn’t work out. There, the activity of his legs was lower, and when that happens, everything declines a bit, you hit the ball a bit later, it causes less damage to your opponent.”
Rafael Nadal reacts to Davis Cup finals singles defeat
Nadal came up short in his bid to give Spain an advantage in their Davis Cup quarter-final tie against The Netherlands.
Van de Zandschulp broke in the ninth game of the first set before taking the lead, and he opened up a 4-1 lead in the second set.
But Nadal showed his trademark fighting spirit and claimed one of the breaks back and reduced the deficit to 4-3.
However, he was also unable to break serve again for the rest of the match and Van de Zandschulp won in straight sets. This is Nadal’s first singles loss in the Davis Cup since his debut in 2004.
“Of course it has been an emotional day and I felt nerves before the match,” Nadal said post-match. “I tried my best, I tried to enjoy and play with the right energy and the right attitude.”
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
