By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Rafa Nadal created moments of magic, but Botic Van de Zandschulp had the answers scoring a 6-4, 6-4 win in what may be the king of clay's final singles match.
Photo credit: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty
Respect reverberated around the arena.
In a stirring salute, fans stood and chanted “Rafa! Rafa!”
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The sound of that sing-song chant and the Spanish national anthem nearly moved Rafael Nadal to tears prior to his Davis Cup return today.
Parting can be poignant.
Emotions erupted throughout as Botic Van de Zandschulp defeated Nadal 6-4, 6-4 in what may the 38-year-old Spanish superstar’s final singles match of his glorious career.
Van de Zandschulp staked The Netherlands to a 1-0 lead over host Spain in the best-of-three match quarterfinal tie.
Reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz will try to level the tie taking on Tallon Griekspoor in today’s second singles.
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Playing his first match since last month’s Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia, Nadal faced nerves, rust and an opponent who had shocked Alcaraz at the US Open in August.
Jitters spiked on both sides of the net at the outset as Van de Zandschulp clanked three consecutive double faults in his opening service game.
“I have to say in the beginning I think we were both nervous,” Van de Zandschulp told Barry Cowan in his on-court interview afterward. “I have to say the first service game didn’t go smoothly. The crowd was tough of course—understandable—but that’s what it is to play here in Spain against Rafa.
“I think he’s the biggest sportsman here in Spain that ever lived. So it was a really special event.”
The 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal certainly showed signs of his superb shotmaking skill. In the second set, Nadal launched high in the air and snapped off the toughest shot in tennis—the high backhand volley—with the confidence of a champion.
However, the long layoff showed in some of his rally shots. Nadal struggled to find consistent depth and sometimes left his shots too short at midcourt where Van de Zandschulp pounced. Nadal got himself into trouble at times trying to play his off-pace backhand slice to the Dutchman’s backhand wing. Van de Zandschulp’s two-hander is actually more reliable than his forehand and he hammered that shot effectively today.
The momentous occasion—knowing this could well be the iconic champion’s final singles match—played on the mind’s of both men.
“I have to say it’s tough to close out a match against him knowing it could maybe be his last match or not,” Van de Zandschulp said. “I felt I was like hoping a little bit more than going for it. So that’s what I felt at 4-3, love-40, I just went for it. And it helped in the end.”
Initially, Van de Zandschulp’s nerves were more glaring.
The Dutchman double faulted three times in a row in his opening serve game but recovered to hold.
Shaking off inactivity-induced rust, Nadal showed the serve-and-volley as he stamped a love hold for 3-2.
Serving at 4-all, Nadal double faulted then didn’t do enough with a high volley. Van de Zandschulp rapped a crosscourt return rattling out an error for double-break point.
On the second break point, Nadal attacked. Van de Zandschulp read it and ripped a clean backhand pass crosscourt breaking for 5-4.
Serving for the set, Van de Zandschulp slid the wide serve to earn triple set point. On his second set point, Van de Zandschulp played the serve-and-volley to close the 46-minute opener.
Fifty-three minutes into the match, Nadal soared for a sensational high backhand volley into the corner.
That shot fired up the 14-time Roland Garros champion—and fans waving Spanish flags and Rafa banners—but a few points later Nadal wristed a reflex volley wide off a bullet pass to face a break point.
The Spanish superstar whacked a wide forehand as Van de Zandschulp broke to start the second set.
Tested in a tough third game, Nadal turned his back to net and raced back to the baseline for a brilliant over-the-shoulder defensive lob to extend the point, eventually holding for 1-2.
Throughout his career, Nadal has been the best player in the game hitting good shots from bad positions on court.
Today, Van de Zandschulp showed soft hands and shrewd angles on the run. Racing right, the Dutchman drilled a fantastic forehand pass breaking again for a 4-1 lead.
Though Nadal recovered one of the breaks, he ran out of time and court spice.
Stretching the court, Van de Zandschulp forced the former No. 1 to shovel one final forehand into net to end it.
Van de Zandschulp, out of respect for the king of clay, did not show much emotion at all and quietly paced to net where he embraced Nadal and exchanged words with the Spanish superstar.
Fans showered Nadal with a rousing ovation as he held both arms aloft and waved to the crowd before walking off one final time.