Rafael Nadal suffered defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp in potentially his final match as a professional as the Nertherlands went 1-0 up against Spain in their Davis Cup quarter-final.
Nadal will retire at the end of the hosts’ participation in the event and now faces an anxious wait to see if his illustrious career will be extended by another few days. There were glimpses of the 38-year-old’s remarkable talent in his 6-4, 6-4 defeat, but the Spaniard was unable to match Van de Zandschulp consistently enough to capitalise on a few serving woes from the Dutchman in front of a passionate crowd in Malaga.
