Rafael Nadal Davis Cup analysis: Nadal loses to Botic van de Zandschulp from the Netherlands

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MALAGA, Spain — Botic van de Zandschulp defeated Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup at the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday.

Van de Zandschulp had the upper hand over Nadal in a match decided by their serve. Nadal’s physical problems hampered his ability to get free points after his first serve, dragging him into long rallies that his body can no longer sustain. Van de Zandschulp hit double faults and at times looked overwhelmed by the occasion, but recovered with calm efficiency. Despite an initial break of serve from Nadal in the second set, the Dutchman kept him – and a raucous Spanish crowd – at bay to seal victory.

The result puts the Netherlands 1-0 ahead in the tie, with Carlos Alcaraz facing Tallon Greekpoor in the second singles match. If Alcaraz wins, it will come down to the doubles match between Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers and Greekpoor and Wesley Koolhof. If Spain loses, Nadal’s tennis career will be over.

The AthleticsCharlie Eccleshare and Matt Futterman analyze the match…

How did Nadal’s serve hinder him?

Nadal’s serve drives him away from tennis more than anything else.

It was never the strongest part of his game – when he first came on the scene it was probably the weakest – but he improved it considerably. He increased his speed with the help of coach Carlos Moya, and he could hit spots as well as anyone. What he lacked in power, he could make up for in precision.

By 2024, having a major first service regulation; it is on return where the lead of the big players lies. Men’s tennis is now about racking up as many free points as possible on missed returns or aces or easy balls that float back, but Nadal’s average first serve on Tuesday hovered around 110 mph (177 km/h).

That won’t yield many free or easy points. Against Van de Zandschulp and virtually everyone else he faced this year, that limitation sucked him into multi-shot rallies that his body simply couldn’t handle anymore.

Rafael Nadal’s lack of access to easy points behind his serve made every match a grind. (Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images)

Serves look like they go over arms and shoulders, but in reality they go over the spine, abs and hips. They bend and click and twist and drive the arm through the ball. Spine, abs and hips? That could be an overview of Nadal’s injury problems over the past two years – before we look at the inevitable loss of speed that comes with age.

During the first set, Nadal hit 61 percent of his first serves and won 70 percent of those points. Despite four double faults in that set, Van de Zandschulp served at 76 percent and won 90 percent of those points. Those numbers are hard to overcome.

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And how did Van de Zandschulp end up with his serve?

When Van de Zandschulp hit two consecutive double faults in his first service game with a 40-0 lead, it seemed that his nerves at playing his idol could undermine his chances of winning.

When he hit two more in the first set at 3-4, the first of which was a foot error, that feeling was reinforced. But the Dutchman escaped from the match, broke Nadal immediately afterwards and then served the set comfortably.

The Dutchman escaped a series of double faults several times. (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)

Van de Zandschulp compensated for those four double faults in the first set with five aces and, apart from those extremely shaky moments, served well, as the above figures indicate. As against Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open, he was mostly unnerved, whether sending serves to the net or maneuvering a 22-time Grand Slam champion around the court with relative ease.

The start of the second set had another shaky moment, when he made a double fault at 15-30 when he was 1-0 ahead. He responded with three unreturned first serves to avert the danger and consolidate the break.

Van de Zandschulp’s next service game followed a similar pattern: he started with two double faults, the second another foot fault, before securing the next four points with the first service credit. Despite all doubts, he won his first seven service games and after being broken in the eighth, recovered from 0-30 in the ninth.

Then he did the hardest thing of all: serving against Nadal in front of a crowd that wanted him to play forever.

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How did the home crowd react to their hero’s trials?

This was what the crowds in Malaga came to see, some of whom had paid thousands of euros for it. Nadal was playing singles – and for most of the first set it looked like he could pull off a victory where almost everyone in the crowded arena was willing to exist.

The home fans couldn’t have done much more. They went wild after every point Nadal won, regularly serenading him with chants of, “Rafa, Rafa, Rafa!” He celebrated a few big points with that signature clenched fist as he tried to get himself going.

Trailing 4-1 in the second set, but before a break point, he asked the crowd for more noise. When he took his first break of serve, more than 10,000 fans roared as if their man had just won a Grand Slam title. Nadal roared back with interest.

Rafael Nadal was on home court, as he was for much of his 2024 comeback. (Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images)

The credit goes to Van de Zandschulp because he remained zen. Based on his body language it would have been difficult to tell whether he was playing in the biggest match of his career or against a friend at his local park.

Kudos also to the Dutch fans, who came together in their signature orange and made a lot of noise as they reveled in their country’s role as the ultimate tennis party-pooper.

Despite Nadal’s defeat and possible farewell, this felt more like a celebration than a wake.

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How will Nadal release his competitive spirit when he retires?

Ask any player how they view Nadal and they’ll all say some version of the same thing: the ultimate competitor.

World No. 4 Taylor Fritz, who defeated Nadal in a tiebreak at Wimbledon in 2022 with a torn abdominal muscle, thinks Nadal could be behind 6-0, 5-0, 40-love and play points as if the match were tied was.

That fire was still there on Tuesday, even though Van de Zandschulp made it increasingly clear that he would be too tough for Nadal. There stood Nadal, a set down and 0-2 and desperate not to get a double break, sprinting to the back of the court to reel in a lob and shoot back a desperate, spinning ball as his body tilted toward the back fence kept running. .

Two games later he took an ace-down break point; Needing to shorten the points, he kept pushing into the net. When he hit a double break, he followed it with his best return game of the night, bull-whipping his forehand to earn one break point and then standing on the baseline during the rallies to earn another break point.

Nadal’s competitiveness has never waned, but his body’s ability to maintain it has. (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)

When Van de Zandschulp floated a backhand wide and the break finally came, he clenched one fist, then another and then the first again. The crowd roared with the “olé” chant. A game later, and within one game back, he knew Van de Zandschulp was starting to feel the weight of it all.

Nadal came at him like the ocean. Van de Zandschulp turned his tide.

In the end, Nadal was there for it as he always has been, healthy or not. It’s what kept him around, trying to keep him coming back amid all the injuries.

The big question he will have to answer early next week is how he can satisfy that hunger. Casper Ruud has said he is a terror on the golf course. He loves the board game Parchisi. Will that be enough?

It’s hard to think that. Maybe competing, as if life and death were on the line, should be something he did for a while before doing anything else.

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What did From the Zandschulp say after the match?

After the match, Van de Zandschulp told Tennis Channel: “We were both nervous at first. The first service did not go smoothly, the audience was obviously tough. Understandable.

“That’s what it is to play against Rafa here in Spain. It was a truly special event.

“It’s hard to finish a match against him knowing it could be his last match or not. I was hoping for a little more than going for it, so I just went for it and that helped in the end.”

Van de Zandschulp added that Dutch support helped him get through it.

“It was incredible, I needed it. There were too many people cheering him on!

“I really needed them today.”

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(Top photo: Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images)