Rafael Nadal's Gemilang Career Is Officially Over

Rafael Nadal officially retired after failing to bring Spain to the semifinals of the 2024 Davis Cup (Instagram/@rafaelnadal).

JAKARTA Rafael Nadal's brilliant career on the official tennis court ended after Spain lost to the Netherlands in the 2024 Davis Cup.

Spain were eliminated from this tournament after losing 1-2 in the match which took place at the Palacio De Deportes Stadium, Malaga, Spain, Tuesday, November 19, 2024, local time or Wednesday, November 20, 2024, Indonesian time.

Nadal, who won 22 Grand Slam titles in his career, recently announced that the men's team event was his last before retiring.

"I have had a professional career for 20 years. You have guided me through good and bad times. You encourage me to continue playing," Nadal said in front of the audience after losing in the first match of the event.

The 38-year-old led Spain and took the first place against Botic van de Zandschulp in the best-of-three quarter-final match.

In the duel, Nadal, who had been eroded by age, had to admit his opponent with a final score of 4-6 and 4-6. Former world number one Carlos Alcaraz then equalized the score when he dropped in the second singles match.

Alcaraz, who has taken over as Spain's leading tennis player, beat Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7-0) and 6-3 to keep Nadal's hopes of appearing in another farewell match alive.

Unfortunately, in the decisive match, Alcaraz, who returned to doubles with Marcel Granolers, lost 6-7 (4-7) and 6-7 (3-7) against Van de Zandschulp/Wesley Koolhof.

The result automatically closed Nadal's career which had previously helped Spain win the Davis Cup four times, which last happened in 2019.

"Actually you don't want to get to this point. I'm not tired of playing tennis, but my body doesn't want to play anymore and you have to accept it," Nadal said marking his emotional breakup.

Nadal retired as the second most successful men's singles player of all time in terms of Grand Slam's victory. He is behind Novak Djokovic who has won 24 Grand Slams.

The tennis player, nicknamed the King of Tanah Lihat, has lifted the title of Roland Garros 14 times. It was a clay Grand Slam tournament held in Paris, France.

At the event Nadal won 112 of the 116 matches he played. In history, only Nadal was able to win many titles like that in one Grand Slam event.

Sementara itu, delapan gelar Grand Slam lainnya dia dapat di Australia Open dan Wimbledon masing-masing dua kali serta ajang akhir musim US Open sebanyak empat kali.

Nadal also achieved success at the Olympics by getting two gold medals, each from the men's singles and men's doubles.