Rafael Nadal to play singles at Davis Cup

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MALAGA, Spain -- Rafael Nadal will lead Spain's Davis Cup charge after he was picked to play singles against Botic van de Zandschulp in their opening match of the quarterfinal tie against the Netherlands on Tuesday.

The Davis Cup will be Nadal's farewell tournament, after he announced he will retire from the sport after competition. The decision brings down the curtain on a remarkable career which saw Nadal win 22 Grand Slams. He has also been part of four Davis Cup-winning Spain teams, having triumphed in 2004, 2009, 2011 and 2019.

There were doubts whether Nadal would be picked to play singles. His last competitive action came in the Olympics, and there were no guarantees team captain David Ferrer would pick him to feature in singles. Carlos Alcaraz, the world No. 3, is Spain's first pick, and Roberto Bautista Agut was firmly in the frame to Spain's No.2.

That would've left Nadal in the mix for a doubles spot, but if Spain or the Netherlands were to win both singles matches, then that doubles match would be redundant.

So after deliberation, Ferrer has opted for Nadal to spearhead Spain's charge on Tuesday, with Alcaraz playing Tallon Griekspoor.

Ferrer refused to comment on whether Nadal would play when he spoke at a news conference on Monday. "I see [Nadal] doing well, after a period of inactivity he is improving day by day, without a doubt, which is the most important thing," Ferrer said.

Rafael Nadal is playing in the last tournament of his professional career. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for ITF

"As for him playing singles, I don't know, I don't know yet ... We'll announce the team [on Tuesday] and we'll see. I may have decided already, but I won't say until the last moment."

Nadal was also reluctant to predict whether he'd end up featuring in singles or doubles. "I mean, that's a question for the captain, not for me," Nadal said. "Well, I just tried to work as hard as possible the last month and a half, then here, just trying to do my best every single day.

"Of course when you are not competing very often, it's a little bit more, you know, difficult to hold the level in a constant basis, but have good moments, more difficult moments. I think the improvement is there every day, but, I mean, we have a great team on Spain. So the thing is all these players on the tour are playing very well, having great seasons. Then it's the work of the captain to decide what he feels it's better for the team."