Spanish Davis Cup star Carlos Alcaraz and team captain David Ferrer have put across different points of view on Rafael Nadal’s retirement. Nadal has been included in Spain’s preliminary squad for the Finals in November, which will be played out in front of a passionate home crowd in Malaga.
And speculation is already swirling that it could be the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s ‘last dance’. Nadal has barely competed in the past few months, and not at all since the Paris Olympics.
He was due to turn out at the Laver Cup in Berlin last weekend but withdrew before the tournament got underway. The Davis Cup Finals, alongside his compatriots, is Nadal’s next opportunity to be out on court.
And Alcaraz is desperate for the 38-year-old to continue playing beyond the tournament. “I am going to enjoy that time,” he said before his opening match at the China Open. “Hopefully, it’s not going to be the last time for him.
“Obviously, it’s always great having Rafa around. I miss him. I’m not going to lie, I missed him in the Laver Cup. Obviously, as much time as I can spend with him, for me it’s a privilege. I don’t want to think that it is a potential last dance for him in Malaga.
“I just want to think that I will be trying to live or to enjoy his time around, to enjoy seeing him on court as much as I can. Obviously, it is a great support having him in the team.
“He can bring a lot of experience to the Davis Cup. For me, it’s going to be my first Davis Cup Final. It’s going to be a great experience for me.”
Ferrer, who called time on his own playing days in 2019 after making it to four Grand Slam semi-finals and a career-high world ranking of three, is less concerned about Nadal soldiering on and more concerned with whether he feels the time is right to call it a day.
“It’s a very personal matter,” he explained. “Everyone retires how they want or how they feel like it. I am not able to say what the ideal retirement is.
“You stop doing something that you have done all your life, that you have worked on all your life, and suddenly you stop doing it. As long as he is happy, it’s good enough for me.”
