Rafael Nadal unlikely to play singles in farewell at Davis Cup, suggests Spanish expert

Ewan West 18 Nov 2024 10:35 AM

Rafael Nadal looks on during a practice session ahead of his Davis Cup farewell

Spanish tennis legend and expert Alex Corretja is “not so sure” Rafael Nadal will play singles in his farewell event at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.

The former world No 2 pointed out that Nadal has not played a singles match “for so long” and revealed he expects the tennis icon to “save his energy for the doubles.”

Nadal will retire from tennis after his appearance at the Davis Cup Final 8 stage in Malaga, which will run from November 19-24.

David Ferrer, Spain’s Davis Cup captain, has also named Carlos Alcaraz, Pedro Martinez, Roberto Bautista Agut and Marcel Granollers in his squad. Spain will face the Netherlands in the first quarter-final tie on Tuesday.

It has not yet been revealed whether Nadal, who is a four-time Davis Cup champion, will compete in singles, doubles, or both. The 38-year-old holds a remarkable 29-1 singles record in the team competition, while he is also 8-4 in doubles matches.

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Speaking to Eurosport, Corretja explained why he feels Nadal will likely choose to play doubles rather than singles in Malaga.

“Of course, it will be the decision of captain David Ferrer,” the two-time Roland Garros finalist said.

“The good thing with Rafa is that he’s a friend of David’s. I’m 100% sure that they have talked about it and Rafa will be honest with David about what he’s able to do – if he feels ready to play the singles, or only the doubles.

“If he plays doubles, he can play with Alcaraz but also with Marcel Granollers because we have some good specialists. We’ll see. Can he play singles? I’m not so sure because he has not played for so long in singles.

“So will he risk playing singles? Because you never know with the movements, the feeling. Probably he’ll save his energy for the doubles, but doubles can be crucial in the Davis Cup. So Rafa can add a lot of things to the team.”

Nadal has not played a competitive singles match since his defeat to Novak Djokovic in the second round of the 2024 Paris Olympics at the end of July. The former world No 1 reached the quarter-finals of the Olympic doubles event with Alcaraz as his partner.

The 22-time Grand Slam winner also lost to both Alcaraz and Djokovic in the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia last month.