Rafael Nadal’s two greatest achievements revealed ahead of his Davis Cup farewell
Spanish tennis great Alex Corretja has identified Rafael Nadal’s two greatest victories ahead of his legendary compatriot’s farewell.
Nadal will retire following the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, which will be held from November 19-24 next week.
The 38-year-old is seeking a fifth Davis Cup crown, having been part of victorious Spain teams in 2004, 2009, 2011 and 2019.
Spain will face the Netherlands in the quarter-finals and they could meet either Canada or Germany in the last four.
Corretja, a two-time French Open runner-up, looked ahead to the last event of Nadal’s career and declared he expects it to be emotional and challenging for all involved.
“I think it’s going to be very emotional,” Corretja added. “We’ve been following Rafa, dreaming with Rafa. He’s not going to be playing anymore, so it’s going to be difficult.
“I’m receiving so many messages from followers and from people who tell me that they can’t believe it’s going to be the end for Rafa.
“It will be very difficult to deal with that for Rafa, for his teammates, even for the opponents. I hope the crowd will be warm but respectful.
“It has to feel like a big party, but we all need to remember that this is the Davis Cup, a big event.”
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Corretja named Nadal’s historic 10th Roland Garros triumph and his epic comeback win in the 2022 Australian Open final as the two standout successes of the Mallorcan’s glittering career.
“I would mention two things,” the former world No 2 told Eurosport‘s Pasando Bolas: Especial Nadal programme. “First, for me, one of the most amazing achievements was when he won his 10th Roland Garros.
“That is a number I could never have imagined. After that, the 14th, this is something unreal. Nearly impossible to understand, really.
“The other one is when he was struggling a lot with injuries, being away from the tour and capable of coming back from two sets to love against Medvedev, the way Daniil was playing, to win the Australian Open in 2022.
“That was pretty much the first time in my life when I was watching a Grand Slam final with Rafa and thinking ‘No, there is no chance he can do it today’, not from two sets to love.
“If I had to give a ‘Chance Predictor’ I would have said 1% for Rafa. And I would have said 1% because it was Rafa and you never know with him! He proved us wrong once again. He never gives up and this is probably his biggest legacy.”
Nadal downed Stan Wawrinka in the final of the 2017 French Open to become the first man to win a Grand Slam event 10 times — a victory dubbed ‘La Decima.’
The former world No 1 will retire with a staggering 14 Roland Garros crowns and a 112-4 record at the event.
At the 2022 Australian Open, Nadal recovered from two sets to love down to win a major final for the only time for career when he beat Daniil Medvedev in a remarkable five-set contest.
The final, which lasted five hours and 24 minutes, remains the second longest Grand Slam title match in history. It was Nadal’s second Australian Open title and his 21st and penultimate major.
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