Rafael Nadal Davis Cup analysis: Nadal loses to Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands

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MALAGA, Spain — Botic van de Zandschulp beat Rafael Nadal in the Davis Cup quarterfinals at Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday.

Van de Zandschulp prevailed over Nadal in a match decided by their serve. Nadal’s physical problems hampered his ability to get free points after his first serve, dragging him into long rallies that his body can no longer sustain. Van de Zandschulp hit a double fault and at times seemed overcome by the occasion, but recovered with calm efficiency. Despite an initial break of Nadal’s serve in the second set, the Dutchman kept him – and a raucous Spanish crowd – at arm’s length to secure victory.

The result leaves the Netherlands 1-0 in the tie, with Carlos Alcaraz set to face Tallon Griekspoor in the second singles rubber. If Alcaraz wins, it will come down to the doubles between Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers and Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof. Should Spain lose, Nadal’s tennis career is over.

AthleticsCharlie Eccleshare and Matt Futterman analyze the match…

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How did Nadal’s serve hinder him?

Nadal’s serve drives him away from tennis more than anything else.

It was never the strongest part of his game – when he first burst onto the scene it was probably the weakest – but he improved it significantly. He picked up the pace with the help of trainer Carlos Moya and he could hit spots as well as anyone. What he lacked in power, he made up for in precision.

In 2024, having a big first serve is regulation; it is on return where the edge of the big players lies. Men’s tennis now involves collecting as many free points on missed returns or aces or easy back-flowing balls as possible, but Nadal’s average first serve on Tuesday hovered around the 110 mph (177 km/h) mark.

It won’t give many free or easy points. Against Van de Zandschulp and almost everyone else he faced this year, this limitation sucked him into multi-shot events that his body just can’t handle anymore.

Servers look like they’re all about the arms and shoulders, but really they’re all about the spine and abs and hips. They bend and snap and buckle and whip their arm through the ball. Spine, abs and hips? That could be a summary of Nadal’s injury problems over the past two years – before considering the inevitable loss of speed that comes with ageing.

Through the first set, Nadal landed 61 percent of his first serves and won 70 percent of those points. Despite four double faults in that set, Van de Zandschulp served at 76 percent and won 90 percent of those points. These numbers are hard to beat.

Matt Futterman

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And how did Van de Zandschulp get hold of his serve?

When Van de Zandschulp hit two consecutive double faults at 40-0 in his first service game, it looked like his nerves playing his idol might undermine his chance to win.

When he broke two more at 3-4 in the first set, the first of which was a foot fault, that feeling was reinforced. But the Dutchman broke out of the match, breaking Nadal straight after and then serving out the set comfortably.

Van de Zandschulp matched those four double faults in the first set with five aces, and aside from those extremely shaky moments, he served well, as the numbers above indicate. Compared to Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open, he was mostly unfazed, whether sending serve into the net or maneuvering a 22-time Grand Slam champion around the court with relative ease.

The start of the second set saw another shaky moment when he double-faulted at 15-30 when he was up 1-0. He responded with three unreturned first serves to stave off the danger and consolidate the break.

Van de Zandschulp’s next service game followed a similar pattern: he opened with two double faults, the second another foot fault, before reeling off the next four points on the first serve. He won his first seven service games despite all doubts and, after being broken in the eighth, recovered from 0-30 down in the ninth.

Then he did the hardest thing of all: serving out against Nadal in front of a crowd that wanted him to play forever.

Charlie Eccleshare

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How did the home crowd react to their hero’s travails?

This was what the Malaga crowd had come to see, what some had paid thousands of euros for. Nadal was playing singles – and for most of the first set he looked like he could deliver the victory that almost everyone in the packed arena was willing to exist.

The home supporters couldn’t have done much more. They went wild after every point Nadal won, regularly serenading him with chants of, “Rafa, Rafa, Rafa!” He celebrated a few big points with his clenched fist as he tried to get himself going.

Trailing 4-1 in the second set, but up to break point, he asked the crowd for more noise. When he got his first break of serve, more than 10,000 fans roared as if their man had just won a Grand Slam title. Nadal roared back, with interest.

Credit must go to Van de Zandschulp for becoming zen. Based on his body language, it would have been hard to tell if he was playing in the biggest game of his career or against a friend in his local park.

Credit, too, to the Dutch fans, who bundled up in their signature orange and made plenty of noise as they reveled in their nation’s role as the ultimate tennis party pooper.

Despite Nadal’s defeat and possible farewell, this felt more like a celebration than a wake.

Charlie Eccleshare

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How will Nadal release his competitive spirit when he retires?

Ask any player how they view Nadal and they all say some version of the same thing: the ultimate competitor.

World No. 4 Taylor Fritz, whom Nadal beat in a tiebreak with a torn abdominal muscle at Wimbledon in 2022, believes Nadal could be down 6-0, 5-0 in 40 games and play points as if the match was dead straight.

That fire was still there Tuesday, even as Van de Zandschulp made it increasingly clear that he would be too tough for Nadal. There was Nadal, down a set and 0-2 and desperate not to go down a double break, sprinting to the back of the court to catch a lob and fire a desperate spinning overhead, his body continuing to run towards the back fence .

Two games later, he ripped down a break point with an ace; needing to shorten points, he kept pushing into the net. Going down a double break, he followed it with his best return game of the night, whipping his forehand to earn a break point, then standing on the baseline in the rallies to earn another.

When Van de Zandschulp floated a backhand wide and the break finally arrived, he pumped a fist and then another and then the first a second time. The audience roared with the ‘olé’ song. A game later and back within one, he knew Van de Zandschulp was starting to feel the weight of it all.

Nadal came at him like the sea. Van de Zandschulp stemmed his tide.

Nadal was ultimately here for it, as he always has been, healthy or not. It’s what kept him around, kept him trying to come back amidst all the damage.

The big question he will have to answer early next week is how to feed that hunger. Casper Ruud has said that he is a terror on the golf course. He is mad at the Parchisi board game. Will that be enough?

It’s hard to think that. Maybe competing like life and death should just be something he did for a while before moving on to do something else.

Matt Futterman

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What did Van de Zandschulp say after the match?

Speaking to the Tennis Channel after the match, Van de Zandschulp said: “In the beginning we were both nervous. The first serves didn’t go smoothly, the crowd was tough of course. Understandable.

“That’s what it is to play here in Spain against Rafa. It was a truly special event.

“It’s hard to close out a fight against him, knowing it could be his last (fight) or not. I was hoping for a little more than going for it, so I just went for it and it helped in the end.”

Van de Zandschulp added that the Dutch support carried him through.

“It was amazing, I needed it. There were too many people here cheering him on!

“I really needed them today.”

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(Top photo: Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images)