The king of Clay says Farewell after Painful Defeat
"I lost my first match in the Davis Cup, and I lost my last one. So let's close the circle because I won't pick myself again.”
“I just want to be remembered as a good person and a kid that followed their dreams and achieved more than what I’ve ever dreamed,”. These were some of the last words of the 22 time grand slam champion, Rafael Nadal.
“I tried to do my best. I tried to, at the same time, to stay as positive as possible in every single moment, to play with the right energy. Was not enough.”
“Congrats to Botic. That’s all. He was better than me.”
Looking ahead, Nadal is still hopeful Spain can overcome the Netherlands and progress to the semifinals. He also hopes to contribute one final time if needed.
If Spain can keep their Davis Cup hopes alive, they will face the winner of Germany vs. Canada in the next round.
“I mean, as I said, I went on court and I came here with the goal to help the team the way that I could help. Today I was selected to be on the court, so I tried to help the team to put a win out there, but was not possible.”
“I really hope that Carlos [Alcaraz] going to win his match, and then the doubles too. So, hopefully, we can keep going and I will keep working hard every day to be on the team in case that the team needs me one more time. If not, just support from the bench.”
"Achievements so Far
1080 singles wins
912 consecutive weeks inside the Top 10
209 weeks as World No 1
92 singles titles
63 singles titles on clay
36 Masters 1000s
30 Grand Slam finals
22 Grand Slam titles
14 French Open titles
5-time year-end No 1
2 Olympic gold medals