Fernando Verdasco shares sweet message for Rafael Nadal after unseen photos from Davis Cup surface
Fernando Verdasco shared a heartfelt message for Rafael Nadal, accompanied by a few unseen photos of the former World No. 1 from the Davis Cup. Nadal's last match took place at the 2024 Davis Cup, where he suffered only his second singles defeat in the tournament's history, losing to the Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp.
In a collaborative post, the official Davis Cup Instagram account featured several photos of Rafael Nadal with fellow Spanish team members, including Verdasco and David Ferrer, seemingly from the 2008 edition of the prestigious event. Notably, Spain won the 2008 Davis Cup after defeating home team Argentina 3-1 in the finals at the Polideportivo Islas Malvinas.
Watch the post below:
Verdasco, a former World No. 7, re-shared an adorable picture from the post on his Instagram story, featuring himself and the 22-time Grand Slam champion, and wrote:
"What a legend. So many memories together."
Team Spain aimed to secure their seventh Davis Cup title this year, but their campaign came to an end after a quarterfinal defeat to Team Netherlands.
After Nadal's 4-6, 4-6 loss to Van de Zandschulp, Carlos Alcaraz leveled the tie against the Netherlands by defeating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(0), 6-3 in the second singles match. However, the World No. 3, partnering with Marcel Granollers, fell 7-6(4), 7-6(3) to Van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof in the deciding doubles match, ending Spain's campaign.
"I knew it could be my last match": Rafael Nadal after losing his last professional match to Botic van de Zandschulp at 2024 Davis Cup
After losing to Botic Van de Zandschulp, Rafael Nadal described his final match as emotionally challenging, acknowledging the difficulty of handling the overwhelming emotions while aiming to perform well.
“It’s been an emotional day. I knew it could be my last match as a professional tennis player. The moments leading up to it were emotional, kind of difficult to handle, in general. So many emotions. I tried to do it as well as possible," he said (via ATP Tour).
The Mallorcan later expressed that he aimed to maintain the best attitude during the match, but it wasn’t enough as his opponent played better.
“I tried to have the best attitude possible, with the necessary energy, whatever the result. There was a glimmer of hope at the end, but it wasn’t to be. My opponent was better than me today and that’s that," he added.
During the post-match interview, Nadal was visibly moved, while watching a clip highlighting his over two-decade career and heartfelt tributes from rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.