The Davis Cup’s ‘Final 8’, featuring the finest countries in the championship, will be held at the MartÃn Carpena Stadium in Málaga from November 19-24.
This was revealed on Tuesday by Feliciano López, the tournament director.
López highlighted that the event is “fortunate” to be the 38-year-old Majorcan tennis player’s final one, and that the organisers want to offer the 22-time Grand Slam champion a goodbye worthy of his tremendous achievements. Nadal will be a member of the Spanish squad chosen by captain David Ferrer for the quarterfinals, with the goal of retrieving a trophy that Spain has not won since 2019. As Nadal himself stated a few weeks ago, this will be his final farewell to the courts.
“Of course, it’s confidential, but we’re planning something very special for him; we have to celebrate his career and legacy,” López said during a video chat with reporters. “We’re preparing many things, but for now, we can’t share much detail, except that it will be something very special,” he told me.
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The tournament director noted that many tennis professionals and sportsmen from Spain and throughout the world, as well as spectators, are excited to travel to Málaga to see Nadal’s last encounter. Notably, stars such as Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have stated their intention to attend via Instagram. “We don’t know if we’ll have seats for everyone,” he joked.
Despite this, López stated that the “World Cup of tennis” will not suffer as a result of Nadal’s departure, and that the Majorcan tennis player will personally assure that it does not. “The Davis Cup itself is so important that I don’t think this celebration will overshadow the competition, especially because Rafa doesn’t want it to,” he explained.
The time of the ceremony honoring the Spanish hero is still uncertain: “We still don’t know when his celebration will be, as it depends on Spain’s results; the team starts playing on Tuesday, the opening day, so we’ll have to take it day by day,” López revealed.
For López, who is now in charge of organizing the Davis Cup, Nadal is “undoubtedly” the greatest Spanish athlete in history, and he called it a “beautiful coincidence” that his final chapter would take place in this tournament, where the Balearic star first made his mark in 2004 with a victory over American Andy Roddick in Seville, clinching Spain’s second Davis Cup title and launching the then-teenage tennis player’s career.
“A blessing for tennis”
Tickets for the quarterfinal versus the Netherlands sold out swiftly, and López quipped that “we could fill two arenas, not just one,” due to the high demand, with resale prices reaching thousands of euros for a chance to witness Nadal play one final time.
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Another highlight of the Davis Cup might be a match between Italy, the defending champion, and Spain, specifically Jannik Sinner versus Carlos Alcaraz, two players predicted to dominate the circuit in the next years. “They’re a blessing for tennis,” López remarked, referring to the two young players who could spark a competition akin to the one between Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer over the last two decades.
“Roger (Federer) and Rafael are out, and we’re not sure how much Novak has left in the tank… “We are extremely fortunate in the tennis industry and around the world to have Sinner and Alcaraz leading the next generation,” López stated.
The director stated that the preparations for the Davis Cup Finals in Málaga were unaffected by the disastrous floods along the Mediterranean coast last week, particularly in the Valencia area, where over 200 people perished and cities and infrastructure were destroyed.
López informed that the tournament organisers, along with the Billie Jean King Cup and the International Tennis Federation, have donated to the Spanish Red Cross to assist those affected. “Seeing what’s going on is dreadful and devastating. Of course, we plan to use our platform to raise awareness and funds for everyone affected in Valencia,” he said.
