The Dutch pair of Wesley Koolhof and Botic van de Zandschulp – losers of “Rafa” in singles earlier in the day – defeated Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/3) to end the professional career of the 38-year-old double Majorcan Olympic champion, winner of 22 Grand Slam titles and four Davis Cups with Spain.

After Roger Federer in 2022, the left-hander from Manacor is the second member of tennis’ “Big 3” to put away his rackets for good, with Serbia’s Novak Djokovic the only one still playing. In the first singles of the day, Nadal lost 6-4, 6-4 to van de Zandschulp, ranked 80th in the world, who had never managed to beat the Spaniard in their only two meetings in 2022.

Alcaraz then put his team and the Netherlands back on level terms (1-1) by winning 7-6 (7/0), 6-3 his duel against Dutch N.1 Tallon Griekspoor (40th). The hard-fought doubles decider proved fatal to Spain’s quest for a seventh Davis Cup title. Thanks to their victory, the Netherlands now reach their second semi-final in the competition’s history, following on from 2001.