Davis Cup Finals LIVE! Rafael Nadal latest score and updates as Spain face Netherlands in Final 8

Davis Cup Finals LIVE!

Tennis bids farewell to an all-time icon in Rafael Nadal this week as he plays the final tournament of his illustrious career. The 22-time Grand Slam champion announced last month that he was retiring from the sport aged 38 after a torrid few years with injuries, going on to face great rival Novak Djokovic one last time at the inaugural Six Kings exhibition event in Saudi Arabia.

Now Nadal has his sights set firmly set on making it a fairytale end as he looks to guide Spain to a seventh Davis Cup crown and first since 2019 as they host the Final 8 of the 2024 edition in Malaga. That journey begins today with a quarter-final showdown against the Netherlands, with Nadal set to kick off the action against Botic van de Zandschulp after initial questions over his involvement in the singles.

Spanish captain David Ferrer has a formidable team to call upon, with world No3 Carlos Alcaraz set to follow his hero Nadal as the hosts look to seal their progress in the first tie of the round without the need for a tense doubles decider. Follow Spain vs Netherlands in the Davis Cup Finals live below!

Spain vs Netherlands latest news

Start time: 4pm GMT | Malaga
How to watch: Tennis Channel
Nadal leads Spain before retirement
Spain vs Netherlands schedule

Van de Zandschulp 4-4* Nadal

16:57 , Alex Young

Nadal has no answer on the backhand when Van de Zangsculp is pinging it into the corner. Big serves from the Dutchman but another double-fault makes him wobble and Nadal is able to force deuce against serve.

Two quickfire points and we’re all square again.

Van de Zandschulp *3-4 Nadal

16:51 , Alex Young

Nadal wrong-foots Van de Zandsculp to go 30-love up, but shows a little bit too much to the Dutchman to allow him to whip one down the line and then again to level it up at 30-30.

Nadal hits back with an ace but a return into the net on the backhand forces deuce.

Another big serve from Nadal and then Van de Zandsculp sends one long to give Nadal another hold.

Van de Zandschulp 3-3* Nadal

16:44 , Alex Young

The pair are trading serve games at the moment, and the Van de Zandsclup takes his with ease.

Van de Zandschulp *2-3 Nadal

16:40

That’s more like it from Rafa as he sends a superb forehand down the line which Van de Zandschulp can only return into the net.

The Dutchman looks so confident on serve, and very much not against it. Huge roars as Nadal goes 40-love up and then sees out the service game.

Van de Zandschulp 2-2* Nadal

16:37 , Alex Young

Nadal doesn’t have the movement of yesteryear and Van de Zandschulp is hammering him with these big serves.

It’s a love-hold for the Dutchman.

Van de Zandschulp *1-2 Nadal

16:34 , Alex Young

A big return from Van de Zandschulp and he’s back to sending Nadal long, which the Spaniard has little reply to just yet.

But a slack lob over Nadal flies out of bounds and Nadal doesn’t need a second opportunity to see out the service game.

Van de Zandschulp 1-1* Nadal

16:29 , Alex Young

Van de Zandschulp on serve for the first time and sends a corker to the baseline which wrong-foots Nadal for the first point of the second game.

Nadal almost sends a trademark forehand down the line, and the crowd cheers, but it’s a centimetre wide.

The Dutchman goes 40-love up but double-faults once, and then twice. Nerves?

That only amps up the home crowd even more, and he double faults for a third time! Now he’s in his head.

He eventually gets his fourth serve and breaks the deuce before Nadal sends one into the net to level the scores.

Van de Zandschulp *0-1 Nadal

16:24 , Alex Young

A hush descends on the arena as Nadal serves, but a smart net approach from his opponent sends a volley out of reach.

Nadal hits back with the second but is already being pushed back in the court by Van de Zandschulp.

The Spaniard has the whole arena backing him though, and every point is cheered like a match winner as Nadal fires down a volley to win the first point.

16:19 , Alex Young

What version of Nadal will we see tonight?

16:16 , Alex Young

Right then, here we go.

16:12 , Alex Young

Netherlands won the toss, electing Spain to serve first.

16:10 , Alex Young

A final pep talk for Nadal before he takes to the court. He does not want his career to end tonight.

16:07 , Alex Young

Nadal looks emotional, and you obviously don’t blame him, as the national anthem is played.

16:03 , Alex Young

…and here come the Spanish team with Nadal taking up the rear.

16:03 , Alex Young

First out is the Dutch team.

16:00 , Alex Young

Oh, we have movement in Malaga.

15:59

The excitement is building. Almost Rafal O’Clock in Malaga.

Van de Zandschulp on possibly ending Nadal’s career

15:53 , Alex Young

Van de Zandschulp earlier this week spoke about the possibility of ending Nadal’s career.

“It is true that everyone will be following our tie, but if Spain wins they will still have to play more, so it is not really known when Nadal’s last match as a professional will be,” he said.

“Of course, I have thought about that possibility [of it being Nadal’s last match], although I try not to think about it too much because I think I would go crazy.

“I hope I can face him, I really want to. I remember that we have played twice before.

“He was always my idol as a child and I used to watch his matches on television. It would be a real pleasure to be the last one to face him.”

Swag for Rafa

15:48 , Alex Young

Also on show tonight will be this special bag for Nadal from Babolat.

It features all of his major achievements as he prepares to bid farewell.

Today’s plan

15:43

So, once Rafa Nadal and Botic van de Zandschulp do the business, the second singles rubber will follow straight after. That will see Carlos Alcaraz take on Tallon Griekspoor.

A deciding doubles match takes place later in the evening if required.

Nadal vs Van de Zandschulp head-to-head

15:36 , Alex Young

The clock is counting down in Malaga.

He takes on Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, who he has twice faced before – winning on both occasions.

Those two meetings both came in 2022, winning in straight sets at the French Open before another routine win at Wimbledon a few weeks later.

On for the hat-trick today.

Confirmed: Rafael Nadal to play singles for Spain

15:12 , George Flood

It has now been officially confirmed that Rafael Nadal will be in the second singles slot for Spain today, behind Carlos Alcaraz.

As reported, he will be up first against Botic van de Zandschulp.

Will it be the final singles match of his illustrious career?

Rafael Nadal focused on Davis Cup glory as retirement looms

14:51

It is set to be a massively emotional week for Rafael Nadal, regardless of how it all ends for Spain.

However, the 22-time Grand Slam champion does not believe he will struggle to contain his emotions on court as he looks to deliver his nation a seventh Davis Cup title overall and first since 2019 – when he played a central role and sealed the trophy-winning victory against Canada’s Denis Shapovalov on home soil in Madrid.

“If I am on court, hopefully not, no, because at the end I am not here for retiring. I’m here to try to help the team,” Nadal said this week.

“Then it’s of course going to be my last week on the professional tour, but at the end, we are here in a teams competition.

“The most important thing here is to try to help the team and to stay all focused on what we have to do, that is play tennis and do it very well.

“Because the rival is going to be difficult, and the conditions are difficult, too. So then the emotions are going to be for the end.

“To play my last event in Spain, it’s something that I am very happy with. Because I will never have the chance to thank enough everybody here in Spain, the support that I receive and the love that I felt always.”

David Ferrer staying tight-lipped on Rafael Nadal role for Spain

14:43

It had been assumed that Rafael Nadal was most likely to be playing doubles alongside Marcel Granollers for Spain, before those reports that he was set to step up first in singles instead against Botic van de Zandschulp.

Spanish captain David Ferrer has until one hour before the opening contest to officially confirm his choices, and was giving nothing away when speaking to the media on Monday.

“I see (Nadal) doing well, after a period of inactivity he is improving day by day, without a doubt, which is the most important thing,” Ferrer told reporters.

“As for him playing singles, I don’t know, I don’t know yet…. We’ll announce the team tomorrow and we’ll see.

“I may have decided already, but I won’t say until the last moment.”

Spain vs Netherlands schedule

14:28 , George Flood

As mentioned, it will be Rafael Nadal against Botic van de Zandschulp up first in the opening singles match of this tie.

Nothing has been confirmed beyond that just yet, though you can imagine that Nadal’s fellow superstar Carlos Alcaraz will be lined up for the second singles contest by captain David Ferrer to either seal Spain’s place in the semi-finals or else level things up to force a doubles decider.

Roberto Bautista Agut and Pedro Martinez are other options for Spain.

The Netherlands – captained by doubles legend Paul Haarhuis – also have Jesper de Jong and Tallon Griekspoor as singles options, with the latter presumably the favourite to take on Alcaraz.

If a doubles match is needed, then the Dutch have two decorated specialists in Jean-Julien Roger and Wesley Koolhof, while Spain have former world No1 Marcel Granollers.

Two-time Grand Slam winner Koolhof, 35, is also due to retire after these finals.

Rafael Nadal to open singles action for Spain

14:14 , George Flood

Given his struggles with injury and lack of game time in recent months, there had initially appeared to be a major question mark over whether Rafael Nadal would play in the singles today or else be held back in case needed for a doubles decider.

It will no doubt have been a difficult choice for Spain captain David Ferrer, with an adoring home crowd desperate to see one of the country’s finest-ever sportsmen in action at least one final time.

Some fans have paid a small fortune to be in attendance and if Nadal had been held back with the Netherlands then winning both singles matches, it would have been both heartbreaking for them and a massively anti-climatic end to his career.

While Ferrer promised to leave it until the 11th hour to confirm his selections for today, widespread reports emerged from Spain earlier this afternoon confirming that Nadal would indeed play singles – opening the quarter-final tie against world no74 Botic van de Zandschulp.

How to watch Spain vs Netherlands

14:07

TV channel and live stream: The 2024 Davis Cup Finals are being shown live on the Tennis Channel, which costs £2.49 a month in the UK after a seven-day free trial.

The final on Sunday will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Red Button.