Rafael Nadal and Spain’s captain won’t say whether he’ll play at the Davis Cup

By Howard Fendrich

Rafael Nadal felt a hand on his left shoulder as he walked out of a conference room at a resort on Spain’s southern coast Monday following his first question-and-answer session with reporters since announcing this week’s Davis Cup Final 8 will be his last event before retirement.

Nadal turned to see Carlos Alcaraz, his Spanish teammate and heir apparent, who wanted to whisper something. Nadal, 38, and Alcaraz, 21, might share a court one last time on Tuesday, when Spain is scheduled to face the Netherlands on Tuesday in the quarterfinals on an indoor hard court at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena in Malaga.

Then again, maybe they won’t both play Tuesday: Neither Nadal nor Spain’s captain, David Ferrer, would say Monday whether the 22-time Grand Slam champion will participate. What is clear is that Nadal’s career soon will be over.

What will he miss the most?

“I