Rafa Nadal tested himself in Carpena, the court for his last match

Rafael Nadal This Friday he completed his first training session in Malaga with Pedro Martinez at the center court of the José María Martín Carpena Sports Palace, in preparation for the Spain-Netherlands Davis Cup, quarterfinal tie to be played next Tuesday.

The clock was 11:58 when the Mallorcan tennis player appeared on the pavilion court where Unicaja usually plays basketball, now converted into a blue and green rectangle with a net that reads ‘Davis Cup’.

The moment occurred during Roberto Bautista He finished his sparring training and, a few meters away, Sara Sorribes and Magda Linette were playing in the first round of the Billie Jean King Cup between Spain and Poland. Nadal came out and all the camera spotlights were on him.

Under the watchful eye of David Ferrercaptain of the Spanish Davis team, and also of Carlos Moyahis coach, with whom he always had direct contact during training, Nadal began to rally, sharing his first sensations with his team.

He calibrated his forehands, backhands, serves, returns, drop shots and volleys on the first afternoon of testing with his teammate, Valencian Pedro Martínez, world number 44 taking over Pablo Carreno due to injury.

Nadal practiced with Martínez on a new, nearly pristine Carpena court, which was finished being assembled on Thursday and showed only a few braking marks from the players’ shoes from the previous practice session.

“Bravo, Pedro!” Manacorí exclaimed in response to his teammate’s successes, just as the tennis player in Valencia acknowledged Nadal’s moments of inspiration with a “Ang galing, Rafa!” as the intensity of the match increases.

The winner of twenty-two Grand Slams and king of clay is in good physical condition and is training with a high level of concentration for his last dance in professional tennis. He was ready to help Spain and say goodbye with honor, if possible by raising another Salad Bowl with Spain.

There are things that don’t change, even at eighteen, or at twenty-five, or at his current 38 years: he continues to regret every mistake. That competitive gene and his self-demand kept him going and would keep him going until his last days on a tennis court.

At 1:37 pm, David Ferrer Finished the first day of training on this floor, which will experience an edition of the Davis Cup finals with the highest expectations to see world-class players in action like Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz or Nadal himself.

In the following days, the Spanish team will continue to keep up with training sessions for the first day, Tuesday the 19th (5:00 pm) against the Netherlands, where the legendary tennis player from in Manacor. .