Rafael Nadal in professional tennis, 80th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp, converted his 10th match point Friday to finally close out a 6-4, 6-7 (12), 6-3 victory over Daniel Altmaier and help the Netherlands reach its first Davis Cup final by sweeping Germany.

Rafael Nadal’s remarkable 23-year career came to an end after Spain was eliminated by the Netherlands in the Davis Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest men's tennis players in history, closed out his legendary career playing for Spain in the Davis Cup.

Hours after Nadal's 6-4, 6-4 loss to Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands was over, the evening did turn out to represent the 22-time Grand Slam champion's farewell to professional tennis, because the Dutch eliminated the Spaniards in the quarterfinals just after midnight.

Spain fell behind after Nadal lost the day’s opening match and could not recover to defeat the Netherlands in Tuesday’s quarterfinal matches.

Retiring tennis superstar Rafael Nadal said his Davis Cup quarter-finals singles defeat by Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp on Tuesday was "probably my last match".

MALAGA, Spain, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Rafael Nadal said farewell to tennis and his fans saluted their retiring hero in a bittersweet and emotional ceremony at a sold-out Malaga arena following his last professional match in Spain’s 2-1 Davis Cup defeat to the Netherlands on Tuesday.

Tennis great Rafael Nadal announced his impending retirement from the sport on Thursday at age 38 after winning 22 Grand Slam singles titles during an unprecedented era he shared with his rivals in the so-called Big Three, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Since Rafael Nadal announced his retirement in early October, all focus has remained fixed on his final professional tournament at the Davis Cup. Building up to the momentous day, tributes and celebration of the 38-year-old have overtaken the international competition.

He also spent his entire career battling his own body, with Nadal’s injuries both acute and chronic carving the trajectory of his career and to an extent the way he played tennis. King of clay. Warrior.