Botic van de Zandschulp paid tribute to Rafael Nadal after bringing down the curtain on the tennis legend’s career as the Netherlands defied the odds to knock Spain out of the Davis Cup in Malaga.

“The crowd didn’t make it easy,” Van de Zandschulp said after his straight-sets victory in the opening singles match.

“You’re playing in Spain against Rafael, probably the greatest sportsman of all time here. If I’d been on the sidelines I’d probably have been cheering for him as well.”

Van de Zandschulp added the scalp of Nadal to world number 3 Carlos Alcaraz, whom he defeated in the second round of the US Open in August.

It followed a difficult start to the year that saw the 29-year-old from Veenendaal drop as low as 115th in the ATP rankings before recovering to 80th.

Van de Zandschulp took full advantage of his 38-year-old opponent’s inability to cover the whole court, winning the first set 6-4 and taking a 4-1 lead early in the second set.

Doubles win

Nadal showed flashes of his old form and power and broke back for 4-2 to offer himself a glimmer of hope, but a stretching backhand shot into the net proved to be the final act of his career as Van de Zandschulp clinched the match 6-4 6-4.

Alcaraz came back from a break down to level the tie with a straight-sets win over Tallon Griekspoor in the other singles match, but Van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof had the last word in the doubles.

The Dutch duo won in straight sets against Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers, converting the first of three match points to take the second set on a tie-break and ruin Nadal’s dream of a grandstand finish to a career that included 22 Grand Slam trophies.

“We close the circle”

“I lost my first match in the Davis Cup, and I lost my last one,” Nadal said after Van de Zandschulp broke the Spaniard’s 29-match winning streak in the competition. “So we close the circle.”

After the Dutch team celebrated reaching the semi-finals of the Davis Cup for only the second time – they will play either Germany or Canada on Friday – Nadal came out to the court to address a tennis crowd for the last time as a player.

“I feel super privileged,” he said. “I’ve been able to make my hobby my profession for a long time. I also remember my family, my team. You have been an unforgettable part of my life for all these years.”