Rafael Nadal has been confirmed for Spain’s upcoming Davis Cup tie against Denmark. It will be the first time that the 9-time French Open champion has played in the tournament since 2013.
Leading up to the official announcement, it was unclear if Nadal would play in the tie following the death of his 86-year-old grandfather. Joining Nadal in the team will be David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco and Roberto Bautista Agut. The team will travel to Odense Idrætshal for their Group 1 relegation play-off against Denmark which begins on September 18th.
The Davis Cup has been problematic for Spanish tennis in recent years. The Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET) has been under a lot of criticism from their own players with the controversial appointment of Gala Leon last September. It was argued that Leon lacked the experience to captain the team. Then earlier this year a letter signed by 52 players (including Nadal and Ferrer) was handed to the RFET in which they criticised the federation for a lack of transparency. Leon parted ways with the Davis Cup in July and was replaced by 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, who is also the captain of Spain’s Fed Cup team.
Spain won the Davis Cup title in 2011 but have endured a series of disappointments in recent years. They have lost their four previous tie’s which has lead to them falling out of the top stage of the competition. The most recent tie was against Russia in July. Despite opening a 2-0 lead, Russia battled back to beat them 3-2.
For the upcoming tie, it is expected that Nadal will play doubles with Fernando Verdasco. The announcement was made during a press briefing which revealed the team.
“In principle Nadal and Verdasco will play the doubles“. Martinez said.
The meeting will be the first time that Spain has played Denmark since 1996 where they defeated them 4-1 in the world group qualifying rounds. Since 1964 they have played each other four times, with the head-to-head currently level at 2-2.
