Rafael Nadal soaked in the emotion of a memorable but bittersweet evening in Malaga.
The 38-year-old is playing in his farewell tournament at the Davis Cup Finals having finally accepted last month that his body would no longer allow him to compete at the highest level.
He was hoping for one final victory on home soil – and that could yet still come if his Spanish team-mates can turn around the quarter-final against the Netherlands to send the home nation to the semi-finals – but Botic van de Zandschulp spoiled the party with a 6-4 6-4 victory.
The Spanish fans, some of whom had paid seven-figure sums for tickets, flocked to the Martin Carpena Arena in their thousands, draped in red and yellow flags and scarves and ready to cheer on their national hero for perhaps the final time.
Nadal said at a press conference on Monday that he wanted to leave the emotion for when the end came, with his focus on trying to win Spain a sixth Davis Cup title during his long and historic career, but there were tears in his eyes during a stirring rendition of the national anthem.
“Of course it has been an emotional day, nerves before what can be my last singles match,” he said.
“Feeling the national anthem for the last time like a professional has been very special. And then of course a little bit of mixed feelings makes things a little bit more difficult.
“But that’s it. We went on court. We live that moment. I tried to do my best. I tried to, at the same time, to stay as positive as possible in every single moment, to play with the right energy. It was not enough. Congrats to Botic. That’s all. He was better than me.”
It was only Nadal’s second ever Davis Cup loss in singles, with the other coming on his debut against the Czech Republic’s Jiri Novak way back in 2004.
It was later the same year that Nadal sent waves through the sport by beating Andy Roddick in the final as an 18-year-old, one of 29 straight singles victories until now.
Nadal backed captain David Ferrer’s decision to pick him ahead of higher-ranked Roberto Bautista Agut, despite insisting there was no pressure to do so, but admitted he is not expecting another call should Spain progress.
“Of course it hasn’t been an easy decision for the captain,” said Nadal. “But at the end I really believe that David put on the field the player who he feels that had the better chance to win.
“Because I give him, since the beginning, the input that he doesn’t need to feel any pressure to put me, honestly, and I was not sure to play. I even give him more chances to put Roberto on the field than me during the whole week.
“Probably watching that today, the decision to put me on the court as second player didn’t work, probably the easy move, and maybe the right move, is to change. If I would be the captain, probably I will change.”
He added with a smile: “It’s in some ways good maybe if that was my last match. I lost my first match in the Davis Cup, and I lost my last one. So we close the circle.”
This was only Nadal’s eighth official tournament this season, while his only singles matches since the Olympics in July came in an exhibition event in Saudi Arabia last month.
There were glimpses of the old Nadal in some full-blooded forehands; fist pumps and roars greeting every point won.
But Van de Zandschulp is a quality player and, although Nadal made it tight after trailing 4-1 in the second set, he could not quite conjure the old magic.
After shaking hands with his opponent, Nadal waved and blew kisses to his adoring crowd, not knowing if it would be for the last time.
“I tried to help the team to put a win out there, but it was not possible,” said a philosophical Nadal.
“And that’s it. In that moment of my career, I can’t complain much. I go there, I try my best, I try to enjoy and play with the right energy, with the right attitude. It just didn’t work. And it was a possibility that that would happen.
“Hopefully we can keep going and I will keep working hard every day to be on the team in case the team needs me one more time. If not, just support from the bench.”