"Nadal would not have lost that match": Davis Cup decision puzzles Paul McNamee as Spain crash out

Famed for their clay courts including Barcelona and Madrid and with Rafael Nadal being one of their greatest exports, it is perhaps a tad puzzling that the Davis Cup takes place on a zippy hard court. A point lamented by Paul McNamee.

McNamee expressed his frustration over Nadal playing his last match on a hard court at the Davis Cup. He faced off against Botic van de Zandschulp in the Quarter-Finals between Spain and the Netherlands at the 2024 Davis Cup.

Alcaraz brought Spain back into the tie with a win over Tallon Griekspoor. However Spain was knocked out as the pair of Alcaraz and Granollers lost to Wesley Koolhof and Botic van de Zandschulp in the deciding doubles match.

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This ended Nadal's career in a somewhat anti-climactic fashion as Spain were expected to win through with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray expected at the weekend. While this dented those hopes of it happening, McNamee said that it should've taken place on clay being in Spain instead of the hard courts.

The former World No.1 said that it would have given Nadal a better chance of avoiding a premature exit. This is despite the fact that Nadal showed very little signs in terms of being able to avoid defeat on the surface when he played it earlier in the season aside from a run at the Nordea Open.

But perhaps some food for thought amid the somewhat drab farewell of the sporting icon as a result of poor choices from the captain and also in McNamee's view, the surface.

"Can anyone explain to me why the finals @DavisCup, hosted & funded by Spain, were played on hardcourt? Goodness me, Nadal would not have lost that match on clay… the surface became the ultimate party pooper," posted McNamee on social media platform X.