"You know that at any moment he’s a great competitor" : Nadal's singles presence at the Davis Cup not ruled out for Spain captain Ferrer

David Ferrer keeps open the possibility for Rafael Nadal to play singles in his farewell event. The captain of the Spanish Davis Cup team commented in an interview with AS that he will wait until training in Malaga to fully define who will play.

It will be the last event for the 22-time Grand Slam champion, who is still considered for play, though in recent weeks it has almost been taken for granted that Nadal would only play doubles. Ferrer, however, will have the final decision and, for now, does not rule out the 38-year-old for singles.

Without a doubt, the primary singles player is 4-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz, who will lead the team. The second singles spot remains uncertain, especially as Pablo Carreño Busta’s participation is in doubt following his withdrawal from the Paris Masters. When asked if Nadal is ready for singles, Ferrer replied,

“I don’t know; I’ll have to see them train. I spoke to Rafa this week; we’ve spoken several times. Well, we’ll see a bit how training goes,” the former world No. 3 said. “The truth is Rafa is training well. Once we see the players and assess their condition, then I’ll decide on singles and doubles. But until we’re all there, focused and training, I can’t say.”

“Obviously, I have an idea of how the team will look, I can visualize it a bit, but as I said, I won’t decide until the last minute, until we’re there,” the Spanish coach added. “I have a lot of confidence in Rafa and all the players, but particularly with Rafa, so we can talk and gauge feelings—how he feels and how I see him.”

“In the end, the captain has to decide, and well, it’s a wonderful problem to have so many options, especially with Rafa, because you know that at any moment, he’s a great competitor. He’s the best player we’ve ever had in history. I’m very excited and have great faith that he can help us.”

Ferrer also emphasized that Nadal’s retirement at the Davis Cup will bring more attention to the tournament and Team Spain’s performance: “I think it’s an inspiration and a motivation for all the players. Having Rafa for the last time, and in the Davis Cup in Spain, I think it gives us much more than it takes away. Obviously, these will be emotional days because, whether we like it or not, Rafa’s presence as it’s his last event will be more in the spotlight than other times.”