Carlos Moyá, Rafa Nadal’s coach, joined the wave of criticism that the best Spanish athlete in history received last Tuesday evening in the Davis Cup. Moyá joins Ferrer, Toni Nadal and others close to the Spanish tennis player, who believe his farewell tribute was not up to par.
Last Tuesday, at the Martín Carpena in Malaga, the Spanish tennis team was eliminated much earlier than expected from a Davis Cup in which it was favorite. They lost in the quarter-finals to a superior Netherlands. Rafa Nadal lost the first singles point, Carlos Alcaraz won his match and the Murcian himself with Marcel Granollers lost the doubles which decided the draw against the Dutch.
A very special Davis because it was the last tournament in which Rafa Nadal would participate as an athlete. We have known this since October, when the Balearic tennis player announced through a video that his professional career was coming to an end after this tournament. But it ended much sooner than expected. This Friday the semi-finals take place and a tribute has been prepared. But everything was rushed. Nadal was losing and Spain could not qualify for the tour.
Rafa Nadal has retired and his farewell, with a video projected on the Carpena scoreboards, is far from what a legend like the Balearic player represents for our sport. His coach, Carlos Moyá, highlighted this on Onda Cero. Declaring that the farewells had been “disheveled and shabby”.
“Now is not the time to blame anyone… But the feeling we all have is a bit disheveled and shabby. It’s true that it’s a Tuesday evening, but it’s sport and we knew months in advance that if Spain lost, Rafa would retire. Nadal is way above all that,” said the coach of the former Spanish tennis player.
“I don’t want to talk about sadness, what we did was celebrate Rafa, I am very grateful to have worked with him,” said Carlos Moyá, who also criticized the farewell that Nadal received after the elimination of Spain in the Davis Cup.
“Spain were slight favorites, but a victory for the Dutch could not be ruled out. It’s sport, this time we had to live the cross of the play. I saw Rafa calm, he had assumed that this moment was coming. We knew months ago that this was going to happen, it happened a little early, it was not possible and we are assimilating it,” Moyá said.
“There were moments in Manacor, in training, when tears came to my eyes because I saw that a very beautiful stage of my life was ending. As long as I have left in tennis, it will be impossible for me to relive what I experienced with Rafa Nadal. The story I experienced with Nadal is unique, the emotional connection… it’s very difficult to start with another athlete,” concluded Carlos Moyá.
