Nadal to play Davis Cup singles for Spain before retirement

MALAGA, Spain (AP) — Rafael Nadal was picked to play singles for Spain against the Netherlands on Tuesday at the Davis Cup Final 8, the 22-time Grand Slam champion's last event before he retires.

The lineups for both countries were announced about an hour before their quarterfinal was scheduled to begin on Day 1 of competition on an indoor hard court at the sold-out Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena in southern Spain.

The 38-year-old Nadal will face 80th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp in the opening singles match, before No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain goes up against No. 40 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands. Nadal has won 29 Davis Cup singles matches in a row.

If the best-of-three-match series is tied at 1-all after singles, Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers will meet Van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof in doubles to determine which team advances to the semifinals.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis