Carlos Alcaraz makes Rafael Nadal retirement claim with 'last dance' verdict

Tennis ace Carlos Alcaraz refuses to believe that Rafael Nadal could be set to compete for the final time before announcing his retirement. The pair will link up as part of Spain’s five-man team at the Davis Cup finals in November.

Nadal has struggled with injury problems, which have seen the 22-time Grand Slam spend lengthy spells on the sidelines. His last official match came alongside Alcaraz in their doubles quarter-final tie at the Paris Olympics, with Nadal subsequently pulling out of the US Open and recent Laver Cup, where Alcaraz helped steer Team Europe to victory.

The Davis Cup finals will be held in Malaga which has been tipped as the perfect place for tennis great Nadal to bow out of the sport. The veteran was named in the Spain squad on Monday - alongside Alcaraz, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno and Marcel Granollers - but Alcaraz is not ready for his idol to bid farewell.

"It's incredible to have Rafa on the team and to surround myself with him as much as possible, learning both on and off the court," Alcaraz said. "I don't want to think that it might be a possible 'last dance' for him in Malaga. I want to enjoy the time I can have with him on and off the court."

Four-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz is determined to help Spain with a seventh Davis Cup title, with the country scheduled to face the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, the 21-year-old may have taken some comfort from Nadal’s answer after he was asked about his future.

"I understand the questions about retirement, because it's been many years, and because I've gone through many physical problems, especially these last two years,” Nadal said. “It's a normal question. But in the end there comes a time when I can't live every day thinking about retirement, because then you don't end up really trying.”

Ties at the Davis Cup finals, which will be played from 19-24 November, consist of two singles matches and one doubles match, with Spain’s decisions made by team captain David Ferrer. The former world No.3 was asked about the possibility of Nadal retiring in Malaga - but insisted the decision solely rests with the 38-year-old.

"I don't know if it's the perfect retirement," Ferrer responded earlier this week. "Retirement is very personal and everyone retires as they feel like it or as they can... It's something very personal, I'm not able to say what is the ideal retirement.

“In the end, you stop doing something you've been doing all your life and that's never easy to handle. But whatever Rafa decides, knowing him, I know that he has his concerns and that he is happy. And as long as he's happy, it's fine with me."