FUENGIROLA, Spain — Neither Rafael Nadal nor Spanish captain David Ferrer would say Monday whether the 22-time Grand Slam champion will play at the Davis Cup Final 8, his last event before retirement.Spain is scheduled to face the Netherlands on Tuesday in the quarterfinals on an indoor hard court at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena in Malaga. The winner will play in the semifinals on Friday. The championship will be decided on Sunday.At a team news conference held at a hotel in Fuengirola, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of the competition venue, Nadal was asked how he has been feeling in practice in recent days and whether he is ready to play.“That’s a question for the captain,” Nadal responded, drawing a laugh from Ferrer, sitting to the star player’s left.Moments later, Ferrer was asked about Nadal’s participation.“I don’t know yet,” Ferrer said. “At the moment, I have not decided the players that are going to play tomorrow.”Nadal is 29-1 in his Davis Cup singles career, 8-4 in doubles.There will be two matches in singles and one in doubles in the best-of-three matchup between Spain and the Netherlands. Nadal could appear just in singles, just in doubles — perhaps alongside Carlos Alcaraz, his partner at the Paris Olympics this year — in both or not at all. It’s up to Ferrer.There’s a reason, though, that the 9,200-capacity arena is sold out for Tuesday: This could be the last chance to see Nadal play a match that matters.“His last moments on court probably are going to be super special. Not (just) for me, but for everyone,” Alcaraz said. “For me, for the team, and for everyone here in Spain, it’s going to be an emotional day.”Monday represented the first chance for the 38-year-old Nadal to answer questions from reporters and explain at length his decision, announced last month, to walk away from tennis after the Davis Cup. Nadal has been dealing with a series of injuries the past two seasons and has been limited to only 23 official singles matches in that …
