As Rafael Nadal prepared to serve in what turned out to be the last tennis match of his career, a woman’s voice broke the silence from the stands: “You make Spain proud!” Not long after that, Nadal was wiping away tears from his face and waving goodbye to his fans.

Spain fell behind after Nadal lost the day’s opening match and could not recover to defeat the Netherlands in Tuesday’s quarterfinal matches.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion, 38, loses to Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands in a Davis Cup quarterfinal. “I achieved more than I ever believed possible,” says Nadal, who announced