The Davis Cup Finals in Malaga marked the conclusion of an extraordinary career as Rafael Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam champion, played his final professional tennis match.

According to El Espanol, this was because the retirement ceremony was expected to take place on Friday - on the assumption Spain would win their quarter-final. This has attracted

Davis Cup Finals tournament director Feliciano Lopez and International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty have defended Rafael Nadal’s retirement ceremony. Former world No 1 and 22-time Grand Slam winner Nadal played the final match of his career at the Finals in Malaga this week.

Rafael Nadal's relatively low-key retirement ceremony at the Davis Cup was defended by the head of the International Tennis Federation on Sunday as being dictated by the 22-time Grand Slam champion's wishes.