Rafael Nadal in professional tennis, 80th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp, converted his 10th match point Friday to finally close out a 6-4, 6-7 (12), 6-3 victory over Daniel Altmaier and help the Netherlands reach its first Davis Cup final by sweeping Germany.

The Netherlands moved to the brink of their first Davis Cup final as Botic Van de Zandschulp held his nerve to beat Germany's Daniel Altmaier 6-4 6-7(12) 6-3 on Friday.

Rafael Nadal’s remarkable 23-year career came to an end after Spain was eliminated by the Netherlands in the Davis Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Nadal won 22 Grand Slam titles in his career and retires as one of the greatest men's tennis players of all time.

An inspired Netherlands team made Davis Cup history as they put their nation into the final for the first time ever with a 2-0 defeat of Germany on Friday. Singles wins for Botic Van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor sparked a party amongst an army of orange-clad Dutch fans inside the Jose Maria Martin Carpena arena.

Netherlands reached the Davis Cup final for the first time with a battling 2-0 win over Germany on Friday, with captain Paul Haarhuis labelling the feat "unique".