Rafael Nadal hits a return against Roger Federer during the men's singles final of the Australian Open in Melbourne on January 29, 2017.SCOTT BARBOUR/AFP / Getty Images
Rafael Nadal is taking some time off after his Australian Open final loss to Roger Federer.
The Spanish tennis federation said Monday that Nadal has been dropped from Spain's Davis Cup team because of fatigue following his five-set loss to Federer in Sunday's final.
He will be replaced with Feliciano Lopez for next weekend's best-of-five series at Croatia in the first round of the World Group.
The federation said the decision was made after a recommendation by doctor Angel Ruiz Cotorro, who said Nadal's recovery time would be too short. He said it was taken into consideration that Nadal played a significant number of matches after a four-month layoff because of a wrist injury.
"Rafa's wear and tear in the last month was very significant," Spain captain Conchita Martinez said. "He needs to recover from his recent efforts and certainly will be with us again in the next rounds."
The 14-time Grand Slam champion is expected to return to action in Rotterdam from Feb. 13-19.
Nadal, ranked No. 6 in the world, helped Spain defeat India last year to secure its return to the World Group, although he missed his singles match because of the lingering wrist injury.
The other Spanish players to face Croatia are Roberto Bautista, Pablo Carreno and Marc Lopez.
Images capture the sheer intensity of Milos Raonic and Roger Federer as they battled in the Wimbledon semi-final match
Globe and Mail Update