WATCH: Rafael Nadal Involved in a Heated Exchange with Chair Umpire at Davis Cup 2019

World No.1 Rafael Nadal was involved in a heated exchange with the chair umpire during the winner-takes-all doubles match against Great Britain in the semifinals of the Davis Cup 2019 Finals in Madrid on Saturday.

Rafael Nadal teamed up with Feliciano Lopez to take on Great Britain’s Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski for the high-tension deciding doubles match. There was nothing to choose between the two teams in the first but Spain got the edge in the first-set tiebreaker.

The second set also went till the tiebreaker, when Nadal lost his cool at 2-2 and Spanish team jumped in rage. Feliciano Lopez put his hand up in the air to challenge a call immediately after Great Britain won the point, but the chair umpire denied the challenge, which led Rafael Nadal and the Spanish team to rush towards the umpire in frustration. However, the point was eventually awarded to Great Britain.

Nadal was seen admonishing and was also waving his arms about in protest against the umpire’s decision. The Mallorcan was heard shouting at the match officials: “Faster? Impossible.” However, the umpire didn’t change her decision to award the point to Murray and Skupski.

The World No.1 and the Spanish crowd at the Caja Magica stadium then fired up as Nadal and Lopez saved four set points and fought back hard to win the second set tiebreaker on their second match point and defeat Great Britain to reach the finals of the 18-nation event.

Earlier, Kyle Edmund gave Great Britain a 1-0 lead after defeating Feliciano Lopez in the first singles rubber. However, Nadal once again stepped up for his team to derail Dan Evans and level back the tie to 1-1 before leading the team to the victory in the finals doubles.

Spain will face Canada in the finals of the revamped Davis Cup 2019 Finals on Sunday and will aim to win its sixth Davis Cup title and its first title since 2011.