Roger Federer in Laver Cup 2022
In what is likely to be the most watched doubles tennis match in history, Roger Federer's legendary and inspirational career came to an end on Friday night in London when he and Rafael Nadal (also known as Team Europe) lost to the Americans Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe (Team World) in the Laver Cup. The greatest tennis players from Europe compete against the best players from the rest of the globe in the annual Laver Cup competition, which Federer and his management business, TEAM8, co-founded in 2017. Team Europe is coached by Björn Borg, while Team World is coached by John McEnroe.
After the match, a visibly moved Federer promised the fans, prompting a sea of hugs and a few tears from his teammates and rivals, "We'll get through this somehow." Moments later, in a gesture of respect for his formidable adversary Nadal, he said, "I didn't want it to feel lonely out there. "I wanted this to feel like a celebration at the end, so thank you."
The tennis community has been in a kind of grieving and adoration fog since Federer announced his intention to retire—after more than 1,500 matches over 24 years as a professional—a little more than a week ago and declared that this would be his last contest. Which makes sense given that Federer, now 41, was the first and, many would argue, the finest of the so-called Big Three of tennis, who are regarded as the sport's all-time greatest competitors together with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Over the course of two decades, they have combined to win 63 Grand Slam competitions and have dominated the sport's top standings.
Although Nadal leads the field in Grand Slam titles (currently with 22), and Djokovic, with 21 titles, has a good chance of overtaking him, it is Federer, who has won just 20 of them (along with 103 titles on the men's tour and 310 weeks at the top of the world rankings), who typically receives praise for his abilities on the court, his playing style, his demeanor and sportsmanship, and his entire career on and off the court.
Nobody could deliver nearly any stroke on either side, from topspin forehands to knockout volleys and precision serves, with more apparent ease and speed. (McEnroe referred to Federer as "a Baryshnikov of tennis" in a touching tribute video released immediately following the match.) Nobody treated his opponents with greater respect, nor did they regard the game of tennis or its illustrious history, following some early stumbles as a moody adolescent. (His Roger Federer Foundation also says a lot; it primarily concentrates on early learning and education in southern Africa and Switzerland.)
The O2 Arena in London was packed with tennis players, both active and retired, and spectators for the event; we'll have a detailed report on the scene for you tomorrow. The tennis community as a whole tuned in from wherever they were to see history being made, even if they couldn't be there in person. Just a few minutes later, Carlos Alcaraz tweeted, "Who's watching Laver Cup?" followed by three crying emojis. The top-ranked woman in the world, Iga Swiatek, was forced to think about her priorities, and they weren't even close. She wrote, "Sleep needs to wait tonight. I have a rehearsal in the morning.
The actual match itself was filled with everything from the ridiculous (Federer leaping in to take a killer forehand that, by all rights, should have been Nadal's to handle; the two had a good laugh about it right away) to the sublime (lengthy rapid-fire tête-à-têtes involving rocket volleys, blistering inside-out forehands, and looping topspin lobs, with the occasional net-cord mishap thrown in for good measure Tiafoe and Sock made it quite obvious before the match that they would be fighting for keeps and pulling no punches, despite the fact that comedy and goodwill were never in short supply. This wasn't an exhibition.
Deep into the second set, Rafael and Federer and Team Europe appeared to be headed for an unexpected straight-set victory, but the match ended up requiring an unusual match tie-break (a so-called Laver Breaker), which was neck-and-neck the entire time, much to the delight of the spectators. (At 7-7 in that break, Tiafoe even sent a 98 mph forehand at Federer, which was OK, then aimed square at Nadal to set up the match point that swiftly led to Team World's 4-6, 7-6 victory.) Just in case anyone is actually following track of the Laver Cup matches amongst all of this: Team Europe 2 and Team World 2 .
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