LONDON – This day and this match was inevitable for Roger Federer and for tennis, as it is for any athlete, regardless of his sport.
Federer will bid farewell to tennis on Friday night with one final duel before retiring at the age of 41, after a illustrious career marked by winning 20 Grand Slam titles and a role as a unique ambassador for his sport. He is set to play a doubles match with arch-rival Rafael Nadal for the European team at the Laver Cup. They will face Francis Tiafoe and Jack Sock of the world team.
During the presentation of the players of the two teams ahead of the first singles match of this three-day event at London’s O2 Arena, Federer was the last to leave the tunnel to walk onto the pitch-black court. Tennis fans who have been very vocal about Nadal, Noval Djokovic, Andy Murray and others raised their voices to express their support and appreciation for Federer. They gave him a standing ovation and some of them used their smartphone cameras to capture the historic moment.
Spectators came from all over, travel distance was not an issue, nor was the cost of attending the event.
Federer’s exit follows that of Serena Williams, holder of 23 career Grand Slam titles, at the US Open three weeks ago after a third-round loss. Some believe we are witnessing a real changing of the guard after the Swiss and Americans dominated their sport for decades.
This team event, now in its fifth edition, was created by Federer’s management company and uses a different format than a regular tournament. So even if the Swiss and Nadal triumph in the doubles, there will be no next match.
Federer has made it clear that the right knee on which he underwent three surgeries – the latest shortly after his loss in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in July 2021, which will effectively be his last official career singles match – has not recovered enough to allow it to continue its operations beyond Friday night.
Shortly before the start of the first match between United States Open runner-up Casper Rudd and Sock, Federer got up from a black couch at the edge of the court and walked over to Rudd, tapping him on the shoulder.
He appeared to whip the Norwegian, who beat Shock 6-4, 5-7, 10-7 to give the European team the lead.
Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas then doubled the Europeans’ lead by easily beating Argentina’s Diego Schwarzman 6-2, 6-1 in the second singles match of the day.
That meeting was briefly interrupted by a protester who set his hand on fire. The man, who was holding a lighter and wearing a white shirt with a message against the use of private jets, jumped onto the court and sat near the net. He was eventually removed by security guards.
“It came out of nowhere…I’ve never had a similar incident,” said Tsitsipas, a finalist at the 2021 French Open. “I hope he’s fine. »
Australia’s Alex de Minaur then reduced the gap to 2-1 after grabbing a 5-7, 6-3, 10-7 victory over Scotland’s Andy Murray.
Federer and Nadal will be on court later today.
For his part, Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime should make his debut in this competition on Saturday, in singles.
