Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, in London. /
The Swiss plans to play a Laver Cup doubles match with his friend and great rival
In London everything is ready for Roger Federer to say goodbye to his career in the best possible way. In a doubles match on Friday with Rafa Nadal in his competition, the Laver Cup. The Swiss player wants to put an end to his friend and great rival.
«Of course (which I would like). No doubt. It would be a unique moment. For everything we have lived together, for everything we have fought for, for the respect we have for each other, for the relationship we have maintained. It’s a great message not just for tennis, but for the sport and beyond. It would be great. I don’t know if it will happen, but it would be a very special moment,” Federer acknowledged on Wednesday.
This will be the second time that Federer and Nadal share a team, after pairing up in Geneva 2017, in the first edition of the Laver Cup. The Swiss’s physical condition does not allow him to play singles, so his performance will be restricted only to doubles , despite the fact that it is not allowed in the tournament rules.
“That has been one of my concerns. I didn’t want to upset the ATP or anything. But I know of my limitations. I asked Bjorn (Borg) if it was okay for him to only play doubles and that it would be on Friday. Then on Saturday Matteo (Berrettini) would replace me. Bjorn said that nothing was wrong and also spoke with John (McEnroe) and with the ATP. Everyone said it was fine,” Federer added. So here I am, getting ready for one last doubles match. I’m nervous because I haven’t played in a long time, so I hope to be competitive », he pointed out.
This will be the first time that the Swiss has officially set foot on a tennis court since he played the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2021, when he fell to the Pole Hubert Hurkacz. Federer’s intention was to also play the tournament in his city, in Basel, at the end of October, but his physical condition has prevented him from being able to play the championship in which he started as a ball boy and in which he met the idols of his childhood .
In Nadal’s case, his appearance at the Laver Cup is his first appearance since losing in the US Open quarterfinals. This will be one of the last tournaments in the Balearic Islands before the end of the season. On his calendar, once the Laver Cup is over, only the Masters 1,000 in Paris-Bercy and the ATP Finals in Turin appear.
