Nadal cannot give force to that ball in the net and stays on his side.
Oops, he almost took Sock Roger Federer’s head with him…
Turn to service for the couple from the rest of the world… At the moment the two teams are very safe with their serve.
Set 1 – 2-1
There is good vibes but also tons of quality in the pair in blue, who close the third game to get ahead again.
Nadal and Federer laugh while waiting for their rivals’ serve… It is one of the few blows that Roger had not seen…
Federer now allies himself with the net post… John McEnroe protests! Everyone argues with the chair umpire…
Ace of Roger Federer!
Well Nadal now glued to the net.
Now it is Sock who is unable to return the Swiss’ serve in conditions.
Nadal cannot return the ball to Tiafoe’s body in the net.
Will now serve Roger Federer, the star of the match…
Set 1 – 1-1
Direct kick from Tiafoe to level the match.
Nadal misses the volley
Now Tiafoe is wrong, who sends her beyond the baseline.
Federer sends the rest out after Sock’s serve.
Sock smash on the net
Set 1 – 1-0
The first game goes to the Federer-Nadal pairing after Tiafoe sends the rest off the court.
To the net the right of Sock.
And now it is Nadal who clinches the net to get ahead for the first time.
The first point of the European couple is from Roger Federer from the net.
It looked like an ace from Nadal but it will finally be a double fault.
This is going to start!
Nadal will serve first…
Federer is enjoying himself… The Swiss is with a permanent smile on his face.
The four tennis players are already warming up.
Tiafoe, Nadal’s executioner at the recent US Open, stayed behind after the draw to shake hands with the two tennis legends that he will face today.
Ovation in London
And there goes Federer and Nadal, who unleash the madness of the stands!
Sock and Tiafoe jump first…
At the moment it’s all smiles and congratulations in the locker room tunnel… The players are now ready to take to the court at London’s O2 Arena.
Watch out for Carlos Alcaraz’s tweet, who is as anxious as we are to see Nadal and Federer on the court…
The Canadian tennis player wants to also win the doubles in front of the microphone to even the score… and the public whistles at him. In an affectionate way, yes, and he apologizes with a smile.
And the moment we’ve all been waiting for is coming…
The world team debuts
It’s over! First point for the rest of the world team. De Miñaur beat Murray 5-7, 6-3, 10-7.
The truth is that this tournament leaves spectacular images… Nadal, Djokovic and Federer advising Murray in this decisive phase of the match is brutal.
The Scot doesn’t get it… This is going to the super tie-break!
Nadal and Federer are back on the European bench cheering on Murray, who is struggling not to give up the second round against De Miñaur.
But Basel has also had weak points…
With the second set underway between the Scotsman and the Canadian, it is a good time to recover another piece that helps to better understand Roger Federer’s sporting career. It was signed a few days ago by our colleague Rubén Cañizares…
The first set of the match is at stake for Andy Murray, who wins 7-5.
As the match between Murray and De Miñaur approaches the resolution of its first set, it is worth noting the enormous scare that the O2 Arena experienced before the start of the clash. A spontaneous managed to jump onto the track engulfed in flames. He intended to protest against the use of private jets in the UK. Fortunately, the security of the compound managed to quickly put out the fire.
Europe prevailed in the four previous editions of the tournament, which was played for the first time in 2017 and only stopped being played in 2020, since the fourth edition ended up being postponed to 2021.
Returning for a moment to sports, Europe is already 2-0 in this edition of the tournament, waiting for what Murray does against De Miñaur. Ruud and Tsitsipas managed to beat Sock (6-4, 5-7 and 10-7) and Schwartzman (6-2 and 6-1) in their singles matches.
Although to get to know the genius from Basel better, nobody like Laura Marta, who after learning of the Swiss’s decision on his withdrawal wrote this article in which she compared him to a dancer:
The reinventor of tennis
To remember and better understand the great rivalry that both forged over the last two decades, just read this article by our colleague Iván Martín:
Federer – Nadal, a noble rivalry full of legend
The circumstances (and the organizers of this tournament) have wanted Rafa Nadal, his great rival along with Djokovic during his professional career, to be the one to share a historic moment such as his last match.
But being Federer the protagonist of this tournament for the final point of his brilliant career, we are left with his unparalleled record…
Tennis history
These days, in the run-up to the Laver Cup, there have been many iconic images that will go down in history. But perhaps none as powerful as seeing the four greatest tennis players of recent decades reunited in the same team: Roger Federer himself, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. It imposes to think about the amount of titles that they gather between the four…
Roger Federer shares the European bench with the rest of his teammates, following Andy Murray’s progress against De Minaur, before retiring to warm up. Emotions won’t boil over until he takes the court for the last time as a professional tennis player…
a strange feeling
Federer himself, protagonist of the night and of the tournament that measures a team from Europe with another from the rest of the world, has recognized this through social networks. In a message that he shared shortly before heading to the gigantic O2 in London, the Helvetian acknowledged that despite his extensive experience, his feelings today were different…
Goodnight!
The most feared day for many tennis fans around the world has arrived. Roger Federer, one of the best rackets in history, puts an end to his sports career in London. Within the framework of the Laver Cup and side by side with his great rival and yet friend Rafa Nadal, the Swiss will play his last match as a professional. An almost exhibition clash but that will put a lump in the throat of more than one. Thanks for the company and welcome to a very special night!
