Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has brought his legendary playing career to an end on Friday, but the outcome didn’t matter as the Swiss ace walked into retirement with his eyes filled with tears and cheers in his ears.
The 41-year-old competed alongside long-time rival and friend Rafael Nadal for Team Europe in the final round of the first day at the O2 Arena, barely falling to Team World’s Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe in a dramatic doubles encounter.
Federer’s announcement last week that this would be his final match of his glittering career meant that the event became one of the most long awaited in recent memory, and the man of the hour visibly relished his grand goodbye despite ultimately losing.
Tears from both the Swiss maestro and Nadal – the rival who has defined Federer’s career more than any other – welcomed the realisation that perhaps the finest career in men’s tennis history is now ended, with a standing ovation from the capacity crowd and great players of past and present.
Roger Federer Loses Final Match Of Glittering Career
Both Federer and Nadal, who have won 42 Grand Slam titles between them, pleased the crowd with glimpses of the skills which have brought them so much success, however Sock and Tiafoe refused to play along and ultimately ruined the party.
Federer and Nadal won the first set 6-4, putting them on course for one final success together, but Team World forced a tiebreak in the second despite failing to collect six break points in the 11th game.
Sock and Tiafoe controlled the tiebreak to seize control of the first-to-10-points third-set tiebreaker, but Nadal seemed keen to send his friend out on a high note, storming Europe to a 3-0 lead.
Team World rallied back to take the lead, thanks to a barely-believable pick-up victory from Sock that left even the two greatest players in the world in awe on the other side of the net.
Federer and Nadal fought back once again, with Federer hitting one final ace to put them back in lead 6-5 before a thrilling, topsy-turvy tiebreak swung back in Team World’s favour.
The finely-honed Federer forehand offered one more moment of magic to bring it back to 7-7, before Tiafoe aroused the ire of the fans by blasting the ball straight towards the retiring icon.
The ‘Fedal’ team then fought back and came within one point of ending Federer’s career with a win, only for Sock and Tiafoe to come back from 9-8 down and win 11-9.
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Roger Federer Was Overcome with Emotions
The eight-time Wimbledon champion, six-time Australian Open champion, five-time US Open champion, and one-time French Open champion was overcome with emotion after the game, as the grins and laughter that had pervaded the play gave way to tears, and his were not the only ones.
The one, the only @rogerfederer. #LaverCup pic.twitter.com/DIudykDUNn
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 23, 2022
Nadal was in tears as his biggest opponent bowed out, and there were emotional embraces with other major figures in Federer’s career, including Novak Djokovic and Sir Andy Murray, as Federer received a well-deserved last ovation.
Despite the fact that win number 1,252 in an unforgettable, legendary career eluded him, Federer goes as the greatest to have ever played the game in the eyes of many.
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