All eyes are on the upcoming Laver Cup where Swiss great Roger Federer will play competitive one last time before ending his illustrious career. Federer's announcement has put a different kind of spotlight on the buildup to the tournament, in addition to the fact that he will be playing alongside his great rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic alongwith Andy Murray, Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas in Team Europe. They will be facing a Team World made up of Taylor Fritz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Diego Schwartzman, Alex de Minaur, Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock, in the three-day tournament from September 23-25.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner on Thursday took to Twitter and shared an iconic photo alongside his Team Europe team mates.
Amid speculations of his pairing up with Nadal, Federer talked about his friend and old rival who often stood in his way of a French Open title. “For us to go through a career that we both have had and to come out on the other side and being able to have a nice relationship is maybe a great message to not just tennis but sports and maybe even beyond,” he said.
The 41-year old also shared his thoughts on why he chose Laver Cup as the moment of his swansong. “Having all the other guys around just felt like I was not going to be lonely announcing my retirement. Not that I wanted to hijack this event or anything, but I always feel sorry for players who sometimes retire on the tour, say: ‘I’m going to play one more match,’ then at one point you lose and there you stand all alone,” explained Federer.
{{/usCountry}}The 41-year old also shared his thoughts on why he chose Laver Cup as the moment of his swansong. “Having all the other guys around just felt like I was not going to be lonely announcing my retirement. Not that I wanted to hijack this event or anything, but I always feel sorry for players who sometimes retire on the tour, say: ‘I’m going to play one more match,’ then at one point you lose and there you stand all alone,” explained Federer.
{{/usCountry}}The Swiss star will only be competing in the doubles match as limitations with his surgically operated knee put a jolt on his participation in Singles. Italian Matteo Berrettini will take Federer's place over the weekend in Laver Cup.