- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Roger Federer, one of the greats of modern-day tennis, will play his final game in London, UK, on Friday (23) where he will team up with his long-time rival on the court Rafael Nadal in a doubles game in the Laver Cup. Federer and Nadal will play the US duo of Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe.
The 41-year-old Swiss announced earlier this month that he decided to quit tennis as he was not growing any younger. Federer, who has 20 Grand Slam titles, had been out of action for a while due to knee injury.
The ace player spoke ahead of his final outing and there, the individual’s humble best was out again. In the company of Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray all of whom are in their mid-30s, Federer said that tennis will remain bigger than any of them.
A big chat with the big four from Team Europe.#LaverCup pic.twitter.com/1n76evjmBA
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 23, 2022
“I am happy they are going to have more battles and I am going to watch it from a couch or from the bed. Look, I am happy to go first because I am the oldest of the bunch and I tried long and hard to come back for the last few years and I think this is the right moment to go out,” he said.
“Like everyone said, the last few days have been special. Tennis has and will continue to mean the world to me. The boys are still here and a lot of new faces are coming up. Tennis is always bigger than any of us and it has great sharing the court that many times and having some cool battles. Some of the matches we have forgotten or we ignore them but they have connected us forever and it is special for us,” Federer added.
Federer broke former US player Pete Sampras’s record of 14 grand slam titles to become the record-holder for the most slams won in the men’s section. He was also the first men’s player to win 20 Grand Slam titles but recurring injuries pegged him back and that allowed Nadal (22) and Djokovic (21) eventually surpassing him in the race for slams.
