KEY POINTS
- Roger Federer has announced his retirement from professional tennis
- Laver Cup 2022 is going to be his final ATP event
- Federer has won 20 singles Grand Slams
Roger Federer has expressed that playing a doubles match with Rafael Nadal in the upcoming Laver Cup, his final ATP event, would be an “absolute dream.”
Earlier this month, Federer announced his retirement from professional tennis and confirmed that Laver Cup, the hard-court tournament in London, would be his final appearance on the court as an active player. With the ATP event now around the corner, there has been speculation about whether Federer will compete in his final tournament or not.
In a recent interview, the 41-year-old legend admitted he won’t be able to compete in a singles match because of his knee issue, but would like to play a doubles fixture.
“Maybe I can play doubles with Rafa and that would be an absolute dream. It’s nice that the reporting was so positive, I didn’t know what to expect. So far the echo has been wonderful,” Federer said in an interview with Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF).
In the lead-up to the Laver Cup, Federer trained hard, but his long-time coach Severin Luthi earlier this week said the Swiss Master’s participation is not yet “definitive.” Backing the same, Federer’s fitness and conditioning trainer Pierre Paganini also said the former World No. 1 player will decide at the last moment if he’ll compete in the Laver Cup or not.
Federer last played a competitive match at Wimbledon in 2021, where he lost in the quarter-final to Hubert Hurkacz. Shortly after that, Federer had surgery on his right knee for the third time in a span of about one-and-a-half years.
While Federer had hoped to play at the Basel Open in his home country next month, his recovery took a toll on him that eventually forced him to decide that it was time to hang his boots.
He called his retirement a “bittersweet decision” when he announced it last week. Federer’s final tournament will see him team up with Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The “Big Three” are in Laver Cup’s Team Europe, along with Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andy Murray.
After reaching London for the tournament, Federer told reporters he was “relieved” he announced his retirement and was “very happy to have been able to have the career I have had.”
“It can’t be that I’m trying to run after something that is hardly realistic anymore,” Federer said in the same interview.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner went on to add that in recent months “my progress was not satisfactory, that my knee was not letting me go.”
“Then I received a scan that was not great, and there was no more progress. I told myself that it was over. Honestly, I didn’t want to do it anymore,” added Federer.
Laver Cup is scheduled to begin on Friday at O2 Arena in London and will go on till Sunday.
