On Friday, in the O2 arena in London, the Laver Cup of tennis will begin, during which the Swiss Roger Federer, holder of twenty Grand Slam titles, will bid farewell to his career. He will play the last game of his career in doubles alongside his old rival Rafael Nadal.
The Europe selection will seek to extend its invincibility against the rest of the world and to succeed for the fifth consecutive time in the three days of team competition. The exhibition tournament, started by Federer in honor of the legendary Rod Laver, will culminate on Sunday.
Federer, 41, announced his decision to retire after the Laver Cup last week. Due to knee health issues, he will only play twice as much on Friday alongside his longtime Spanish rival Rafael Nadal.
The opponent of the star duo, which boasts a total of 42 Grand Slam titles, will be the American duo of Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock. After that, Federer withdraws from the tournament, giving way to Matteo Berrettini from Italy.
“I am happy to play here in London. This place has been special for me, perhaps the most special with Wimbledon. I have played many games here and won a few times. It fits perfectly. I have always enjoyed the support of the fans here,” he said. said eight-time Wimbledon champion Federer.
In addition to Federer, Nadal and substitute Berrettini, the European selection is also represented by the Serbian Novak Djokovic, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Norwegian Casper Ruud and the British Andy Murray. The captain is eleven-time Swedish Grand Slam champion Björn Borg.
“It will be crazy but beautiful. Even more so when I have Novak, Rafa and Andy by my side. It almost seems like he organized it that way, but it’s not true. I’m glad everyone wants to play,” Federer said of longtime rivals. .
He had admired Captain Borg from childhood. “The fact that Björn will be on the bench for my last game also resonated a lot. Having all these guys with me, I won’t feel alone when I leave,” added Federer.
The world team is made up of the Americans Taylor Fritz, Tiafoe and Sock, the Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime, the Argentine Diego Schwartzman and the Australian Alex de Minaur.
The substitute is the American Tommy Paul, the captain is the compatriot John McEnroe. This year’s Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios from Australia has apologized for personal reasons.
“It will be difficult for us. They have Novak and Rafa, who are among the most stable players in recent years. There are also Roger and Murray, who have been in the elite for almost twenty years. For a young man like me, it will be something extraordinary. play against these legends, “said 22-year-old Auger-Aliassime.
There will be three singles and one doubles matches on each day of the tournament. It will be played for two winning sets and instead of the third set there will be a super tie-break. On Friday there is one point for each match won, on Saturday two and on Sunday the duels are for three points.
The first edition of the Laver Cup took place in 2017 in Prague. Europeans also triumphed in Chicago, Geneva and last year in Boston. At the time, they outclassed their opponents 14: 1.
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