Roger Federer’s last match is doubles loss with Rafael Nadal | News

In entrance of a 17,500 sell-out crowd on the O2 Enviornment in London, Federer returned for the ultimate match of his profession.

Roger Federer wrapped up his superlative skilled tennis profession at age 41 with a loss in doubles alongside long-time rival Rafael Nadal on the Laver Cup.

Federer, who gained 20 Grand Slam titles, and Nadal, whose 22 are the lads’s report, paired up for Staff Europe and had been crushed on Friday night time by Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock of Staff World 4-6, 7-6 (2), 11-9 on the O2 Enviornment in London.

In entrance of a 17,500 sell-out crowd on the O2, Federer returned from greater than a 12 months away for a final dance in tandem along with his nice rival on a gripping and memorable finale by the Thames.

Till Friday, he had not competed anyplace since a quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon in July 2021. Shortly after that, the Swiss star had a 3rd operation on his proper knee.

It was poetic that Federer would shut issues out by sharing a court docket with Nadal, who was typically an on-court nemesis however grew to become an off-court good friend.

With the clock already nicely previous midnight (11:00pm GMT), Federer had the possibility to seal victory within the doubles conflict when he served at match level in a tense deciding tiebreak nevertheless it was to not be as People Sock and Tiafoe ruined the script.

Sock thumped a forehand winner to seal a 4-6 7-6 11-9 win for Staff World.

After a quick second of virtually silence across the packed enviornment, the gang erupted to salute an emotional Federer.

Even Federer’s apply periods on the O2 had been standing room solely affairs and an electrical ambiance greeted him as he walked out into the cavernous enviornment alongside Nadal simply after 10pm native time (9:00pm GMT) for what could be his final dance.

“I’ve completed this hundreds of instances, however this one feels totally different. Thanks to everyone who’s coming tonight,” Federer has posted on Twitter earlier within the day.

I’ve completed this hundreds of instances, however this one feels totally different. Thanks to everyone who’s coming tonight. pic.twitter.com/lmPWTNzjbn

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) September 23, 2022

Earlier than Federer, the lads’s mark for many main tennis championships was 14 by Pete Sampras. Federer blew previous that, accumulating eight at Wimbledon, six on the Australian Open, 5 on the US Open and one on the French Open.

His substantial resume consists of 103 profession singles trophies in all, 310 weeks at No. 1 within the ATP rankings, a Davis Cup title and Olympic medals.

Past his magnificence and effectiveness on court docket, Federer was seen as a statesman for tennis, somebody whose immense reputation helped drive followers to the game.