Roger Federer praised the tennis played in the Laver Cup, the exhibition he founded, which took place from September 23 to September 25 at the O2 Arena in London.
The former world number one, who hadn’t played in over a year, teamed up with his buddy and archrival Rafael Nadal for a doubles match.
Despite having a match point on his serve in the super tiebreak, the two were defeated by Americans Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock.
At the end of the match, the 20-time Grand Slam champion was overcome with emotion and got a magnificent homage.
Nadal, too, burst into tears, and the picture of the two holding hands became instantly iconic.
The 41-year-old Basel resident did everything he could to give himself one final ride, but by the beginning of the summer, he realised he couldn’t.
Because the right knee could not respond satisfactorily to the stress, the King opted to call it quits on a storied career. Federer thanked his innumerable followers in a lengthy interview for the ATP website.
“This is definitely a big moment for me to thank everybody who has always supported me.
I feel the Federer fans became more and more the older I got,” Roger Federer said. “If I had all these emotions on the court, it’s because of the fans. They know that, I know that, and those are the things I’m going to miss.
Traveling around the world, have somebody wait for me, and be so excited to see me, that’s why I wrote in the letter that I love tennis and I will see you around,” he added. “For me, it was important to remind the fans that I will not leave the game and I will be there.
People will get a chance to see me again. We’ll have moments again, they might be different, but they will be beautiful moments. It was important to remind myself that and also the fans, who I am so very thankful to,” the 20-time Grand Slam champion expressed.
The Swiss great stated that he will never forget his emotional retirement night. “It’s been incredible when I cried on the court and I brought tears to sport and to tennis. I know it’s happened in the past and I was probably quite famous for it.
I’m happy I lived through those emotions and at the same time it made me really appreciate the moment and it will never be forgotten,” Federer said.
