It’s that time of the year and the Laver Cup is here. Who better than the great, Roger Federer to oversee the event? It was Roger who was chiefly responsible for the inception of this trophy in 2017. The profound love he had for the sport, and the vision of uniting the top players of the world, made him collaborate with Tony Godsick, Team8 President and CEO, to conceive of this event.
The Laver Cup reserves a special place in the heart of Federer, for it was here, that he ended up playing the last match of his career. It was a doubles match when the legend teamed up with Rafael Nadal, eventually losing to Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock. On his return, Frances shared a lighter moment when he was reminded of the tears shed, the previous year.
Roger Federer & Frances Tiafoe share a nice moment at Laver Cup
Frances Tiafoe: “Last time I was on this court, you had a lot of tears on this court.”
Roger: “This bench, huh? Big time.” 🥹
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 20, 2023
The American also shared the bizarre confusion he and Sock had in approaching the match. It seems as if they were joking, “Should we go hard, should we not, should we make it a good show?”
Roger Federer hasn’t meandered from his legendary ways
For these revelations, Fedex as he is fondly called, replied in a wholesome manner by saying, “I think I feel Complete”. He further added, “I lost my last singles match. I lost my last doubles match. I lost my voice from screaming and supporting the team.” Still, the Swiss confessed he was very happy and chose to term it an irony, and a fairy tale ending that happened in a way he didn’t think, it would.
Also, Federer hasn’t lost that touch of humor when interacting with his peers. This was evident when he was at his quirky best while responding to a question posed by good friend and foe, Rafael Nadal.
The cheeky banter began with the Spaniard, querying, “Who’s been your favorite doubles partner?“. In response, the legend replied, “I mean.. I thought it was my wife until this guy showed up… Rafa can have it”.
But, for now, Roger, a father of four, seems to be on a busy schedule shuttling between the roles of a driver, an organizer, and a logistics man. But the verve of his iconic backhand slice hasn’t lessened even slightly, which was on view when he took to the court for a while, leaving kids and fans in awe and craving for a one-last doubles match from him.
Roger Federer let’s us know what he’s up to 1 year after retiring:
“I feel like I don’t have enough time.. 4 kids will do that to you. I’m a professional driver nowadays, organizer, a logistics man. It’s a test on a completely other level” 😂
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 23, 2023
But the thing about greats is that the lasting impressions and indelible footprints they leave go beyond sport. This elevates them to the status of being immortals, and Roger Federer is no different. Hopefully, it remains so for his lifetime, touches more people, and makes them feel “complete“.