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| Photo Credit: AP. |
LONDON (AP) — This day, this match, had to come, of course, for Roger Federer, and for tennis, just as it inevitably must for every athlete in every sport.
Federer was
bidding farewell Friday night with one last contest before he heads into
retirement at age 41 after an illustrious career that included 20 Grand Slam
titles and role as a statesman for tennis. He was scheduled to play a doubles
match alongside his rival Rafael Nadal for Team Europe in the Laver Cup against
Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock of Team World.
“For me,
just personally, (it was) sad in the first moment, when I came to the
conclusion it’s the best decision,” Federer said in an interview with The
Associated Press this week about his emotions when realizing it was time to go.
“I kind of held it in at first, then fought it off. But I could feel the pain.”
When the
players from both squads were introduced before the initial singles matchup of
the three-day team event at the O2 Arena, Federer was the last to emerge from a
tunnel leading out to the black court, wearing his team’s blue zip-up jacket
and black pants. Fans who were loud enough for Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy
Murray and others really let Federer hear their support and gratitude, rising
for a lengthy standing ovation while lifting their phone cameras to capture the
moment.
When there
were breaks in the action during the matches before his, Federer wandered over
to the stands and signed autograph after autograph — on programs, tennis balls,
whatever was thrust his way by spectators.
“The crowd
was electric,” Sock said after losing the opening singles match Friday
afternoon to two-time 2022 Grand Slam runner-up Casper Ruud 6-4, 5-7, 10-7. “I
can only imagine what it’s going to be like for the rest of the weekend. And
obviously tonight with ... two of the ‘GOATs’ playing together.”
In the
second match — which was briefly interrupted when an environmental protester
made it on to the court and lit his arm on fire before being carried away by
security guards — Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 6-1 to put
Team Europe ahead 2-0.
Those lucky
enough to have tickets came from all over, no distance too far to travel, no
expense too great.
“I have such
mixed feelings about this,” said Indrani Maitra, a 49-year-old from India. “I’m
really glad I’m being able to catch his last match. But I’m really sad this is
his last match.”
She came
with her daughter, Anushka Verma, a 19-year-old student at University of
California, Berkeley, for what they said was their first time to watch tennis
live. Both wore blue hats for the occasion, Maitra’s with Federer’s “RF”
insignia, Verma’s with Nadal’s bull horns logo.
There were
lines hundreds of people deep at the “Game, Set, Merch” shops in and outside
the venue. Jacob Benaion, a 61-year-old from Brazil, said he waited for more
than an hour with his son, 32-year-old Moyses.
“I love
tennis. My first favorite was Ivan Lendl. After that, Pete Sampras. And after
that, Roger Federer. And Roger Federer is the best one of all,” Benaion said.
“He is a legend and he helped tennis grow around the world. He is an ambassador
of tennis.”
This goodbye
follows that of Serena Williams, the owner of 23 major singles championships,
at the U.S. Open three weeks ago after a third-round loss. It leaves questions
about the future of a game he and she dominated, and transcended, for decades.
One key
difference: Each time Williams took the court in New York, the looming question
was how long her stay would endure — a “win or this is it” prospect. Friday IS
it for Federer, no matter the result.
The Laver
Cup, which is in its fifth edition, was founded by Federer’s management company
and uses a format quite different from a standard tournament. So a victory for
him and Nadal would not mean advancing to another round.
Instead,
Federer made clear that his surgically repaired right knee — the last of three
operations came shortly after a loss in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in July
2021, which will go down as his final official singles match — is in no shape
to allow him to continue, and he will not compete beyond Friday.
“It will be
awesome to see Roger back on court. No one really knows what to expect
physically from him, where he’s at, but ... we’ll enjoy every minute of it,”
Sock said. “Give him a big hug at the end, win or lose.”
Just before
Ruud vs. Sock began, Federer rose from a black couch just off the sideline and
walked over to offer Ruud a pat on the shoulder.
After his
victory, Ruud said about Federer: “All the players will miss him.”
“Roger is a
unicorn in our sport,” Tsitsipas said this week. “He has all my respect, all my
appreciation for what he has offered to tennis today. It’s something that, for
sure, is not going to be forgotten for thousands of years. He has that charisma
and purity and aura about him that made him kind of invincible when he was on
the court.”
Tiafoe’s
take on Federer was similar: “I don’t think we’ll see another guy like Roger,
the way he played, and the grace he did it with, and who he is as an
individual.”
There have
been similar sentiments expressed by many inside the sport and out in the time
since Federer made public on Sept. 15 his plan to finish playing at the Laver
Cup.
The last
hurrah comes after a total of 103 tour-level titles on Federer’s substantial
resume and 1,251 wins in singles matches, both second only to Jimmy Connors in
the Open era, which began in 1968. Federer’s records include being the oldest
No. 1 in ATP rankings history — he returned to the top spot at 36 in 2018 — and
most consecutive weeks there (his total weeks mark was eclipsed by Djokovic).
At the
height of his powers, Federer appeared in a record 10 consecutive Grand Slam
finals, winning eight, from 2005-07. Trace it out to 2010 and he reached 18 of
19 major finals.
More than
the numbers, folks will remember that powerful forehand, one-handed backhand
and flawless footwork, a spectacularly effective serve and eagerness to get to
the net, a willingness to reinvent aspects of his game and — the part he’s
proudest of — unusual longevity. Then, too, there is his persona away from the
court.
All of which
is part of why the truth Friday was that the eventual winner of Federer-Nadal
vs. Tiafoe-Sock, the score, the statistics — none of that would matter, was all
so entirely beside the point. The day was, after all, about the farewell
itself. Or, better, the farewells: Federer’s to tennis, to the fans, to his
colleagues. And, naturally, each of those entities’ farewells to Federer.
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