Federer’s farewell fixture ends in defeat

Roger Federer was handed a defeat in the last match of his career on Saturday, September 24, when he and Rafael Nadal were beaten 6-4, 6(2)-7(7), 9-11 by Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe of the United States in Laver Cup men’s doubles. Federer and Nadal represented Team Europe at the tournament, whereas Sock and Tiafoe played for Team World.

The Swiss maestro announced his retirement from tennis earlier in September on social media. He also dubbed Saturday’s men’s doubles match at the Laver Cup with Rafael Nadal, his last match in career, an “absolute dream.” Federer retires with 20 Grand Slam titles won during his long and prolific career, as the third-highest major title winner behind Rafael Nadal (22) and Novak Djokovic (21).

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Apart from the 20 Grand Slam titles, Federer has also won the Laver Cup three times, the second-highest, following Alexander Zverev (4). Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal has won the Laver Cup twice in his career, along with Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Federer and Nadal began the match on a strong note, winning the first game of the first set and putting up an inspiring display. While the duo won the first set, Team World’s Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock held their ground, eventually breaking their serve twice in the tiebreaker of the second set, winning it 6(2)-7(7).

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Team Europe broke Tiafoe and Sock four times in the third and penultimate set, however, they were also broken five times by Team World in the set. Federer and Nadal led the set 3-0 at one point, however, Tiafoe and Sock registered an inspiring comeback, winning 9-11.

Frances Tiafoe was beaten in the semifinal of the 2022 US Open a couple of weeks back by Carlos Alcaraz. However, both Tiafoe and Sock looked immensely confident against the pair of Federer and Nadal, two of the greatest players of the century, defeating them to win the 2022 Laver Cup men’s doubles title.