Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal team up in doubles at Laver Cup 2022

Roger Federer will compete in the Laver Cup doubles on Friday alongside old rival Rafael Nadal.

At London’s O2 Arena, the pair will compete for Team Europe against Team World’s Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe.

Andy Murray will begin the evening session in singles against Alex de Minaur at 19:00 BST.

Also read: Real Madrid planning Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal match at Santiago Bernabeu

Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, announced last week that he would retire at the team event, which begins on Friday.

The 41-year-old Swiss stated that it would be “wonderful” to come back and play the 36-year-old Spaniard Nadal, who has 22 major titles.

“I’m not sure if I can handle it all but I’ll try,” Federer said. “This one feels a whole lot different. I’m happy to have him on my team and not playing against him.”

Also read: Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal: A rivalry for the ages

Federer also tweeted an old on-court photo of the two of them with #Fedal as the caption.

Nadal stated that he is looking forward to an “unforgettable” match against the American duo.

“One of the most important, if not the most important player in my tennis career is leaving,” Nadal said. “At the end, this moment will be difficult. I’m super-excited and grateful to play with him.”

Federer has been dealing with a knee injury and has been unable to play singles.

Also read: Rafael Nadal on Roger Federer’s retirement decision: Wish this day would have never come

His most recent competitive match was a quarter-final loss to Hubert Hurkacz at Wimbledon last year.

The three-day Laver Cup pits Europe against a world team, with Italian Matteo Berrettini filling in for Federer over the weekend.

In singles matches on Friday, Norway’s Casper Ruud faces Sock, and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Argentine Diego Schwartzman.

Novak Djokovic, a 21-time Grand Slam winner, is also a member of Team Europe, which is led by Bjorn Bjorg.

Team World is led by John McEnroe, who is joined by American Taylor Fritz and Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Also read: Roger Federer, Swiss tennis giant, to retire from official competition after Laver Cup

Federer ideated the Laver Cup, named after Australian great Rod Laver, and Europe has won all four earlier editions of the event, which features ten singles and two doubles matches.

On Friday, each match victory is worth one point, two points on Saturday, and three points on Sunday, with the first team to 13 points being declared the winner.