Roger Federer ended his professional career today after playing a doubles match at the Laver Cup alongside long-time rival Rafael Nadal. The pair lost 6-4, 6-7, 9-11 to the American team of Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe. SI’s Jon Wertheim and Chris Almeida reflect on Federer’s retirement, his final match and his legacy.
Jon Wertheim: We all thought that was going to end up in England, but not indoors but probably at a prestigious grass event which he’s won more than anyone else.
Chris Almeida: Probably also with a one-on-one match.
JW: Right, we all assumed he would be alone on his side of the net. However, Roger Federer’s retirement at an event named after the last man to win the Grand Slam has some symbolism as he shares half the seat with his biggest rival. Federer has shown, among other things, that an opponent does not have to be an enemy. It’s appropriate that he’s playing alongside someone who’s pushed and challenged him and…
CA: And took a lot from him! And he could get over it.
JW: Exactly. If Rafa Nadal follows his uncle and plays football, you could say Federer has 40 major titles. And you could also say that without Nadal, Federer won’t stay in his 40s. It’s a great case study of rivalry. Nadal took away some of those titles, but he probably gave something to Federer as well.
CA: Many of the changes that Federer made to his game in the, I want to say late, but actually I mean the second half of his career, were driven by Nadal. Roger’s sneak attack, backhand flattening in 2017 to take away that high, swirling ball…even the racquet change he made about ten years ago shouldn’t do a small part to help deal with that heavy topspin that the old 90 square inch head couldn’t.
It’s fitting that they wrap this thing up together. I know it’s not the first time it’s happened, but anyway Federer is ending his career as a player With a rival at an event he was leading and bringing a lot of the top guys to an event they all seem to really love, it’s in his character.
JW: Yes, that’s his baby. It’s an event named after Rod Laver, its teams are led by John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg… it’s about past, present and future. It’s more about tennis lineage than a player, which is in line with Federer.
CA: Leave it to him to host this event that… mainly benefits everyone else.
Anyway, we should talk about the game itself. It was actually pretty exciting. And before we really get into that, a side note: Jack Sock is very good. I guess that’s no surprise for someone who follows doubles, but he rarely gets that kind of spotlight, so good for him.
But yeah, you just tweeted that Federer didn’t look compromised. To be fair, he wasn’t handsome, sure, but at the age of 41 after a year and a half of being laid off, things could have been a lot worse.
JW: If you told Roger Federer that he was going to play his last match and it was a takeaway Damn it, Jack Sockwell, I certainly wouldn’t have seen the end of the story like that, but that’s why we love sports.
For a man who hadn’t played in over a year, Federer more than held his own. Nadal was more nervous than I’ve ever seen him. The whole thing was a bit strange. It’s after midnight in London. It was double. It was in this competition that strives to be non-exhibition but also doesn’t really have the feel of a traditional tournament. A little strange but nice.
And it reminds me a little bit of Serena, where it started, where you think: I hope this isn’t embarrassing. And then you think Boy I don’t know, there’s still tennis talent out there. That didn’t look like a player at the end.
CA: He looked solid, especially from the back of the pitch. The groundstrokes looked really good, his movement looked. At net his volleys looked a bit sloppy and he seemed a little hesitant when he jacked off, but it was a pretty good performance against perhaps the best doubles player in the world and Tiafoe, who is a real force in singles. So this wasn’t just a setup against fools.
JW: Yes, and Federer and Nadal gave them a good 20 years.
CA: Oh, now Roger is crying. What a guy, of course he is.
JW: Rafa is crying too.
CA: now the is something I can’t remember seeing before.
JW: If we say that Serena Williams’ great contribution to the sport was that she really expanded the possibilities and expanded the tennis demographic. It could be Federer’s contribution that he turned this individual sport into a team sport and showed that you can be really good and still be nice.
CA: That it was okay to be happy.
JW: One of the great legacies of his career is that he showed that you can like the person on the web. He showed that you can be really, really good and really nice.
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