LONDON — After 24 years on the ATP Tour, with 20 Grand Slam titles and 103 tournament wins worldwide to his name, Roger Federer played his final professional match on Friday night, when he partnered with his old rival Rafael Nadal in doubles at the fifth edition of the Laver Cup.
While he and Nadal ultimately lost the match to Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe, it was as entertaining as expected. Here’s what happened:
It’s over — and this wasn’t in the script. Federer and Nadal had a match point at 9-8 in the deciding tiebreak but couldn’t take it. Sock and Tiafoe went on to win the tiebreak 11-9.
“It’s been a wonderful day,” Federer said on the court after the match. “I said to the guys I’m not sad, I’m happy. It feels like a celebration to me. It’s exactly what I had hoped for.”
On to the tiebreak
You have to give it to the Americans — they play a superb tiebreak to take the second set. Federer’s final match will be decided in a 10-point tiebreaker. — Cambers
