The longtime rivals and contemporaries couldn't hold back the tears after their loss to Americans Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock.
They would gradually cede that momentum to Tiafoe and Sock, although Federer and Nadal took a 6-5 second-set lead after a 10-plus minute game in which the longtime rivals fought off three break points. Federer and Nadal surrendered the second-set tiebreaker then fell 11-9 in the third set.
Federer, who will be replaced by Italian Matteo Berrettini in the Laver Cup singles competition, last played a professional singles match July 2021 in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.He played through injuries and surgical rehab into the twilight of his career, but the announcement of the end came after a scan of his surgically repaired knee, which “was not what I was hoping for.
. “I knew I was on very thin ice for the last year ever since I played Wimbledon. I tried to come back, but there was a limit to what I could do.Now 41 years old, Federer leaves having accomplished a list of feats in more than 1,500 tour-level matches: 310 weeks as the world’s No. 1 player , 103 ATP singles titles and, of course, 20 Grand Slam singles championships — trailing only Nadal’s 22 and Novak Djokovic’s 21.
An emotional Federer thanked supporters and opponents during his post-match comments, but when he was asked about his family, he hesitated. “I’ve done okay, so far. I feel like I’m at least able to talk. In my vision, I was never able to talk, so I’m doing way better,” he said, before choking back tears as he thanked his family.
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