Laver Cup LIVE: Two of the greatest Men’s Tennis players in the Open era, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal share one of the most reverred rivalries in the history of the sport. Both the players have played numerous engrossing contests against each other, but it was the Laver Cup that brought both the icons together as they teamed up for Europe. In the first edition of the tournament in 2017, the Tennis world witnessed both the players partnering each other on the same side of the net for the first ever time which was a sight to behold. Follow Laver Cup 2022 LIVE updates in 2022.
Laver Cup LIVE: A lookback on the first-ever time in Laver Cup when arch-rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played on the same side of the net
InsideSport takes a lookback at the doubles contest in the inaugural edition of the Laver Cup when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played together on the same side of the net.
Laver Cup was a concept inspired from the Ryder Cup that pits the best players from the European continent, teaming up together and taking on the players from rest of the world. In 2017, when the tournament was announced, the excitement in the Tennis world was already went sky high as Federer and Nadal were set to play for the same team.
On 23 September 2017 at the O2 Arena in Prague, after winning their respective singles matches against Sam Querrey and Jack Sock respectively, Both the players teamed up to face the Americans in the doubles that sent the crowd at Prague as well as Tennis fans across the world in absolute delight. The Swiss-Spanish pair won the first set 6-4, before losing the second 1-6. They however came back strongly to win the tie-breaker 10-5 to seal the win. What was the highlight of the match was the celebratory hug by the two players after winning the final point of the match.
Speaking after that match, Federer himself admitted that it was something very special playing with Nadal on his side. “This was something very special. It was an absolute pleasure being onthe court with Rafa and seeing his decision making process. The two of us getting together, our two fan groups having to get together, that was interesting too.”
However after this edition, both the players did not play together until now. Nadal did not participate in the competition in the next year, while in 2019 both the players partnered with Stefanos Tsitsipas in the doubles. Both the players missed the 2021 edition due to injuries. TheLaver Cup is all set to kickstart this year on 25th September and one can hope the reunion of Nadal and Federer happens for one last time in the doubles as it is set to be final tournament for Federer before his retirement.
The 41-year old announced that he will be retiring from top-level of Tennis after this tournament this year and he hopes to play atleast in the doubles as it is believed that he is still not 100% fit to play in the singles in top-flight as indicated by his long-time fitness coach Pierre Paganini. However if Federer decided to play in the doubles, he is expected to partner alongside his friend and rival Nadal and would like to sign off in style. However Tennis fans has to wait until the tournament actually begins to see whether this dream reunion becomes a reality once again and for one last time.
Laver Cup LIVE: A lookback on the first-ever time in Laver Cup when arch-rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played on the same side of the net
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