Federer to officially retire after Doubles match this Friday

Former world number one and veteran player, Roger Federer, has announced that he would be playing his last match as a professional tennis player on Friday at the Laver Cup, which is taking place in London. The 41-year-old announced his retirement from the sport last week after being inactive for over a year now. But before he goes out, he would be having one final match. 

Federer’s Friday match would be in the doubles format. It is expected that he would team up with Spaniard Rafael Nadal. Federer added that he would like to team with Nadal because the two have shared the greatest rivalry of his career. 

Together, they would play against Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. The details of this has not been decided finally yet, but this is all the information we have regarding that so far. 

According to Federer, the arrangement is that he would team up with Nadal for the Friday match, while Matteo Berrettini takes over his spot from Saturday. Speaking at a news conference, he said: “I asked [Europe captain] Bjorn [Borg] if I could play one doubles, on Friday night, then Matteo comes in. I’m nervous. I haven’t played in so long.”

Federer also mentioned that even though he was retiring, he would not turn into a “ghost” as he would still be visible from time to time: “‘I just wanted to let the fans know I won’t be a ghost. It’s funny. I spoke about Bjorn Borg, he didn’t return to Wimbledon for 25 years, and that hurts every fan.” The great Borg retired from the sport 25 years ago at age 26 after winning 11-major titles and has not been seen much since then. 

“But I don’t think I’ll be that guy,” Federer continued. “I feel tennis has given me too much. I have been around the game for too long. I have fallen in love with too many things.

“You’ll see me again. In what capacity, I don’t know. Still have to think about it a little bit; give myself some time.”