Roger Federer retires in the Laver Cup: when to play and how is the tournament that will mark his farewell to tennis

Roger Federer He announced his retirement in a video through his social networks and decided to end his brilliant career. The 41-year-old Swiss won 20 Grand Slamsa total of 103 ATP titles in single and it was Olympic medal. But most of all he emerged as one of the best tennis players of all time and won fans over with his unique style.

The last time in a Federer field will be in fifth edition of the Laver Cupfrom which it will be played 23-25 ​​September of the same month, at The O2 Arena in London, UK. It is an exhibition tournament organized by himself since 2017 that wants to be his great legacy.

The annual tournament pits Europe against the rest of the world and was founded by Federer in honor of tennis legend Rod Laver. The inaugural edition took place in 2017 at the Sazka Arena in Prague and continued to be presented every year except for the 2020 edition, which took place the following year due to calendar issues and the celebration of the Olympic Games.

While there has been a lot of speculation about Federer’s physical condition and rumors about a possible loss from a right knee injury, the truth is that the 20-time Grand Slam winner will be there to greet tennis at this edition of Laver Equipment. Cup sharing with the historian Rafael Nadal (3rd), Novak Djokovic (6 °) e Andrea Murray (51 °), in addition to Stefanos Tsitsipas (5th) e Casper Ruud (7th), who together will form the European team, led by the great Bjorn Borg.

For the challenging team, Diego Schwartzmann (15 °), Felix Auger-Aliassime (8 °), Taylor Fritz (12 °), Jack Sock (107 °), John Isner (48 °) and Alex de Minaur (20th) are chosen to represent the rest of the world, which will not have Australian Nick Kyrgios (25th), who refused to participate in the tournament to return to his country to rest.

tournament format

That said, the Laver cup It has been held since 2017 pitting the European team against the team that represents the rest of the world. But it has a particular organization. Everything is celebrated three daysin each of which three singles and one doubles matches are played, with the first matches worth one point, two those of the second and three those of the last day.

The first edition It was played from 22 to 24 September 2017 at the O2 Arena in Prague. The second edition It was played from 21 to 23 September 2018 at the United Center in Chicago. The third edition It took place from 20 to 22 September 2019 at the Palexpo sports complex, Geneva. The fourth editiontook place on an indoor hard court at the TD Garden convention center in Boston, United States, from Friday, September 24 to Sunday, September 26.

This year will be the most important year as legend Roger Federer says goodbye to tennis: it will be held from 23 to 25 September at Millenium Domme, The O2 Arena in London, UK.

knee problems

The Swiss were dragging in knee injury who operated him in August 2021 and kept him away from the circuit for more than a year. There are those who dreamed of seeing him on the Australian tour in early 2022, but the recovery has become too complex.

“When they operated on me, we already knew that I would progress little by little. Today I can say that it will take me a while longer. I just have to be patient. I am making steady progress,” he said in June.

Then there was an aggravating circumstance that questioned his participation weeks ago: the fluid accumulated in the right knee and this did nothing but generate pain.

The last time he competed on the circuit was in 2021, for the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, a tournament he won eight times, becoming the top Grand Slam champion on grass.

On that occasion he fell against the Polish Huber Hurkacz (then 18th) and has not competed since. In fact, in 2021 he played 13 times, while in 2020 he played only six, managing to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open, where he fell against Djokovic.

But beyond the knee problems and the versions of his absence, the Swiss will again be present in the championship Laver Cup 2022 to greet their fans on the pitch.