Roger Federer ‘s last appearance at the Laver Cup brought tears to every tennis fan. After an extraordinary 24-year career, the Swiss phenomenon has decided to hang up his racket. The former World No. 1 struggled to take one last lap, but his knee made him see that it was time to call it quits…
The last two and a half years had been a real ordeal for the genius, unable to play as much and as well as he would have liked. The 20-time Slam champion had attempted a timid comeback in 2021, playing just 13 official matches and stopping again after Wimbledon.
Earlier this summer, the Master tried to increase the workload, but found that he couldn’t keep up. The MRI he underwent last July confirmed his fears. The Basel tournament had planned to organize a ceremony in honor of Roger, but he declined the invitation.
In an interview with “Tages Anzeiger”, tournament director Roger Brennwald commented on Federer’s decision. “Roger Federer is one of the greatest tennis players of any era and it would have been a pleasure for us to honor him during this year’s edition,” Brennwald began.
“We would have liked to celebrate his career and the countless successes he has achieved in our tournament, but we understand that Roger needs more time to work through all the emotions he experienced in London. The ATP Basel is still a top-level event.
It is the most important indoor tournament after the ATP Finals and the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000,” he added.
Federer will not be in Basel
Diego Schwartzman was one of the lucky few present during Roger Federer’s retirement at the Laver Cup.
“Federer is an extraordinary guy,” Schwartzman said. “He laughs a lot because of the Argentine accent, because of what we call him, that we pronounce Roger with SH. On the racket he gave me he made a dedication where he put ‘Rosher’
In the Laver Cup I asked Roger for a racket. We made an exchange and he told me that he was going to continue playing tennis with friends and that he would try my racket,” Schwartzman added. Through a press release, the 41-year-old suggested that he still hasn’t been able to fully process his Laver Cup farewell.
“I thank the Swiss indoors for their willingness to have me in Basel this year but I have been trying to absorb everything that took place recently and celebrating at home in Basel will have a very special meaning and comes too soon after London,” he said in a statement released by the tournament organizers.