Veterans Federer and Nadal of Team Europe found themselves up against the American pairing of Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock representing Team World. Team Europe won the first set 6-4 before Team World pulled a set back with a 7-2 victory in a tiebreak. With the scores at one set all, a match-deciding tiebreak got underway, with Tiafoe and Sock narrowly edging out Federer and Nadal with an 11-9 win.

In what was a rare game where the final score did not matter, all eyes were on Federer, who was taking his final swings of a tennis racket before entering retirement. “It’s been a perfect journey,” Federer said during his post-match conference. “I would do it all over again.”

Rafael Nadal described Federer’s career as “unforgettable”, adding “When Roger leaves the tour, an important part of my life is leaving, too.”

“This is not the end-end, you know. Life goes on. I’m healthy, I’m happy, everything’s great,” Federer concluded, “and this is just a moment in time.”

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Federer, considered by many the greatest tennis player ever, announced his retirement from the sport last week. But before bowing out, the 41-year-old decided to play one last match at the upcoming Laver Cup that will see Team Europe competing against the rest of the world.

On Thursday, Laver Cup organizers revealed the schedule for Day 1 of the event, with Federer and Nadal competing in a doubles match against Americans Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock. The match is set to be played on Friday night.

“For as long as we battled together, having had always this respect for one another, our families, coaching teams, for us as well to go through a career we both have had, come out the other side and have a nice relationship, is maybe a great message to tennis and beyond,” Federer said about teaming up with Nadal.

Federer won’t stick around to play out the entire event, with Italy’s Matteo Berrettini set to replace him down the stretch.

Federer and Nadal met each other 40 times during their respective career, including nine times in Grand Slam Finals. Both go in Nadal’s favor, with the Spaniard defeating Federer 26 times overall and five times in Grand Slam Finals. 

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In a message posted on social media and addressed “to my tennis family and beyond,” Federer explained that the injuries he suffered in the past years have been the main reason behind his retirement.

“As many of you know, the past three years have presented me with challenges in the form of injuries and surgeries,” Federer said. “I’ve worked hard to return to full competitive form. But I also know my body’s capacities and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear.”

The 41-year-old dealt with injuries many times throughout his career but always managed to come back to the top level after. However, it was different this time as it seemed he had to overcome one issue after another.

Federer’s most recent string of injuries started during the 2020 Australian Open semifinals against Novak Djokovic, when he suffered a groin injury. Shortly after, he decided to undergo a knee procedure with hopes of dealing with a lingering issue. His initial goal was to come back for the grass part of the season, but a setback ruled him out for the remainder of the year and prompted him to have another surgery.

 After being out for more than a year, Federer returned to tennis in 2021. After a series of underwhelming performances, he entered Wimbledon and reached the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Hubert Hurkacz. He became the oldest Wimbledon quarterfinalist in the Open Era at the age of 39. Following his elimination, Federer had to undergo another procedure on his knee, and this turned out to be his final Grand Slam appearance.

“Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamt, and now I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career,” he added.

Roger Federer is known as an all-court, all-around player that can do everything at an elite level. He was the first tennis player to reach 20 Grand Slams and only trails Novak Djokovic (21) and Rafael Nadal (22) in major titles. Federer still holds numerous Grand Slam records, including most Wimbledon titles (8), most semifinals at a single tournament (15 at Australian Open), match wins (369), four consecutive seasons with 2+ men’s singles titles (2004–07), and many others.

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Federer hasn’t played tennis since last year’s Australian Open, being forced to undergo a knee surgery in February that ruled him out for the remainder of the season. The 39-year-old star initially planned to make a full recovery in time for 2021, but several setbacks prolonged his rehab.

“Roger has decided not to play the 2021 Australian Open,” said Godsick in a statement released to media. “He has made strong progress in the last couple of months with his knee and his fitness. However, after consultation with his team, he decided that the best decision for him in the long run is to return to competitive tennis after the Australian Open.”

According to Godsick, Federer is now eyeing a return in late February, and the two are working on a tournament schedule for the upcoming year.

Roger Federer won six Australian Open titles, with the last one coming in 2018. He also has one finals loss to Rafael Nadal in 2009 and eight semi-finals appearances.

This year’s edition of the tournament was postponed three weeks due to a coronavirus pandemic. The opening matches are now set for February 8th, while the finals should take place on February 20th for the women’s singles and February 21st for the men’s singles.

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“Since I won the French Open in 2009, the media has been chopping on this topic. But it is already clear that I am at the end of my career,” Federer explained in a magazine interview. “I can not say what will be in two years. That’s why I plan year after year. I’m still happy right now. But when the cogwheels don’t grip anymore, I stop.”

Federer also expressed his intention to continue enjoying tennis long after his retirement from the professional sport, thereby exhibiting his passion for the game.

After undergoing knee surgery, the former world number one player is expected to once again be match fit in January 2021. By the time he participates in the Tokyo Olympics, it will be his fifth Olympic outing. Federer won the men’s doubles title alongside countryman Stan Wawrinka at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

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According to the magazine, Federer earned just $6 million from tournament prizes while the majority of his money came in thanks to endorsement deals with companies like Mercedes-Benz and Uniqlo. These partnerships made him the first tennis player to be named the highest-earning athlete since Forbes started making this list 30 years ago.

Federer edged out soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi, who close out the top three. Ronaldo earned $105 million, with $60 million coming from sports earnings and $45 million from partnership deals. Messi, on the other hand, earned $72 million from soccer and $32 million from endorsements for a total of $104 million. Ronaldo and Messi shared the highest-earning athlete title between themselves in the past three years.

Despite not being in the top three, the basketball and football players dominate Forbes’ list. NBA stars LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant hold the No.5, No.6, and No.7 positions, respectively, while Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Giannis Antetokounmpo all made it to top 20 as well.

NFL is present in the top 20 by three quarterbacks. Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk Cousins is the highest-earning football player, banking $58 million in salary and $2.5 million in endorsements in the past year. He’s followed by Philadelphia Eagles’ signal-caller Carson Wentz with $59.1 million in total earnings and LA Rams’ Jared Goff with $49 million.

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Federer won the first set easily with 6-3, but everything went downhill for the Swiss after that. Sandgren looked like he is playing the tennis match of his lifetime, while Federer seemed like he is one step too late with his serve constantly loosing on power.

Sandgren took the next two sets with the identical result (6-2, 6-2), and Federer looked like he is in trouble, being set up for another marathon after overcoming Australian John Millman in five sets in the third round.

Federer fell behind in the fourth set as well and seemed like he won’t be able to escape the defeat in this one. Sandgren took 5-4 lead in the set, and was up 40-15 on Federer’s serve, having three match points. Everything lined up for the 28-year-old to claim the biggest win of his career, but it wasn’t that easy with the greatest tennis player in the world being on the other side.

As he did so many times before, Roger Federer reached into his bag of magic tricks and found his way back into the match. Federer first saved all three match points to claim the game and then forced a tiebreaker. Tennys Sandgren didn’t lose spirit and once again had three match balls at 6-3.

Federer held on all three times, and once again at 7-6, to win the set and stay alive in the match. He then easily won the fifth and final one with 6-3 and sent Sandgren home. 

“As the match went on, I started to feel better again, and all the pressure went away,” said Federer. “I don’t deserve this one, but I’m standing here, and I’m obviously very, very happy.”

Federer will face Novak Djokovic, who defeated Canadian Milos Raonic, in the semis on Thursday.

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Dimitrov, who entered this year’s tournament as an unseeded player, claimed an unlikely 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win in a match that was highlighted with Federer’s 63 unforced errors and his struggles with neck and back pain.

After the fourth set, Federer decided to take a medical break which lasted 10 minutes. However, he couldn’t recover enough to close out the match which Dimitrov used to grab his first career win over the Swiss legend.

“Grigor was able to put me away,” – said Federer after the match. “I fought with what I had.”

Federer was chasing his fifth US Open title, first since 2008. And he there was a good chance that he might have reached that, considering that the overwhelming favorite Novak Djokovic retired from the tournament due to an injury.

“Just disappointed it’s over because I did feel like I was actually playing really well after a couple of rocky starts,” – he added. “It’s just a missed opportunity, to some extent.”

Dimitrov, on the other hand, will play his first semi-finals at Flushing Meadows. Although once ranked No.3 in the world, the Bulgarian hit a rough patch in recent years and he is now No.78 ranked tennis player on ATP list.

Beating Federer might just be a lucky break for Dimitrov, or it could mean he is on track to resurrect his career. We’ll find out on Friday when he faces fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev in an attempt to reach his first Grand Slam finals.

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After a nerve-wracking struggle, the fantastic Novak Djokovic succeeded at beating one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Roger Federer, thereby winning his fifth title at Wimbledon. The match was one of the most impressive sports events of all times and it lasted 4 hours and 57 minutes before Djokovic won it with a quite rare score of 7-6(5) 1-6 7-6(4) 4-6 13-12(3).

The crowd was almost unanimously cheering for the 37-year-old Federer, even clapped at some of Djokovic’s misses, which evidently made him quite frustrated and nervous. But that wasn’t enough to stop Djokovic, who despite everything managed to handle himself well and still performed phenomenally, making it seem like the frustration made him fight even more fiercely. In the end, his determination and focus led him to one of the most stunning victories of his career. 

Djokovic said that this was one of the most exciting and thrilling finals he has competed in.  

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The Spaniard Nadal continued his dominance over Roger Federer and threw him out of the French Open while staying on his course to the finals. He won the semi-final match in straight sets, finishing with 6-3, 6-4, and 6-2 on the Roland Garros court Philippe – Chatrier.

The organizers were pleased with the steadier weather after the rains that caused havoc on Wednesday, but even though it did not rain, the weather was far from great as the wind blew clay everywhere and made the players pause before serves.

Nadal said that the conditions were very difficult to manage. With this victory, Nadal now leads 6-0 against Federer at the French Open but this is the second time he wins a match in straight sets.

The match was the 39th time the two legends of tennis meet on the court. But the bad weather left Nadal without an adversary in the finals. The rain caused the second semi-final match to be stopped in the third set, when Dominic Thiem was leading 6-2, 3-6 and 3-1 against Novak Djokovic.

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Veterans Federer and Nadal of Team Europe found themselves up against the American pairing of Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock representing Team World. Team Europe won the first set 6-4 before Team World pulled a set back with a 7-2 victory in a tiebreak. With the scores at one set all, a match-deciding tiebreak got underway, with Tiafoe and Sock narrowly edging out Federer and Nadal with an 11-9 win.

In what was a rare game where the final score did not matter, all eyes were on Federer, who was taking his final swings of a tennis racket before entering retirement. “It’s been a perfect journey,” Federer said during his post-match conference. “I would do it all over again.”

Rafael Nadal described Federer’s career as “unforgettable”, adding “When Roger leaves the tour, an important part of my life is leaving, too.”

“This is not the end-end, you know. Life goes on. I’m healthy, I’m happy, everything’s great,” Federer concluded, “and this is just a moment in time.”

The post Roger Federer Bids Farewell to Tennis in Thrilling Laver Cup Doubles Encounter appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Federer, considered by many the greatest tennis player ever, announced his retirement from the sport last week. But before bowing out, the 41-year-old decided to play one last match at the upcoming Laver Cup that will see Team Europe competing against the rest of the world.

On Thursday, Laver Cup organizers revealed the schedule for Day 1 of the event, with Federer and Nadal competing in a doubles match against Americans Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock. The match is set to be played on Friday night.

“For as long as we battled together, having had always this respect for one another, our families, coaching teams, for us as well to go through a career we both have had, come out the other side and have a nice relationship, is maybe a great message to tennis and beyond,” Federer said about teaming up with Nadal.

Federer won’t stick around to play out the entire event, with Italy’s Matteo Berrettini set to replace him down the stretch.

Federer and Nadal met each other 40 times during their respective career, including nine times in Grand Slam Finals. Both go in Nadal’s favor, with the Spaniard defeating Federer 26 times overall and five times in Grand Slam Finals. 

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In a message posted on social media and addressed “to my tennis family and beyond,” Federer explained that the injuries he suffered in the past years have been the main reason behind his retirement.

“As many of you know, the past three years have presented me with challenges in the form of injuries and surgeries,” Federer said. “I’ve worked hard to return to full competitive form. But I also know my body’s capacities and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear.”

The 41-year-old dealt with injuries many times throughout his career but always managed to come back to the top level after. However, it was different this time as it seemed he had to overcome one issue after another.

Federer’s most recent string of injuries started during the 2020 Australian Open semifinals against Novak Djokovic, when he suffered a groin injury. Shortly after, he decided to undergo a knee procedure with hopes of dealing with a lingering issue. His initial goal was to come back for the grass part of the season, but a setback ruled him out for the remainder of the year and prompted him to have another surgery.

 After being out for more than a year, Federer returned to tennis in 2021. After a series of underwhelming performances, he entered Wimbledon and reached the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Hubert Hurkacz. He became the oldest Wimbledon quarterfinalist in the Open Era at the age of 39. Following his elimination, Federer had to undergo another procedure on his knee, and this turned out to be his final Grand Slam appearance.

“Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamt, and now I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career,” he added.

Roger Federer is known as an all-court, all-around player that can do everything at an elite level. He was the first tennis player to reach 20 Grand Slams and only trails Novak Djokovic (21) and Rafael Nadal (22) in major titles. Federer still holds numerous Grand Slam records, including most Wimbledon titles (8), most semifinals at a single tournament (15 at Australian Open), match wins (369), four consecutive seasons with 2+ men’s singles titles (2004–07), and many others.

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Federer hasn’t played tennis since last year’s Australian Open, being forced to undergo a knee surgery in February that ruled him out for the remainder of the season. The 39-year-old star initially planned to make a full recovery in time for 2021, but several setbacks prolonged his rehab.

“Roger has decided not to play the 2021 Australian Open,” said Godsick in a statement released to media. “He has made strong progress in the last couple of months with his knee and his fitness. However, after consultation with his team, he decided that the best decision for him in the long run is to return to competitive tennis after the Australian Open.”

According to Godsick, Federer is now eyeing a return in late February, and the two are working on a tournament schedule for the upcoming year.

Roger Federer won six Australian Open titles, with the last one coming in 2018. He also has one finals loss to Rafael Nadal in 2009 and eight semi-finals appearances.

This year’s edition of the tournament was postponed three weeks due to a coronavirus pandemic. The opening matches are now set for February 8th, while the finals should take place on February 20th for the women’s singles and February 21st for the men’s singles.

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“Since I won the French Open in 2009, the media has been chopping on this topic. But it is already clear that I am at the end of my career,” Federer explained in a magazine interview. “I can not say what will be in two years. That’s why I plan year after year. I’m still happy right now. But when the cogwheels don’t grip anymore, I stop.”

Federer also expressed his intention to continue enjoying tennis long after his retirement from the professional sport, thereby exhibiting his passion for the game.

After undergoing knee surgery, the former world number one player is expected to once again be match fit in January 2021. By the time he participates in the Tokyo Olympics, it will be his fifth Olympic outing. Federer won the men’s doubles title alongside countryman Stan Wawrinka at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

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According to the magazine, Federer earned just $6 million from tournament prizes while the majority of his money came in thanks to endorsement deals with companies like Mercedes-Benz and Uniqlo. These partnerships made him the first tennis player to be named the highest-earning athlete since Forbes started making this list 30 years ago.

Federer edged out soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi, who close out the top three. Ronaldo earned $105 million, with $60 million coming from sports earnings and $45 million from partnership deals. Messi, on the other hand, earned $72 million from soccer and $32 million from endorsements for a total of $104 million. Ronaldo and Messi shared the highest-earning athlete title between themselves in the past three years.

Despite not being in the top three, the basketball and football players dominate Forbes’ list. NBA stars LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant hold the No.5, No.6, and No.7 positions, respectively, while Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Giannis Antetokounmpo all made it to top 20 as well.

NFL is present in the top 20 by three quarterbacks. Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk Cousins is the highest-earning football player, banking $58 million in salary and $2.5 million in endorsements in the past year. He’s followed by Philadelphia Eagles’ signal-caller Carson Wentz with $59.1 million in total earnings and LA Rams’ Jared Goff with $49 million.

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Federer won the first set easily with 6-3, but everything went downhill for the Swiss after that. Sandgren looked like he is playing the tennis match of his lifetime, while Federer seemed like he is one step too late with his serve constantly loosing on power.

Sandgren took the next two sets with the identical result (6-2, 6-2), and Federer looked like he is in trouble, being set up for another marathon after overcoming Australian John Millman in five sets in the third round.

Federer fell behind in the fourth set as well and seemed like he won’t be able to escape the defeat in this one. Sandgren took 5-4 lead in the set, and was up 40-15 on Federer’s serve, having three match points. Everything lined up for the 28-year-old to claim the biggest win of his career, but it wasn’t that easy with the greatest tennis player in the world being on the other side.

As he did so many times before, Roger Federer reached into his bag of magic tricks and found his way back into the match. Federer first saved all three match points to claim the game and then forced a tiebreaker. Tennys Sandgren didn’t lose spirit and once again had three match balls at 6-3.

Federer held on all three times, and once again at 7-6, to win the set and stay alive in the match. He then easily won the fifth and final one with 6-3 and sent Sandgren home. 

“As the match went on, I started to feel better again, and all the pressure went away,” said Federer. “I don’t deserve this one, but I’m standing here, and I’m obviously very, very happy.”

Federer will face Novak Djokovic, who defeated Canadian Milos Raonic, in the semis on Thursday.

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Dimitrov, who entered this year’s tournament as an unseeded player, claimed an unlikely 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win in a match that was highlighted with Federer’s 63 unforced errors and his struggles with neck and back pain.

After the fourth set, Federer decided to take a medical break which lasted 10 minutes. However, he couldn’t recover enough to close out the match which Dimitrov used to grab his first career win over the Swiss legend.

“Grigor was able to put me away,” – said Federer after the match. “I fought with what I had.”

Federer was chasing his fifth US Open title, first since 2008. And he there was a good chance that he might have reached that, considering that the overwhelming favorite Novak Djokovic retired from the tournament due to an injury.

“Just disappointed it’s over because I did feel like I was actually playing really well after a couple of rocky starts,” – he added. “It’s just a missed opportunity, to some extent.”

Dimitrov, on the other hand, will play his first semi-finals at Flushing Meadows. Although once ranked No.3 in the world, the Bulgarian hit a rough patch in recent years and he is now No.78 ranked tennis player on ATP list.

Beating Federer might just be a lucky break for Dimitrov, or it could mean he is on track to resurrect his career. We’ll find out on Friday when he faces fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev in an attempt to reach his first Grand Slam finals.

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After a nerve-wracking struggle, the fantastic Novak Djokovic succeeded at beating one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Roger Federer, thereby winning his fifth title at Wimbledon. The match was one of the most impressive sports events of all times and it lasted 4 hours and 57 minutes before Djokovic won it with a quite rare score of 7-6(5) 1-6 7-6(4) 4-6 13-12(3).

The crowd was almost unanimously cheering for the 37-year-old Federer, even clapped at some of Djokovic’s misses, which evidently made him quite frustrated and nervous. But that wasn’t enough to stop Djokovic, who despite everything managed to handle himself well and still performed phenomenally, making it seem like the frustration made him fight even more fiercely. In the end, his determination and focus led him to one of the most stunning victories of his career. 

Djokovic said that this was one of the most exciting and thrilling finals he has competed in.  

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The Spaniard Nadal continued his dominance over Roger Federer and threw him out of the French Open while staying on his course to the finals. He won the semi-final match in straight sets, finishing with 6-3, 6-4, and 6-2 on the Roland Garros court Philippe – Chatrier.

The organizers were pleased with the steadier weather after the rains that caused havoc on Wednesday, but even though it did not rain, the weather was far from great as the wind blew clay everywhere and made the players pause before serves.

Nadal said that the conditions were very difficult to manage. With this victory, Nadal now leads 6-0 against Federer at the French Open but this is the second time he wins a match in straight sets.

The match was the 39th time the two legends of tennis meet on the court. But the bad weather left Nadal without an adversary in the finals. The rain caused the second semi-final match to be stopped in the third set, when Dominic Thiem was leading 6-2, 3-6 and 3-1 against Novak Djokovic.

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