Picture Credit: Twitter
Roger Federer hung his racquet as the Swiss played his last-ever game in professional tennis alongside Rafael Nadal at Laver Cup 2022. The two greats of the game partnered to represent Team Europe.
In fact, the Big Four of tennis (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray) played on the same team (Team Europe) at the fifth edition of the Laver Cup. This is the first time it has happened ever that these four are part of the same team and the first time since the 2019 Australian Open that they are part of the same tournament.
Now, as Federer stands retired, a union of these four giants of tennis won’t be a possibility. However, Djokovic teased the fans on the last day of the tournament with the possibility of a reunion as he urged Federer to take back his retirement. Speaking to the organisers after his win in doubles alongside Matteo Berrettini that put Team Europe 8-4 up on Saturday, Djokovic jokingly requested Federer to consider a comeback.
"I think that this competition - Laver Cup - is obviously the only competition where you can have the greatest rivals in your life as your team-mates," Djokovic said.
"That's why we enjoy it very much. Trying to marvel every single moment spent on and off the court, particularly this year with the four of us teaming up - Andy, Roger, Rafa and myself - it's a unique experience. I wanna say, most people think it's probably never going to happen again, there is always a hope that Roger will come back so we could play together again."
Notably, there have been many instances of players making a U-turn on their retirement. However, 41-year-old Federer had no such intentions as he had made it clear that he won’t be considering that option in the future, although he did mention that he would want to play more and more exhibition matches and that he will be visiting all the Grand Slams next year to say his final goodbye.