Two of the most illustrious names in the history of tennis, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, whose battles formed perhaps the most intriguing chapter in modern tennis, are at the center of the attention at the Laver Cup in London.

Two of the most illustrious names in the history of tennis, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, whose battles formed perhaps the most intriguing chapter in modern tennis, are at the center of the attention at the Laver Cup in London.

Federer, who had earlier announced that he will be hanging up his boots from tennis, with a final hurrah at the Laver Cup hopes to partner with his long-time on-court nemesis and off-court friend Rafael Nadal in the doubles fixtures.

“Of course. No doubt,” Federer said after being asked on Wednesday if partnering with Nadal would appeal to him.

“For us to go through a career that we both have had and to come out on the other side and being able to have a nice relationship is maybe a great message to not just tennis but sports and maybe even beyond,” he added.

Set to retire at the Laver Cup in London, Federer also announced that he would only be able to compete in doubles because of his continued struggles with his surgically repaired knee. After the one match that he’s set to play on Friday, the opening day of the competition, he will be done with the sport where he has brought so much joy to fans and supporters after 1500 matches and 20 grand slam titles since making his debut as far back as in 1998.

“I was in a very worried, scared place to face the music, the media, the fans, and everything,” Federer said. “Being able to talk about it in a normal fashion without getting emotional, just because I know how much it means to me.”

While retirements are hardly easy, it will especially be painful for the Swiss champion who suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of Herbert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2021, losing the final set 6-0. Since then, any plans to return to the sport at the highest level have been complicated by his knee injury which totally gave way after Wimbledon and it even required surgery to fix.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner underwent surgery in August and even began rehabilitation with the hope of returning to full-time competition only for further complications to arise and spill water on his plans, forcing him to take the decision to retire.