Roger Federer bowed out of tennis at the 2022 Laver Cup, issuing an emotional farewell to the sport at The O2 in London.
Fittingly, Federer called time on his sensational career at the tournament he helped create, although he didn’t exactly play out the dream ending. His Team Europe side were beaten 13-8 by Team World, while the ATP legend lost his only match.
Federer linked up with fellow icon Rafael Nadal in the English capital, but American duo Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock decided to play the role of the villains. In the final match of day one of the 2022 Laver Cup, they upset the European icons 4-6, 7-6(7-2), 11-9 in a two-hour, 14-minute epic.
World number eight Tiafoe is still playing on the ATP Tour, recently impressing at the US Open. But like Federer and Nadal, Sock has retired from the sport following a long and successful career.
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How Jack Sock performed on the ATP Tour
Doubles specialist Sock enjoyed a fantastic career in the format, with the American most notably claiming three Grand Slam titles. He triumphed at Wimbledon in 2014 and 2018, and at the US Open in 2018. He also emerged victorious in mixed doubles at the 2011 US Open. Sock also enjoyed a superb Olympic career, securing gold in mixed doubles and bronze in doubles at Rio in 2016.
He retired from the sport after the 2023 US Open, having clinched 17 doubles titles and reached number two in the ATP rankings. But he also proved his worth in singles, claiming four titles and a career-high rank of eight.
- US Open 2011 mixed doubles w/ Melanie Oudin
- Wimbledon 2014 doubles w/ Vasek Pospisil
- Wimbledon 2018 doubles w/ Mike Bryan
- US Open 2018 doubles w/ Mike Bryan
Roger Federer receives ‘very special’ honour at site of his tennis farewell
Federer retired a year before Sock, with their meeting at the 2022 Laver Cup of very little significance given his phenomenal career achievements beforehand. He has just been awarded a place in the International Tennis Hall of Fame for his efforts, with another honour now going his way at The O2 arena.
The Swiss hero has just had a room at the venue named in his honour, of which he has said: “The O2 will always be a very special place for me. I have so many great memories of playing here over the years, and of course it’s where I played the final match of my career in 2022. To come back four years later and have a room here is a very special honour.”
READ MORE: The reason Roger Federer created the Laver Cup back in 2017
The new RF room is backstage at the iconic venue, and is the first room there to be named after an athlete. It has been designed to host artists preparing for a performance. Federer is currently at The O2 as it hosts this year’s Laver Cup, with Team Europe looking to avenge that defeat from four years ago.
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