Roger Federer stood alone at the pinnacle of his sport for so long that it felt strangely jarring, with the end of his glittering career only a couple of days away, to hear him talk of finding comfort in camaraderie.
Federer, the winner of 20 grand slam singles titles, revealed in a press conference in London that he will play his final match at the Laver Cup on Friday alongside a yet-to-be-named doubles partner and with Bjorn Borg, the Team Europe captain, sitting at courtside.
It is perhaps not the way a player of Federer’s singular gifts would have imagined bowing out, but the Swiss has long known there would be no fairytale ending in the manner of Pete Sampras, the great American against whom he announced his arrival at Wimbledon in 2001, who marked his final appearance with victory in the US Open final. Having “stopped believing” that he could come back after undergoing surgery on his right knee for the third time in 18 months after Wimbledon last summer, the 41-year-old said he would not have it any other way.
“I just thought it was very fitting,” said Federer. “Having Bjorn Borg on the bench with me for my final game resonated in a big way with me. Having all the other guys around just felt like I was not going to be lonely announcing my retirement.
“I always feel sorry for players who retire on the tour [and] say, ‘I’m going to play one more match,’ then at one point you lose and there you stand, all alone. Obviously, 99% of the time you will lose at one point, because only one guy wins the tournament. I just felt like this works very well here.”
Federer said he had contemplated announcing his retirement before the US Open, but wanted to be present when the moment came and had, in any case, been beaten to the punch by Serena Williams, who announced her own farewell in the build-up to the season’s final slam. Instead, he revealed that his time was up in an announcement on social media last week.
Unlike Williams, who rode a tide of emotion to the third round at Flushing Meadows before falling to Ajla Tomljanovic, Federer will occupy a shared stage in his final match. It is normally a requirement of the Ryder Cup-style competition that only players participating in the singles can feature in doubles. Yet no one was about to deny the Swiss the chance to go out on his own terms at an event that owes its very existence to him. Ever respectful of the game, he nonetheless sought permission from Borg, Team World captain John McEnroe and the ATP to limit his involvement to Friday night’s doubles rubber.
“Of course, this is an ATP event that I don’t want to mess with,” said Federer. “But at the same time, I know my limitations.
“So here I am trying to prepare for one last doubles, and we’ll see with who it is. I’m obviously nervous going in, because I haven’t played in so long. I hope I can be somewhat competitive.”
The focus will now shift to who will partner Federer, although it would be something of a surprise if it were anyone other than Rafael Nadal. Asked if the prospect of rekindling his 2019 Laver Cup partnership with his great rival would appeal, the Swiss did little to play down the idea.
“Of course, no doubt,” said Federer. “I think it could be quite a unique situation if it were to happen. For as long as we battled together, having always this respect for one another, the families, our coaching teams, we always got along really well.
“For us as well 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, I think is maybe a great message as well to not just tennis, but sports and maybe even beyond.
“For that reason, I think it would be great. I don’t know if it’s going to happen, but I think it could be obviously a special moment.”
Federer eclipsed Sampras’s then-record tally of 14 majors with his 2009 victory over Andy Roddick at Wimbledon, and went on to win five more slams. Nadal and Novak Djokovic have since overtaken him, respectively winning 22 and 21 titles, but Federer – who won 103 titles in all, and spent a record 237 consecutive weeks at world No 1 – said he was content with his place in the pantheon.
“I’m definitely very proud and very happy where I sit,” he said. “One of my big moments, of course, was winning my 15th slam at Wimbledon, when Pete [Sampras] was sitting there. Anything after that was a bonus.
“That was the record, you know, and then of course it was other records along the way. But nowadays, I think, and it will only increase, players will want to chase records. It’s true at some point I kind of probably did as well, but not the first years until I got closer to Pete’s record.
“For me, it was about how did I manage my schedule, was I happy on and off the court, did I like my life on the tour? And I did. I think I had the best of times.”