Only one day remains until fans can relive the final 12 days of Roger Federer’s career. On Thursday, FEDERER: Twelve Final Days will be released on Prime Video.
Academy Award-winning director Asif Kapadia and his co-director Joe Sabia provide unprecedented access into the end of Federer’s career, from insight into the former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings’ decision to retire to his final moments on court.
In anticipation of the documentary’s release, ATPTour.com looks back at Federer’s final match at the 2022 Laver Cup.
The Swiss took to the court one final time alongside great rival Rafael Nadal.
The pair met 40 times in their legendary Lexus ATP Head2Head series and three more times in tour-level doubles matches. But this was their first time sharing the same side of the court in an official match.
“Some moments I was horribly nervous like before a big final, then some other moments I totally forgot about it because I was with the guys and we were joking. Classic goofiness comes through, and you forget about everything and have a good conversation. You forget that actually, ‘Oh, yeah, I'm about to play in 15 minutes’. That's kind of how I always used to be,” Federer said after the match. “Thankfully in moments I totally forgot about it, slept great, everything was wonderful, I could enjoy it, I feel. And because of that I think I will be able to have a better recollection of how it went, because if it's all just stress throughout and I want it to be only perfect, I know I will remember half of it.”
Team Europe’s Federer and Nadal lost the match — Team World’s Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock defeated them 4-6, 7-6(2), 11-9. But fans will remember the emotions of the weekend more than the points that were played.
The two all-time greats shared an emotional moment together on their team bench.
“The match, yes, in itself, sure, is special, but it's really everything that happened after because I wasn't aware who was going to come to sing, what was going to happen, where I should go, what was expected of me, or how long it was going to go,” Federer said. “Then I guess looking around and seeing how everybody got emotional, obviously it's even better, or even worse, I'm not sure what to say.
“That's what I will remember — the faces I saw emotional, yeah. Rafa was one of them (smiling). I'm sorry.”
It was Federer’s retirement, not Nadal’s. But the Spaniard made clear how important the moment was for him, too.
“For me, it has been a huge honour to be a part of this amazing moment of the history of our sport, and at the same time a lot of years sharing a lot of things together,” Nadal said. “When Roger leaves the Tour, yeah, an important part of my life is leaving too because all the moments that he has been next to or in front me in important moments of my life.”
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