Roger Federer will be making his return to Canada for the upcoming Laver Cup next month. Only this time, he's getting honored at the event.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner retired from tennis action last year at the Laver Cup following his doubles game playing alongside longtime rival and friend Rafael Nadal at the O2 Arena in London. Both rivals were in tears post-match as Federer was getting a sendoff.
Just over one year on, the Laver Cup — taking place at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver this year — announced that Federer will be invited onto the court on Sept. 22 for a special Q&A to mark the anniversary of his last competitive match.
Federer is particularly excited about returning to Canada as well as visiting Vancouver for the first time.
“I’ll miss Laver Cup a lot,” Federer said. “With my last match also played there with Rafa, Novak, Murray, everyone celebrating my career. It was a beautiful moment.
“I am very much looking forward to Vancouver and the Laver Cup being there. Only heard great things about the city so I am really looking forward to seeing how the Canadian fans will be, especially with their great players coming up.”
This will be the sixth edition of the Laver Cup that pits Team World against Team USA. Last year, Team USA won the event for the first time and Federer believes they're more than capable of doing it again in 2023.
“Definitely think Team World can do it again,” he added. “They have a very strong team already this year with Fritz, Felix and Tiafoe. I think the experience of the Laver Cup is like no other. I think going there for three, packed, intense days of tennis, seeing the best players in the world, un unbelievable tennis show, great experience, great venues, beautiful stadiums, everything a tennis lover needs to see once in their lives.
“I’m going to be front and centre watching so I could be more excited.”
The Laver Cup takes place from Sept. 22-24.
Team Europe will consist of the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev with two more players still to be confirmed.
Unlike last year, they won't have Federer or Nadal in their ranks while Novak Djokovic's participation at the event for the third time remains up in the air.
Follow Us
Subscribe