Roger Federer bids farewell as emotional night with Rafael Nadal ends in defeat but celebration at Laver Cup

Updated 24/09/2022 at 12:27 GMT

Roger Federer lost his final competitive tennis match after he and Rafael Nadal were beaten by Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe at the Laver Cup. Nevertheless, it was still a night of celebration for Federer as he said goodbye to the tennis word for one last time in London. Stream the 2022 Laver Cup exclusively live on discovery+ and eurosport.co.uk.

Watch Federer's final point in professional tennis in emotional farewell

Roger Federer was beaten in his final ever tennis match as the Swiss legend and Rafael Nadal lost out to Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe in their doubles rubber at the Laver Cup.

During a week which featured plenty of tributes and celebrations for Federer, the team dubbed 'Fedal' were beaten 4-6 7-6(2) 11-9 by the Team World duo in London.

Federer and Nadal received an emotional standing ovation as they walked out together in front of a sold out O2 Arena in London.

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There were some smiles and jokes early on due to the occasion, in what was a tight affair with both teams unable to find a breakthrough.

A remarkable moment in the third game saw Federer produce a moment of magic with a shot even he has probably never played before.

He ripped forehand down the line with the ball going through the net, where it meets the post on the tramlines, and into the other side of the court.

It led to huge cheers in the crowd and on the court between Federer and Nadal.

“My eye was still good!” joked Federer at the change of ends as the set continued on serve.

Federer hits freak shot through the net in his final match as a professional

Following more coaching from Novak Djokovic and a fan taking off 11 Federer shirts, the team dubbed Fedal saved the first break point of the match to lead 5-4 and broke themselves to snatch the opening set to the delight of the fans.

Sock and Tiafoe fought back early in the second set by breaking in the third game, only for Team Europe to break back in the sixth game to level things at 3-3.

There was a slightly controversial moment when Tiafoe allegedly double hit the ball in the sixth game, which may have been legal since it was done in one swing.

Although the match became more serious, there were still smiles from Federer, until he and Nadal found themselves 0-40 down in the 11th game. They were forced to save six break points in that game alone before holding on.

Iconic moment as Djokovic coaches Federer and Nadal at Laver Cup

The set went to a tie-break which was dominated by Sock and Tiafoe which took the match to a deciding third set tie-break.

Federer knew he was now minutes away from retirement and the crowd roared him and Nadal on as they immediately took a mini break.

A pulsating tie-break swung both ways with the scores locked at 5-5. The next six points were shared as the tension became unbearable.

The first match point went the way of Federer and Nadal, but they couldn’t take it, before Team World won the next three points to end the 20-time Grand Slam champion's fairytale.

Seconds after the match, there were tears from Federer as the crowd stood up for him and he was congratulated by his fellow players.

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“It’s been a wonderful day. I told the guys I’m happy, I’m not sad," said Federer.

“It’s just been incredible. Thank you to everybody, there’s just so many people to thank. It’s been a fantastic night, thank you everyone.”

Earlier on Friday, Alex de Minaur fought back to beat Andy Murray in a tight match that went the distance over two hours and 10 minutes.

It was Team World’s first victory at this year’s Laver Cup after Casper Ruud held off a comeback from Sock to win the opening match, before Stefanos Tsitsipas cruised to victory against Diego Schwartzman.

All of the wins on Day 1 of the Laver Cup were worth one point, which increases to two points on Day 2, and three points on Day 3.