Roger Federer is on the ground in London preparing for the Laver Cup, his final ATP Tour event.

The Swiss legend practised on Monday at The O2 with fellow Team Europe member Stefanos Tsitsipas. Their captain, former World No. 1 Bjorn Borg, was watching on.

^{Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images}
Federer missed last year’s event due to the knee injury that has kept him out since Wimbledon last year. This will be his fourth time representing Team Europe at the Laver Cup, where he owns a 6-0 singles record and a 2-3 doubles record.

Team Europe consists of the ‘Big Four’ of Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray as well as Tsitsipas and World No. 2 Casper Ruud, who reached the final at Roland Garros and the US Open this year.

Team Europe hits the practice court with a special trio: Roger, Stefanos and Bjorn.#LaverCup pic.twitter.com/axVcl1w2fi

— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 20, 2022

Trying to end Team Europe’s reign as Laver Cup champions will be Team World’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Diego Schwartzman, Alex de Minaur, Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock. Play begins on Friday.

The last time Australian James Duckworth played countryman Alexei Popyrin in California, in an ATP Challenger Tour event in 2018, he needed a final-set tie-break to triumph. Popyrin tested Duckworth again on Monday in the first round of the San Diego Open, but the veteran again found a way through.

The seventh seed surged past Popyrin 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 behind 14 aces in two hours and 20 minutes to reach the second round. Duckworth saved six of the eight break points he faced to move to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head series with Popyrin.

The 30-year-old will next try to reach his second tour-level quarter-final of the year, having advanced to the last eight in Newport in July. He will play one of two American qualifiers: Christopher Eubanks or Mitchell Krueger.

Duckworth has found form in recent weeks, having made an ATP Challenger Tour final in France earlier this month. It is an important week for the Australian, who is defending 150 Pepperstone ATP Rankings points this week that he earned last year by reaching the final in Nur-Sultan.

In other action, Tomas Martin Etcheverry won an all-Argentine clash against qualifier Facundo Mena 7-6(6), 6-3 in two hours and six minutes. The World No. 89 will next challenge third seed Marcos Giron of the United States.

There are two matches still to be played on Monday. Eighth seed J.J. Wolf will play fellow American Stefan Kozlov and home favourite Brandon Holt, who qualified for the US Open and reached the second round, will try to defeat Frenchman Constant Lestienne.