Casper Ruud ensured Team Europe made a winning start at the Laver Cup on Friday afternoon, when he edged Team World’s Jack Sock 6-4, 5-7, 10-7 in the first match of the three-day event.

The Norwegian, who won his only clash at the tournament last year, quickly found his range on the hard courts at The O2 in London. The 23-year-old struck his groundstrokes with consistency during the first set as he outlasted the American in the longer exchanges. He then recovered from a dip in the late stages of the second set, holding his nerve in the Match Tie-break to triumph after one hour and 49 minutes in their first ATP Head2Head meeting.

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The World No. 2 has now won eight of his past nine matches after advancing to his second Grand Slam final at the US Open earlier this month.

Captain Bjorn Borg is aiming to guide Team Europe to its fifth consecutive Laver Cup title against Team World’s John McEnroe side this week in the UK capital. Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas will look to extend Team Europe’s lead when he faces Argentine Diego Schwartzman in the second match of the day session.

Later, Roger Federer will play his final tour-level match when he takes to court with Spaniard Rafael Nadal in doubles. The Swiss-Spaniard tandem will face Team World’s Sock and Frances Tiafoe following the conclusion of Andy Murray’s match against Alex de Minaur, which will start at 7 p.m. local time.

Roger Federer will bring the curtain down on his historic career when he competes for the final time at the Laver Cup on Friday evening in London.

The Swiss star will team with longtime rival Rafael Nadal in a doubles match for Team Europe against Team World pair Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe.

With the world set to watch on TV, 17,000 lucky fans will experience the momentous occasion live inside The O2. Ahead of the clash, ATPTour.con spoke to supporters who have travelled from all corners of the globe to witness the action inside the arena.

Gabriel Blum and son Enrique have flown from Brazil to attend the event. Donned in Federer and Nadal gear, both beamed as they spoke about their excitement of watching the Swiss maestro for the final time.

“We have come all the way from Brazil to watch him. I am a big Roger fan and my son is a big Nadal fan,” Gabriel said [below left]. “I remember watching him play against [Pete] Sampras and beating Pete at Wimbledon in 2001 and I thought, this is someone special. I then followed him closely from 2006. From 2016 I kept telling my wife, we need to go to his matches as he won’t play much longer and now here we are in 2022 and he is finishing. I am very excited to watch him one last time.”

“I am super excited to watch Nadal and Federer,” son Enrique enthusiastically added [below right].

Gabriel and Enrique put on their Federer and Bjorn Borg face masks.
After a stressful 24 hours online, superfan Arslan Bhattie finally secured tickets for himself, his wife Ifrah and his children

“I got tickets in April for session five only because I thought I could see Team Europe win the trophy,” Arslan said [below centre left]. “Then Federer announced his retirement and I went mad. I got tickets for sessions three and four, but I didn’t know he would say his last match would be Friday. Since Thursday I have pressed refresh 5000 times and I finally got the ticket. I am super excited. Ending with Nadal is the best way to say goodbye because Nadal has been such a phenomenal player. You can’t write the script better.”

Joanna Haener and Rolf Haener live in Munchenstein, the town where Roger Federer spent his childhood. They are excited to watch their home star in action one final time.

“We come from the suburb where Roger grew up. It is called Munchenstein. Today I am sad but grateful to see him,” Joanna said [below left]. “We have followed him lots. We were here in London for the [Nitto] ATP Finals, at Davis Cup.”

“We went to Laver Cup in Prague and Swiss indoors in Basel,” Rolf added [below right]. “The Nadal match in the Finals in 2011 stands out.”

For many fans inside the O2, the historic clash will provide an opportunity to say one final thank you to Federer. Marsha Procopio and Athos Rassias have travelled from the United States for the occasion and are excited to watch him finish his career.

“We came to London just for this. We have had these tickets since March, before Roger announced his retirement,” Marsha said [below left]. “We have been Roger fans since the early 2000s, since the beginning. We are so excited to be here. We feel very privileged to be here from this amazing event.”

“There are so many standout matches, the ones he played against Nadal,” Athos said [below right]. “One that sticks out in my mind was in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros [2009] against Tommy Haas. He was two sets down and he managed to come back and beat Tommy.”

For Michael Ferguson and his friends, the occasion will be special.

“We flew over especially for today,” Michael said [below far right]. “We got our tickets in February as we thought the retirement may be coming. I am so excited and super sad at the same time. He has given us so much pleasure over the years. He is a genius. We are all lucky that we have been able to watch him quite a bit at Wimbledon or Laver Cup.”

Doris Loeffel has frequently attended Federer’s matches during his career. She is grateful to have the chance to watch him play for the last time.

“I watched him train [on Thursday] and it was great,” said Doris Loeffel [below], who has travelled from Switzerland to watch the match. “Federer feels good now and that is the main thing. I am just pleased I can be there. I always wanted to be at his last match and here I am in London. Even though it is sad, it is also a pleasure. The very first time I saw him play was in 2001 at Roland Garros. I followed him ever since he won boy’s Wimbledon in 1998.”

Photo Credits: Sam Jacot/ATP Tour

The big focus of this year’s Laver Cup has been the impending retirement of all-time great Roger Federer. But that has not has been the only noteworthy happening in London.

It has also been a reunion for the ‘Big Four’ of Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. The four superstars have become one of the most iconic quartets in any sport, and they took to the court for a practice session on Thursday at The O2.

^{Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images for Laver Cup}
Federer will play his final ATP Tour match on Friday evening alongside friend and rival Nadal, with whom he also played at the Laver Cup in 2017. That year they defeated Team World’s Sam Querrey and Jack Sock. This edition, they will play Sock and Frances Tiafoe.

^{Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images}
There were smiles all around as the Big Four enjoyed each other’s company the night before the action begins. Besides catching up, they posed for photos on the River Thames. Entering the Laver Cup, the stars have combined for 4,043 tour-level wins.

^{Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images}
Not only have the Big Four done a lot of winning, they have done so on the biggest stages in tennis. Nadal (22), Djokovic (21), Federer (20) and Murray (3) have lifted 66 Grand Slam trophies and 329 tour-level crowns. Although they will not add to that tally this weekend, the friends and rivals will try to send Federer out on a high with a Laver Cup triumph.

^{Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup}

One of the things that sets Carlos Alcaraz apart is the fact that he has always been an open book when discussing his hopes and dreams in the world of tennis, even though they are loftier than most. The Spaniard, who used to shout from the rooftops that his desire was to be the No. 1 player in the world, achieved his goal on 12 September when he won the US Open.

But being the youngest No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings is not enough. Now that he has reached the top of the mountain, Alcaraz intends to stay there.

However, that is not his only goal for this season; he also has his sights set on the Nitto ATP Finals, the tournament that brings together the best players of 2022 in Turin, from 13 to 20 November.

“One of my goals is to finish [the year] as No. 1,” said Alcaraz, who has equalled Carlos Moyà’s two-week stint at the top of the pile. “Now that I’ve got there, my goal is to stay as many days, weeks and months as possible. We’re going to work for that.”

His coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, is on board with that message. “It has been seven long and tough weeks on tour. It is time to rest a bit and recharge batteries for what is yet to come. [Maintaining No. 1️] until the end of the year will be a whole new challenge. We’ll fight for it!” he wrote on his personal Instagram account.

Alcaraz is following in the footsteps of Ferrero. After winning a Grand Slam — Roland Garros in 2003 — he climbed to the top of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings following a run to the US Open final. Now Alcaraz is chasing a a title at the Nitto ATP Finals, a feat that the Valencian came so close to in 2002 (l. to Lleyton Hewitt in the final) and which only two Spaniards have achieved (Manuel Orantes, 1976; Álex Corretja, 1998).

“I have several tournaments before the [Nitto] ATP Finals and we’re going to give it our all,” said Alcaraz. “I have several important tournaments and one goal is to try and win the [Nitto] ATP Finals.” Alcaraz already has a guaranteed place at the season finale, as does Rafael Nadal. The two Spaniards are the only men who have secured their tickets to Turin.

However, there are still several months of competition to go and the most immediate concern is taking a short break.

“I want to take a few days to not think about tennis, just enjoy being with my people, my friends and my family,” the Murcia native said. “Right now, I want to try and be a normal guy and be with my friends, which is what I feel like doing most.”

Once that break is over, he will experience something new, taking to court on the ATP Tour as the best player in the world according to the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“When I’m alone on court, we’ll see how I handle the pressure of being the World No. 1, but I’m going to try not to think about it and enjoy myself on court.”

Lastly, the 19-year-old Spaniard revealed that his intention is to keep doing what he has been doing, despite his recent success.

“You are a certain way before you reach No. 1 and become a Grand Slam champion, so why change that?” Alcaraz wondered. “You have to do what you have been doing, feel comfortable with what you do, enjoy yourself, be happy on court, play tennis — and that is what I’m going to do. That’s the secret for me. To try and forget everything else and enjoy playing tennis.”

On a day of upsets at the San Diego Open, second seed Jenson Brooksby bucked the trend to advance to the quarter-finals in his debut at the ATP 250. Opening his campaign on Thursday, Brooksby downed Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in a battle of California natives.

After a single break decided each of the opening two sets, Brooksby broke serve three times in the decider to win the afternoon match. The World No. 50 opened up a 3-0 lead in the final set before McDonald broke back for 2-3, but Brooksby snapped back with eight straight points to move ahead 5-2 then broke again to seal the victory.

“I thought it was definitely a solid match. First match, it’s always good to get through,” Brooksby said after the win. “I was feeling really confident with my training since the US Open, back home in Sacramento. We headed here, it’s a short flight and it’s always nice to play in your home state.”

Brooksby finished four-of-eight on break-point chances, while saving six of the eight break points against him. He won 78 per cent (40/51) of his first-serve points in the victory.

“My serve has been feeling pretty good,” he added. “We’ve been working on a couple things. I still need to ingrain it better, but I think when I did that right my serve was getting a lot better, which showed in the stats.”

The American improved to 9-6 in his past 15 matches, all against Top 100 opposition. A two-time ATP Tour finalist in 2022, and a three-time finalist in his young career, Brooksby is seeking his first tour-level title this week. He could rise as high as World No. 37 with the San Diego trophy, according to the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

Brooksby will face Christopher O’Connell in the quarter-finals, after the Aussie’s 6-3, 7-5 victory against eighth-seeded American J.J. Wolf.

Fourth seed Pedro Martinez of Spain was also knocked out on Thursday, Colombia’s Daniel Elahi Galan coming from behind for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 upset. Galan will next face Brandon Nakashima — the fifth seed and San Diego native — who closed the evening’s play with a 6-3, 6-4 win against fellow American Denis Kudla.

Top seed Daniel Evans also avoided an upset by defeating Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-4 to open the evening session. The Briton will next face France’s Constant Lestienne, who knocked off Chilean sixth seed Alejandro Tabilo, 6-1, 6-3.

As Roger Federer steps into retirement at the Laver Cup following 25 years on the ATP Tour, it’s time to prove how much you know about his legendary tennis career.

He faced his two biggest rivals, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, a total of 90 times – whom did he play more? Of his 20 Grand Slam titles, how many did Federer win at Wimbledon? Did the Swiss ever face his idol, Pete Sampras, before the American finished his Hall of Fame career with triumph at the 2002 US Open?

Take the Federer quiz, share your results and challenge your tennis friends to see who does best!

Federer climbed to the top of the sport for the first time aged 22, reaching World No. 1 on 2 February 2004. He earned 1,251 tour-level wins and 103 titles during his illustrious career. 

“You always want to play forever. I love being out on court, I love playing against the guys and I love travelling. I never really felt like it was that hard for me to do, of winning, learn from losing, it was all perfect,” Federer said ahead of the Laver Cup. “I love my career from every angle. That’s the bitter part [of retiring]. The sweet part was that I know everybody has to do it at one point. Everybody has to leave the game. It’s been a great, great journey. For that, I’m really grateful.”