Frances Tiafoe shares what he told Roger Federer after beating Swiss in his farewell
09/24/2023 08:00 AM
Frances Tiafoe has revealed the message he shared to Roger Federer following the Swiss' final match last year. On September 23rd, 2022, Tiafoe and Jack Sock beat Federer and Rafael Nadal 4-6 7-6 (2) 11-9 in a doubles match at the Laver Cup. There was enormous attention on that particular match since it was the last match of Federer's career. In an interview with The New York Times, Tiafoe was asked what he did he say to Federer at the net. "Thank you for the last 20-plus years. Thank you not only for your on-court play, but for who you are as an individual. What you’ve done will never die," Tiafoe revealed.
After Tiafoe and Sock defeated Federer and Nadal in the Swiss' final match, some weren't happy at all with the American duo. But when Federer was asked about it, he highlighted that Tiafoe and Sock didn't do anything bad in going out - competing hard - and ultimately winning the match. "Me and Jack were joking, should we go hard, should we not, should we make it a good show? I’m glad we went out there and played hard. The result was so irrelevant. Tennis won that night," Tiafoe said. After Federer's career officially came to an end at the 2022 Laver Cup, the Swiss said he felt "complete." "I think I feel complete. I lost my last singles match. I lost my last doubles match. I lost my voice from screaming and supporting the team. I lost the last time as a team. I lost my job, but I’m very happy. I’m good. I’m really good. That’s the ironic part, is everybody thinks about happy fairy-tale endings, you know? And for me, actually it ended up being that but in a way that I never thought was going to happen," Federer said after the 2022 Laver Cup.
