Rafael Nadal: I’m super excited

Rafael Nadal said he was looking forward to an ldquounforgettablerdquo doubles pairing with Roger Federer at the Laver Cup which will be final match of the Swiss greatrsquos career ldquoOne of the most important if not the most important players in my tennis career is leavingrdquo the Spaniard said at a preevent press conference on ThursdayAlso ReadLaver Cup Roger Federer eyes dream farewell alongside Rafael NadallsquoGrateful to play with himrsquoldquoAt the end this moment will be difficult Irsquom super excited and grateful to play with himrdquo Federer will team up with longtime rival Nadal for the final match Laver Cup organisers announced on ThursdayThe 20time Grand Slam champion will play doubles with the Spaniard who has won 22 majors at the O2 arena in London on Friday Federer whose most recent competitive match was a loss to Hubert Hurkacz in last yearrsquos Wimbledon quarterfinals has been struggling with a knee problem and will not play singles in London The Laver Cup is a team competition that pits Team Europe against Team WorldThe sixstrong European team captained by Bjorn Borg also includes 21time major winner Novak Djokovic and threetime major winner Andy Murray Their opponents Team World skippered by John McEnroe include Taylor Fritz Felix AugerAliassime and Diego Schwartzman Federer 41 announced last week he intended to retire after the threeday Laver CupHe said on Wednesday that finishing his career by teaming up with Nadal would be his dream scenario Federer said he and Nadal 36 had always maintained respect for each other even as they vied for the biggest trophies in the sportAlso ReadMy best match of US Open 2022 tournament Rafael Nadal after beating Richard GasquetSpecial relationshipldquoFor us as well to go through a career that we both have had and to come out on the other side and being able to have a nice relationship I think is maybe a great message as well to not just tennis but sports and maybe even beyondrdquo Federer said Italian Matteo Berrettini the first alternate for Europe will take Federerrsquos place over the weekendThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever