The last show of the king of tennis, with London in the background to welcome the event that is expected to be record-breaking.
The Laver Cup scheduled for the weekend in the English capital, fresh from the long days dedicated to the farewell of Queen Elizabeth, is the appointment with which Roger Federer has decided to end his career: the performance at the O2 Arena at the weekend is in fact destined to be his farewell from professional tennis, and fever rises in London to witness the game over of the myth of the racket.
The latest available tickets have reached stratospheric prices.
Federer has landed in the British capital, ahead of the Europe versus Rest of the World match, which he himself organizes through his management company.
Three days of tennis, that this
year - for the first time - will be held in the Greenwich building, former home of the ATP Finals.
On the eve of the debut, however, there remains more than one doubt about the presence on the field of Federer, who last week announced his retirement from tennis: the London one will be his last tournament as a professional.
As if to close a circle since it was in London, now 14 months ago, that the Swiss played his last match, losing in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, against the Polish Hubert Hurkacz.
A defeat conditioned by knee problems that a few weeks later forced him to undergo surgery.
who last week announced his retirement from tennis: the London one will be his last tournament as a professional.
As if to close a circle since it was in London, now 14 months ago, that the Swiss played his last match, losing in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, against the Polish Hubert Hurkacz.
A defeat conditioned by knee problems that a few weeks later forced him to undergo surgery.
who last week announced his retirement from tennis: the London one will be his last tournament as a professional.
As if to close a circle since it was in London, now 14 months ago, that the Swiss played his last match, losing in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, against the Polish Hubert Hurkacz.
A defeat conditioned by knee problems that a few weeks later forced him to undergo surgery.
"He will decide at the last minute whether to play or not - said his trusted physiotherapist, Pierre Paganini to the Swiss newspaper Blink -. It has been since July that he contemplated retiring, when he noticed that in training he was increasingly struggling, increasing the intensity. . I think it is a wise decision, because the problem does not concern only the knee. Roger has played many matches in his career, he has subjected his body to the maximum efforts ".
Even the fifth edition of the Laver Cup, inspired by the centenary golfing challenge of the Ryder Cup, sees the European team - always the winner so far - clearly favored, also thanks to the fact that it has brought together (for the last time) the "big four", rulers undisputed tennis players of the last two decades: in addition to Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray.
Even this explains the rush to tickets, which in the minutes following the announcement of Federer's retirement, reached exorbitant valuations, from 28 thousand to 50 thousand euros.
An unmissable event for fans, regardless of its sporting content: a tournament that promises to be a festive celebration for Federer.
With whom he hopes to play, at least once in his career, Murray, his opponent in 25 matches in the ATP circuit.
"
I was lucky to play against it in big finals - in the words of the Scotsman -.
At the time, maybe I didn't fully understand the importance of those moments.
I haven't talked to him yet, I hope he'll take the field and play doubles with him: it would be special. "And London is ready to say goodbye to the myth of tennis.