Tennis legend Bjorn Borg insisted there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as Roger Federer retired from tennis. The Laver Cup’s Team Europe captain watched on with the rest of the lucky spectators inside the O2 Arena on Friday night as the Swiss maestro bid an emotional farewell from the sport.
In what was one of the most moving visuals in sporting history, Federer was embraced by all those from Team Europe and Team World, before sobbing next to his great friend and rival Rafael Nadal, who was also very emotional.
And Borg shared his perspective on how it felt to experience Federer’s final moments as a professional tennis player. “After the match, all the emotions came and this is a normal thing,” the Swede told Eurosport .
“He has been around tennis for so many years, but this guy was unbelievable, and he is such a great person too. We know his family and we have been meeting each other for many years. We all had tears in our eyes because this great guy is stepping away from tennis. It is a sad thing, and definitely, we are going to miss him, but to see everyone there ... he knew that everyone supports him, loves him and will miss him."
Borg and Federer, who share the record for the most consecutive title wins at Wimbledon with five, have struck up a good friendship over the years. He revealed what he said to the Swiss legend before the match, as he was feeling rather nervous to grace the court for the final time.
“Roger is a good friend and he is one of the greats," Borg added. "He has always promoted tennis in an unbelievable way all over the world. He was a little bit nervous because he has not been playing too many matches and too many tournaments for a long time, but he did unbelievably well.
"They had a good chance to win, but it was just for him to enjoy himself. This situation with the fans, so many people around the world watching him, I just told him to enjoy it and be happy.” Despite having the ‘Big Four’ of Federer, Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray all playing on the same team for the very first time, Team World clinched the 2022 Laver Cup 13-8 and claimed the trophy for the first time in the event’s history.
John McEnroe’s men clinched victory in each match on day three to overturn the deficit and pandemonium ensued once Frances Tiafoe came from behind to defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas. The seven-time grand slam champion was so thrilled with the victory, he even performed a little jig on the court surrounded by his jubilant players. Despite suffering their first loss in the competition, Borg revealed that he was proud of his squad’s efforts.
“For me, it was very special to have this team, this great team,” he said during Sunday’s press conference. “Of course right now we are a little disappointed because we lost, but the tennis has been great, good matches, close matches.
“But to have the ‘Big Four’, and they are different from the younger generation, the players here, it's been fantastic. Roger here, one of the greats, retiring from tennis, stepped away, and we are all a little bit sad about that.
“But we had a good time. Of course we wanted to win. I mean, that's why we are here. It's a great event. Players like it. We were here to try to defend our title but we didn't. They had a good three days. This time they were better than us. But we will definitely be back.”
