Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer tease the return of "Fedal" at next year's Laver Cup
Rafael Nadal recently took to Instagram to ask Roger Federer whether he'd like to team up in a doubles match with him at the next edition of the Laver Cup. Now, Federer has got back to the Spaniard by suggesting that he would be up for joining forces with his arch-rival again.
Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev defeated Team World’s Reilly Opelka and Denis Shapovalov 6-2, 6-7(4), 10-3 on Sunday to give Team Europe an unassailable 14-1 lead. That ensured a fourth consecutive title victory for Europe, underscoring their clear supremacy over the event.
But while the team enjoyed perhaps their dominant campaign at this year's edition, their two biggest stars - Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer - were dearly missed.
Nadal has played just seven ATP events in 2021, having aggravated a chronic foot injury during his Roland Garros semifinal against Novak Djokovic. Although the Spaniard did make a comeback to the tour in Washington, he ended up calling time on his 2021 season just ahead of the start of the US Open.
Roger Federer, meanwhile, has had his own physical issues over the last few months. The 40-year-old recently underwent a third surgery on his right knee, forcing him to call it a season too.
Federer, however, did make a trip to Boston to catch some of the action at the Laver Cup. The Swiss, who co-created the event back in 2017, made an appearance at the TD Arena on the first two days of the event.
Rafael Nadal, who participated at the Laver Cup in 2017 and 2019, has seemingly been ruing his absence from the event if his recent Instagram activity is anything to go by. It came as no surprise when he pitched a proposal to Roger Federer on Sunday, asking him whether he'd like to play doubles at the 2022 Laver Cup in London.
"Roger Federer doubles next year?" Rafael Nadal asked on his Instagram stories, followed by a few emojis.
Roger Federer took his time to respond but when he did, he sent waves of excitement across the tennis community.
"Bringing back the old Fedal in London would be amazing" - Roger Federer
Federer re-posted the Spaniard's Instagram story on his handle, and teased a potential comeback to the Laver Cup. The Swiss wrote in the caption that bringing back their old "Fedal" duo at the 2022 edition of the event would be "amazing".
"Bringing back the old Fedal in London would be amazing," Roger Federer wrote on his Instagram story, followed by a tongue-in-cheek emoji.
It is pertinent to note that if Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal do pair up at next year's Laver Cup, it won't be the first time the two legends will have played on the same side of the court. Federer and Nadal also teamed up back at the 2017 edition in Prague, where the beat Team World's Jack Sock and Sam Querrey