"There is always hope" - Novak Djokovic hints at Roger Federer coming back from retirement in future
Former World No.1 and 21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has given tennis fans some hope by suggesting that Roger Federer might not have retired for good.
The Swiss maestro played the final match of his career at the Laver Cup on Friday night alongside his old rival Rafael Nadal, which was followed by a teary-eyed farewell surrounded by his family, friends and fellow professionals. However, Djokovic hinted that it might not have been the last we saw of Federer.
The Serbian partnered Matteo Berrettini to victory in a doubles contest against Jack Sock and Alex de Minaur on Saturday. After the win, he stated in his on-court interview that there is always hope that Federer might come out of his retirement in the future.
"I mean, there's probably most of the people think that it's never going happen but there is always a hope that Roger will come back. So we'll play once again," he said.
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However, he clarified that he had no clue about Federer's future plans before asking fans at the O2 Arena if they wanted to see the 20-time Grand Slam champion back, to which they responded with loud cheers.
"Who knows...You guys want him back? Yeah, of course. Let him hear it, how much you want him back," he said.
"The atmosphere is completely different" - Novak Djokovic on playing alongside rivals at Laver Cup
In his post-match press conference, Novak Djokovic explained that the atmosphere at the 2022 Laver Cup is different from regular ATP events. He mentioned that it has been a unique experience to have some of his tour rivals as his teammates.
"Well, first of all, the atmosphere is completely different in the locker room than what we experience normally on the tour, because we are teammates, we are not rivals for the only time probably. Other than this week, we are always rivals unless we are part of the same Davis Cup or ATP Cup team, part of the same country," he said.
He revealed that with only players allowed in the locker room, and no player's team members having access to it, it has made for a one-of-a-kind experience where they can spend time with each other and interact freely.
"Also, our team members, some of us brought team members here, like coaches, physiotherapists. They are not allowed to get into the locker room. It's really Team Europe, only us players. We have a couple of physiotherapists that are normally working with ATP but they're here and coaching team of Team Europe, and that's it," he said.
"I like that. I like that a lot, because it allows us to interact with each other, to get to know each other better, because when we have our team members in the locker room and on the tour, then you spend more time with them," he added.
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