Vancouver stadium erupts as Roger Federer comes on big screen during Laver Cup match between Ben Shelton & Arthur Fils
Loud roars erupted inside Rogers Arena, Vancouver, for Roger Federer, who was among the spectators on Day 1 of the 2023 Laver Cup.
Federer is attending this year's Laver Cup as a guest. During his career, he competed in four of the previous five editions of the tournament. He also played the final professional match of his career at the Laver Cup last year.
The Swiss maestro was in the audience for the first encounter between two debutants -- Team World's Ben Shelton and Team Europe's Arthur Fils. As soon as the camera turned to him, the arena erupted with loud cheers from the spectators who saw him on the big screen.
Federer acknowledged the crowd with a smile and a wave (as seen in the video below).
Shelton defeated Fils 7-6(4), 6-1 to draw the first blood for Team World. His teammate Francisco Cerundolo later beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 7-5 to open up a 2-0 lead over Team Europe.
"For me, it personally completely exceeded expectations" - Roger Federer on Laver Cup
Ahead of the 2023 Laver Cup, Roger Federer talked about the previous editions of the tournament — which he co-founded in 2017 in collaboration with Tennis Australia.
“We started discussing how I think it would be great to have the best players get together and also have a place where the former greats can reunite and have a role to play,” he said (via Laver Cup official website).
The 20-time Grand Slam champion was nostalgic about bidding the sport goodbye at the Laver Cup in London last year. He also recalled the presence of his fiercest rivals, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, by his side.
“For me, it personally completely exceeded expectations," he said. "Obviously also a little bit nostalgic for me to retire at The O2, where I did play a lot of my matches. Seeing the camaraderie, people from different countries coming together in a team, like me and Rafa or me and Novak, has been wonderful.”
The tournament is named after Australian tennis legend Rod Laver. Laver won 11 Grand Slam titles during his career and remains to date the only man to win a Calendar Slam in the Open Era. In fact, he did it twice (1962 and 1969).