Roger Federer has thanked fans and fellow players for providing him with a "magical" send-off at the end of his glittering professional career on Friday.
The 20-time grand slam champion brought the curtain down on his incredible career in a doubles match alongside Rafael Nadal at the Laver Cup in London, facing off against American duo Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe.
Although Federer and Nadal fell to a 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 11-9 loss, the Swiss maestro was given a hero's reception at the O2 Arena, and old rival Nadal joined him in shedding a tear after the match.
Immediately afterwards, Federer joked he was simply glad to have avoided injury and described his career as a "perfect journey".
Federer then expressed his appreciation for everyone involved on Saturday, writing on Twitter: "It was a magical evening yesterday.
"Thank you again to all the players and fans who were here to share this moment with me. It means the world."
Speaking at a news conference after his send-off, Federer described it as "all happiness".
"The match, yes, in itself, sure, is special," he said. "But it's really everything that happened after, because I wasn't aware who was going to come to sing, what was going to happen, where I should go, what was expected of me, or how long it was going to go.
"Then I guess looking around and seeing how everybody got emotional, obviously it's even better, or even worse, I'm not sure what to say.
"The last two days have been tough to say the least. Thankfully, in moments, I totally forgot about it, slept great, everything was wonderful, I could enjoy it.
"Because of that, I think I will be able to have a better recollection of how it went, because if it's all just stress throughout and I want it to be only perfect, I know I will remember half of it.
"I didn't have fireworks in my head where I see my career flashing by, all the things I'm going to miss. It was hard for me making phone calls, letting people know that this decision is happening. There I felt pain, but now, tonight was all happiness."
Meanwhile, Federer has refused to rule out taking part in exhibition matches in the future, stating his desire to allow more of his fans to see him in action one last time.
"The message from me was just making sure I relay my passion for the sport to the fans, and I let them know that hopefully we'll see each other again on a different type of tennis court," he added.
"I have no plans whatsoever, where, how, when. All I know [is] I would love to go and play places I have never played before or go say thank you for years to come to all the people that have been so supportive of me.
"Because the hard part about the Laver Cup was that tickets were already sold out. The people who maybe would have also loved to be here couldn't make it.
"Maybe there is another way down the stretch we can party all together."
Andy Murray will not have surgery on ankle injury but return date unknown
Andy Murray will not have surgery on an ankle injury and his rehabilitation is progressing enough for him to think about a return to practice again soon.
The 36-year-old ruptured ligaments at last month’s Miami Open but he is now out of his protective boot.
A spokesperson from Murray’s team said the former world number one’s “rehab is going well and he is hoping to start hitting again on court soon” but added that “he doesn’t have a date yet for returning to competition”.
Murray was injured late on in his third-round defeat by Tomas Machac at the Miami Open on March 24.
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After crying out in pain and falling to the floor, he was able to complete the match following on-court treatment but revealed in an Instagram post that he had seriously damaged two ligaments in his left ankle.
The timing was cruel for the three-time grand slam champion, who had won back-to-back matches for the first time this year in Miami.
Murray has said he is unlikely to play beyond this summer as retirement looms ever nearer.
It is unclear if he will be fit for Wimbledon, which gets under way on July 1, while the Olympic Games in Paris – which the two-time gold medallist said he would like to play at – starts on July 26.
Dan Evans’ poor clay-court season continues with defeat to Brandon Nakashima
Dan Evans’ poor clay-court season continued with a third consecutive defeat as he went down in straight sets to Brandon Nakashima in Barcelona.
Evans has endured a difficult 2024 as a whole, suffering a first-round exit at the Australian Open, and has now failed to make the quarter-finals in any of his nine tournaments this year.
After early exits on clay in Marrakesh and Monte Carlo, British number three Evans lost 6-7 (5) 2-6 to Nakashima in the Barcelona Open first round.
The contest lasted two hours and 10 minutes but after a closely-fought first set, where the pair exchanged two breaks each, American youngster Nakashima took control in the second to inflict another loss on world number 49 Evans.
Jack Draper fared better in Munich as he beat Vit Kopriva in three sets to reach the last 16 of the BMW Open and claim his 50th ATP Tour victory in the process.
Draper had lost narrowly to Hubert Hurkacz at the Monte-Carlo Masters last week, but bounced back to claim his first win of the season on clay.
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Sixth seed Draper breezed through the opening set in 28 minutes before he let a 3-1 lead slip in the second as Kopriva of the Czech Republic forced a decider after he decisively broke his opponent in the 12th game of the set.
After the British number two rediscovered his composure, Draper was able to claim two breaks at the start of the third set before he registered another in a 6-1 5-7 6-4 success.
Rafael Nadal set to make return to clay at Barcelona Open
Rafael Nadal will make his eagerly-anticipated return to clay on Tuesday after he confirmed his participation in the Barcelona Open and provided a further hint that 2024 will be his last on tour.
Nadal has been ravaged by injuries in recent years and announced last May his intention to retire at the conclusion of this season.
The farewell tour for the 22-time grand-slam champion has failed to go to plan though, after he had to pull out of the Australian Open in January due to a hip injury and subsequently missed ATP 1000 events in Indian Wells and Monte Carlo.
However, the 37-year-old will play at the Barcelona Open, where there is a court named after him, on Tuesday against Italian youngster Flavio Cobolli, which will represent his first professional tie on clay since his 2022 Roland Garros triumph.
“No, I can’t give you an injury update because the list is long and I just want to think about what can happen,” Nadal told a press conference in English.
“I can only tell you that today I feel myself, enough good to be on court tomorrow and that for me is so important.
“It means a lot to me to be able to play one more time here in Barcelona, a place that I have amazing success and a lot of unforgettable memories.
“So, I am just trying to enjoy every moment and I am excited about being on court in a professional tournament again, especially here at home.”
Nadal has won this tournament a record 12 times but has only managed three competitive matches in 2024.
He did recently take part in an exhibition with compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, who will miss this week’s ATP 500 event due to a forearm injury.
Current world number 644 Nadal has battled with his fitness for several years and was on crutches a day after his last major victory at the French Open in 2022, which was followed by injury-hit appearances at Wimbledon and the US Open before he barely featured last year.
This appearance in Barcelona does at least raise the prospect that he could participate at Roland Garros next month and later this year when it hosts the tennis tournament for the Paris Olympics.
Asked if he could envisage such a painful journey, Nadal conceded: “Well, no but the day after Roland Garros I have been on crutches so that’s the truth.
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“In 2022 I cannot and I was not able to think about how long it would take me to be back playing in a clay-court tournament because at the time I was enjoying the title of Roland Garros and trying to be ready for the next event.
“That is what I have been doing my whole life. To think about what is going on day-by-day and just try to adapt to the situation, try to be able to improve under any circumstances to be a better player. That is what I did all my life and it worked well.
“Now I am in a different perspective of my tennis career, a different moment and I am trying to enjoy every moment.
“I was not able to spend a lot of days on tour over the last two years, so I just want to enjoy every day I am able to play with the guys on a professional level. That means a lot for me.”
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