Andy Murray in doubles action, Novak Djokovic to play singles
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Laver Cup: Team Europe 8 Team World 4 – 13 points needed to win
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Murray starts doubles action with Berrettini
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Djokovic to face Auger-Aliassime in singles
12:27 PM
Murray/Berrettini 1-1 Sock/Auger-Aliassime* (*denotes next server)
Confident start by Berrettini on his serve as he holds to 15 with good consistency on his first serve.
He will be tough to break today.
12:23 PM
First Set: Murray/Berrettini* 0-1 Sock/Auger-Aliassime (*denotes next server)
Auger-Aliassime starts the match on his serve and on the opening point Berrettini blasts a forehand straight through him.
Auger-Aliassime then frames a forehand long, 0-30. Nervous start by the Canadian. But a couple of big first serves pulls it back to 30-30.
Good anticipation at the net from Sock to finish with a volley winner, 40-30. And Sock finishes with an overhead winner. Good recovery from 0-30 down.
12:11 PM
Standing ovation for Federer
Potentially the final time we’ll see the Swiss on a tennis court in the UK.
And the majority of the fans are on their feet to welcome him. An incredible reception from the crowd.
12:05 PM
‘The greatest event in tennis’…
Says the court announcer for the Laver Cup as we await the players.
That’s a very bold statement…
11:58 AM
Not long to go now…
11:53 AM
Berrettini on Federer
Having the chance to live what we lived [on Friday] is something that’s going to be stuck in my heart and my brain forever. I’m not lying when I say that I’m here because of him. Like, he was really the one that I was looking up to.
If, a few years ago someone told me, ‘Look, you’re going to play Laver Cup, and Roger’s going to coach you,’ I would have been, like, ‘Yeah, right’.
11:41 AM
This is what the two teams are playing for. Decent looking trophy…
11:30 AM
‘Do not mourn the end of the GOAT – sport always serves up new heroes’
The Telegraph’s chief sports writer Oliver Brown ponders where tennis goes next following Roger Federer’s retirement:
It appears, in both tennis and beyond, as if we are witnessing the end of what we might call “the GOAT era”. Where there is a danger of excessively romanticising the present, drawing awkward comparisons between different periods to anoint Federer the greatest of all time, the statistics do not lie, with the Big Three in the men’s game having stockpiled 57 of the past 68 major titles between them. It seems inconceivable that such dominance can be concentrated among so few. At some point, the torch must be passed. But to whom?
Read more here.
11:18 AM
Good morning
Hello and welcome to coverage from the Laver Cup at the O2 Arena.
It is the final day of the Team Europe vs Team World event and it is the latter who need a big day if they are to win for the first time. After starting the evening session level at 4-4, Novak Djokovic made a scintillating return to action, first dismantling Frances Tiafoe in straight sets then linking up with Matteo Berrettini in the doubles to beat Jack Sock and Alex de Minaur.
It means we start the day with Europe leading 8-4 and needing just five more points to win. With three points available for a win, there is plenty to play for. The opening match of the day sees Andy Murray team up with Berrettini to face Sock and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
That’s then followed by Djokovic against Auger-Aliassime in singles. Djokovic was in dazzling form in his first matches since winning Wimbledon in July.
Federer’s retirement has brought the longevity of his great rivals into sharper focus while fans and pundits have wondered how men’s tennis would cope with the prospect of losing their most marketable athletes. But for now, the 21-time grand slam champion is not thinking about hanging up his racket.
“I’m not playing as much as I played few years ago. I want to peak at the best tournaments, biggest tournaments in the world, which are Grand Slams and some of the biggest ATP events, playing for my country,” Djokovic said.
“That’s what gives me the most motivation and inspires me to play the best tennis. I really want to keep going. I don’t have the ending of my career on the horizon at the moment. “I just want to keep going as long as I feel good and I can compete with the youngsters, that I could be one of the candidates to win Grand Slams.”
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