"The weirdest match ever": Jack Sock recalls negativity after defeating Federer and Nadal

Jack Sock reflects on the negativity he and Frances Tiafoe faced after defeating Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal during the Swiss legend's farewell. The former World No. 8 has played a total of four Laver Cups and holds the best record as a doubles player in the tournament's seven-year history (9-3).

Back in 2022, Federer announced his retirement at the Laver Cup, with the presence of his main rivals throughout his career: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray. The Swiss’s farewell match took place on the first day of the tournament when he teamed up with Nadal to play against the American duo of Sock and Tiafoe.

"There was just so much respect for Roger"

Federer’s final appearance generated great anticipation from the public to witness the 20-time Grand Slam champion retire after a couple of years filled with injuries. The Swiss had been out of competition for a year due to injuries but made one last effort to say goodbye to the crowd at the tournament he helped establish.

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The first set went to the duo of Nadal and Federer, but Tiafoe and Sock took the second set. In the third-set super tiebreak, Team World narrowly clinched victory, marking the end of Fed's career with a loss of 6-4, 6-7(2), [8-10].

“By far, the weirdest match I think I've ever played, without a doubt. You know, I didn't necessarily know how Roger was going to play coming back from injury,” Jack Sock commented recently on the Nothing Major Podcast. “Obviously, the crowd is going to be so against us, you know, playing Roger, playing Rafa, two of the GOATs of our sport. And I don't even think our box really cheered for us that much. I think there was just so much respect for Roger.”

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“We obviously got off the court as fast as we could to let him take as much time as he wanted out there, and that’ll forever be the most hate and negativity and criticism I've ever received,” added the former World No. 8. “We were literally, I would say for a period of time, two of the most hated people in sports for like 48 hours. I mean, it was incredible in there, and it never stopped.”