Roger Federer is in Vancouver this week to watch the
Laver Cup, where he played for the final time before retirement last year.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion said an emotional farewell to the sport at the 2022 edition of the tournament, held in London. However, this year he has returned as a spectator and has revealed that he will be keeping a close eye on one particular player.
This will be Canada's
Felix Auger-Aliassime, of whom Federer is a big fan. The 23-year-old has reached as high as World No. 6 in the
ATP Ranking and has four singles titles and one doubles title on the ATP Tour.
However, he has experienced a drop in results recently, only making it to the second round of three tournaments since the Indian Wells Masters in March, where he reached the quarter-finals.
Federer hopes for up-turn in fortunes for Auger-Aliassime
The Swiss player met with Auger-Aliassime at the Rogers Arena where the tournament will be held and praised the young player, wishing him better fortune.
"I’m a big fan of his game, I always wish him the best. I hope that the Laver Cup can be again a turnaround for him," he said.
The World No. 14 echoed these hopes for himself, saying he was ready to go.
"I just got to Vancouver. I'm happy to take part in this year's Laver Cup again for Team World. Let's go back to back. Come on!" he said.
Auger-Aliassime will be attempting to defend Team World's title from last year, which they won 13-8. This year's team also includes World No. 8 Taylor Fritz and No. 11 Frances Tiafoe, as well as Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, and Francisco Cerundolo. Their captain is American tennis legend John McEnroe.
They will face Team Europe, captained by Bjorn Borg and made up of World No. 6 Andrey Rublev and No. 9 Casper Ruud, along with Hubert Hurkacz, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Arthur Fils, and Gael Monfils.
Meanwhile, Federer will appear on the court on Friday, September 22, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of his retirement in a special ceremony. He will be interviewed by Jim Courier and will do the coin toss for the last match of the day.