Roger Federer Announces Final Match Will Be Friday As Laver Cup Ticket Prices Skyrocket

Roger Federer announced Wednesday that his final match will take place on Friday in the Laver Cup in London where he will play doubles, possibly with his longtime rival Rafael Nadal.

“I think I can play at an acceptable level. Playing with Rafa would be an absolute dream,” Federer said Wednesday at a press conference.

Tennis Channel will air all matches from the Laver Cup at the O2 Arena beginning Friday.

Federer and Nadal enjoyed one of the greatest rivalries in tennis history, bringing the sport to new heights of popularity while also developing a friendship along the way. Combined, they have 42 Grand Slam singles titles — an all-time men’s record 22 for Nadal, 36, and 20 for Federer, 41.

“I really don’t want it to be a funeral” Federer said of the Laver Cup, which he helped establish with tennis legend Rod Laver and Federer’s agent Tony Godsick, and which pits Team Europe against Team World. “I want it to be really happy and powerful and party mode.”

After Federer announced his impending retirement last week, ticket prices for the Laver Cup began to skyrocket on secondary markets, with Google Trends showing a 4020% spike in demand for tickets, according to aceodds.com

The site said tickets are on sale for £900 minimum for the cheapest seats available from the original sale. To put that into context, the most expensive seats originally were valued at £510. Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated reported some of the most expensive tickets were now going for $414,000.

Federer detailed Wednesday how knee surgeries had driven him into retirement, calling the ending of his career “bittersweet.”

“Dream big and try hard,” he said. “Everything is possible. If you dream very small, you are gonna achieve very small. You gotta keep believing that it's gonna happen. Listen to your parents, coaches and teachers. I try to explain that every day to my children.”

He said it was a shame that he never got the chance to play Carlos Alcaraz, the 19-year-old Spaniard who won the U.S. Open and is now ranked No. 1 in the world.

“It's disappointing I was never able to play against him,” he said. “The U.S. Open has been fantastic. I've always said there would be other superstars and he's one of them. It was nice to see.”

As for his future, Federer said he would remain around the game in some capacity but he’s not sure what form that will take.

“I won’t be a ghost,” he said. “Bjorn Borg didn’t return to Wimbledon for 25 years. I don’t think I will be that guy. I want to let my fans know - you will see me again. In what capacity, I don't know.”