If tournaments and history are built on the power of the image, Roger Federer can surely be more than happy because his toy, this Laver Cup that is slowly gaining profile, incorporated another frame of high symbolic content this Sunday. There shines the scene in 2017 in which Rafael Nadal jumped to climb on the back of the Swiss, in perfect symbiosis, and the one that took place five years later, in 2022, when both of them intertwined their hands and burst into tears in duet in the inevitable farewell of the genius and inventor of this intermittent competition that, lacking a history and tradition, the weight of the authentic, relies on aesthetics and flashes. The latter is starred by Carlos Alcaraz, a symbol of modernity and new times, the ideal hinge between one era and another. Without Federer, Nadal or Djokovic on the court, there is surely no more seductive option for the spectator than that of the Murcian, triumphant in his first participation.
Four matches played and three victories, the last of which was decisive. The European team needed to overcome the disadvantage carried over from the previous two days and that’s when he burst in, forceful at the beginning of the day and decisive at the end. As a result, the continental team beat the Rest of the World (13-11) and thus regained control, after having lost in the last two editions. Now, Europe dominates the record by 6-2 and this latest success bears the already prestigious signature of Alcaraz. He (21 years old) and the Norwegian Casper Ruud defeated Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton in the morning session (6-2 and 7-6(6), in 1h 40m), and in the evening he rounded off his performance alone with the points that definitively decided the victory; he did so against Taylor Fritz, beaten by 6-2 and 7-5 (in 1h 30m). From the grandstand of historical figures, the great creator, Federer, enjoyed it.
“He is the first player who started to do impossible shots and I have seen his shots many times in matches. All the children have tried to imitate him and so have I. Both in matches and in training I try to try out those types of shots so that people have fun,” admitted the youngster from El Palmar, aware that probably no one can come close to the exquisiteness, technical purity or artistic dimension of the Swiss, but who is not lacking in virtuosity, creativity or rabbits in the hat. Because he also knows a thing or two about tricks and imagination.
“To start with, I would say that he is one of the five fastest and most agile players I have ever seen on a court. His hand skills are exquisite, he can do whatever he wants with the ball; he has an impressive sensitivity with his racket. On top of that, the power he is able to put into his shots is mind-blowing,” says the captain of the world team, John McEnroe, who next year, from Berlin to San Francisco, will hand over his place on the bench to Andre Agassi; “but the most authentic and fun thing about him is his passion for tennis and that he is able to transmit on the court. He is always able to smile without losing concentration and knows how to get out of difficult situations with great skill. I wish I had that! I think Carlos’s virtues are unique, nothing like it has been seen before.”
His determination made up for Daniil Medvedev’s defeat by Ben Shelton earlier in the afternoon (6-7(6), 7-5 and 10-7), and validated Alexander Zverev’s subsequent outburst against Frances Tiafoe (6-7(5), 7-5 and 10-5). Had the latter been right, his team would have taken the win, but he missed and the Murcian finished off later, praised by his teammates and congratulated by the always restrained Björn Borg. A group of people surrounded him, delicious on the backhand volley, increasingly inspired as a doubles player, solvent throughout the three days – he only lost to Fritz and Shelton, in a tight duel led by Zverev – and decisive in the epilogue; author of eight points at the end, a record that until now no player had achieved in the Laver Cup.
“The world team has a new name for you: they call you Fed 05. That means you’ve been playing as Roger in 2005 [cuando alzó 11 trofeos]. “This is widely regarded as the best season a man has ever played,” former player Andrea Petkovic told her on court. “I’m a long way from that level. Hopefully I’ll reach it one day… But it’s going to be impossible. They have to change my name because Fed 05 “It will be forever for him,” he said on the court. In any case, he receives the sincere applause of the Swiss, 43 years old and retired for two years. And perhaps there is no greater recognition. After a turbulent summer, a joy in the Davis Cup and another great title after those obtained at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, as well as the Olympic silver: the live blessing of the legend.
