Federer and Djokovic Laver Cup doubles partnership is one we've all been waiting for

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  • New partnership: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will play together on Friday night.

    Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are set to team up and play doubles together on the opening night of the Laver Cup in Chicago on Friday.

    It is the pairing we have all been waiting for and Team Europe captain Bjorn Borg has ‘dual-ly’ delivered.

    Like last year, which saw Federer and Rafael Nadal unforgettably star on the same side of the net, two of the all-time greats will again put on a one-off spectacle under the lights of the United Center against Team World.

    Organisers of the event, played in honour of living legend Rod Laver, who was integral in the early part of the sport’s Open Era, in which players became professional, have been savvy with their marketing, media and promotion work.

    And a Federer-Djokovic doubles pairing is the ultimate ticket to kick-off the Davis Cup-style event.

    With a collection of 34 Grand Slam singles titles between them (Federer – 20; Djokovic now 14 following back-to-back Wimbledon and US Open triumphs), there has always been plenty of respect between the two players, but it is fair to say they have never been the closest or certainly the best of friends.

    The Serbian’s former coach Boris Becker said the two players “don’t really like each other” in his 2016 book Wimbledon: My Life and Career at the All England Club, and while Federer played those claims and others down, their rivalry has been intense and not enjoyed the same pleasantries as Federer and Nadal have experienced on and off the court.

    That said, it is difficult to get along just fine in an individual sport like tennis where the stakes are high and meetings are often career defining.

    Behind the jokes, laughter and friendship we have seen between Federer and Djokovic in the past couple of days, their overall rivalry has been quite the opposite and very intense. Certainly, in essence, Djokovic has been able to get into Federer’s head more often than not and probably inflict some of his most painful losses.


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    Djokovic won the last of their 46 meetings in August’s Cincinnati Masters final, helping him to build a 24-22 winning head-to-head.

    Thirteen of those victories have come in finals, to Federer’s six, inclusive of three Grand Slam final victories for the Serb (Wimbledon 2014 and 2015, US Open 2015) compared to the Swiss’s solitary title at the 2007 US Open.

    The substance to these encounters has been sublime, with Federer’s mix of attacking play, domineering forehand and classical style contrasting to Djokovic’s brickwall return, consistency to get balls back and staying power in the big points.

    There is no doubt this has been the most eye-catching match-up out of all the ‘Big 4’ clashes, which is why it will be intriguing to see how two right-handers balance out tactically on the same side of the net.

    Nadal and Federer had their problems last year, with the notable one being when the latter was forced to duck and get out of the way after the Spaniard had called for an overhead.

    Nevertheless, they clung on for a 6-4, 1-6, 10-5 triumph against Jack Sock and Sam Querrey. Sock will again be on the other side of the posts to Federer this time around but will have the giant Kevin Anderson, who Djokovic defeated in this year’s Wimbledon final, on his side.

    Federer and Djokovic know each other’s games inside out but there is no doubt they will sit with skipper Borg and formulate tactical plans given they have never played in the doubles area together before.

    It is new terrority but fascinating new ground all the same. Let the games begin.

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