Tennis. Men’s Doubles. Laver Cup
Roger Federer/Rafael Nadal vs Jack Sock/Frances Tiafoe
O2 Arena (London)
23.09.2022. 22:30 (UTC+3)
Roger Federer will play the last match of his professional career today paired with his eternal rival and opponent, Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard and the Swiss will play against the American duo of Sock/Tiafoe. Tiafoe knocked Nadal out of the US Open a few weeks ago, so Nadal will be just fine in terms of motivation.
Roger Federer/Rafael Nadal
Roger Federer has not played a single match on a professional court in 2022, taking part in 16 tournaments in 2021, though without trophies. The Swiss is clearly not very fit, and Federer played very few doubles matches, at least towards the end of his career.
We haven't seen much of Nadal in doubles either, but at least the Spaniard played regularly in 2022. Moreover, the Spaniard won four Wimbledon tournaments, including two Majors in Australia and France. At the recent US Open, Nadal reached the fourth round, where, as written above, he lost to Frances Tiafoe in four sets. Federer and Nadal played as a pair once at the 2017 Laver Cup and beat the Querrey/Sock pair in three sets.
Jack Sock/Frances Tiafoe
Francis and Jack never played in a pair. However, Sock is a doubles player and one of the best on the planet. While Jack has a three-match winless streak in singles, the American paired with Kyrgios in August won a tournament in Washington, paired with Ram reached the semifinals of the tournament in Atlanta, and last week in the Davis Cup the same pair brought two points to the national team.
Tiafoe regularly plays doubles, switching partners often, and not very successful. In London, Frances played with Wawrinka, in Atlanta with Popyrin, in Washington with De Minaur, in Cincinnati with Paul, at the US Open with Kudla. Result: Five losses and one win. In singles, Tiafoe is on fire right now, No. 19 in the ATP rankings after making the US Open semifinals, and it looks like that this is not the limit.
Expert Betting Tips
The obvious motivation is on the side of the Federer/Nadal pairing. Naturally, the Swiss wants to retire by winning his farewell match. Nadal probably doesn't mind a rematch either, recall that Frances beat Rafa confidently in New York two weeks ago. Tiafoe is in good shape, but Frances is not a doubles player, unlike Sock. The Americans haven't played together yet and it will probably take some time for the guys to get fit and coordinate. Federer and Nadal have a slight advantage in this regard, the Spaniard and the Swiss have experience of playing together. In this match we are on the side of the prominent veterans, we think that the legends of tennis will win the meeting. However, we expect the Americans to show effort and win a set. We offer the following betting options for the game:
W1 for 1.66 at Bet365 & Betway;
Correct Score 2-1 for 4.14 at 1xbet