Jack Sock has opened up about the hate and negativity he and Frances Tiafoe received after beating Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in Federer’s farewell match.
The 2024 Laver Cup, which took place in Berlin and concluded on Sunday, was another highly entertaining iteration of the team event, featuring players like Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton, and Daniil Medvedev.
Notable moments from this year’s Laver Cup included Shelton trying to use trash talk against Carlos Alcaraz. That tactic did not work for the American since the world No. 3 defeated him in singles and doubles.
The 2024 Laver Cup was also the final year with Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe as captains. In 2025, Andre Agassi will take over as Team World’s captain, while Yannick Noah will replace Borg for Team Europe.
However, although this year’s Laver Cup was entertaining, the emotion of the 2022 iteration of the tournament will never be matched. It was Roger Federer’s final appearance as a professional before retiring.
The Swiss Maestro played with his great rival and friend Rafael Nadal to mark the end of his career. They took on the American duo of Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock in front of a packed crowd at the O2 Arena in London.
Federer and Nadal were the underdogs after how long the eight-time Wimbledon champion had been out, but they came so close to marking Federer’s last appearance with a win, losing 6-4, 6-7, 9-11 after having a match point.
Sock recently spoke on the Nothing Major Podcast about how weird an experience the match was, feeling like even the Team World bench may not have been entirely behind them in Federer’s final match.
“By far, the weirdest match I think I’ve ever played without a doubt. You know, I didn’t necessarily know how Roger is gonna play coming back from injury.”
“Obviously, the crowd is gonna be so against us, you know, playing Roger, play Rafa, two of the GOATs of our sport. And I don’t even think like our box really cheered for us that much. I think there was just so much respect for Roger.”
The 2017 Paris Masters champion said he and Tiafoe got off the court as quickly as possible to allow Federer to soak in the moment after playing his last match, but that did not stop him from receiving much hate afterward.
“We obviously got off the court as fast as we could or you over to the bench, let him take as much as possible, you know, time as he wanted out there and that’ll forever the most hate and negativity and criticism I’ve ever received.”
Sock said the reaction from some was so extreme that he and Tiafoe were the most hated people in sports for 48 hours. Federer’s adoring fans could not cope with him being denied a victory in his final match.
“We were literally the, I would say for a period of time, two of the most hated people in sports for like 48 hours. I mean, it was, it was incredible in there and it never stopped,”
