Rafa Nadal's shock Roger Federer callout sends fans wild
Rafael Nadal has sent the tennis world into a spin after proposing another doubles match with Roger Federer in 2022 after a callout to his long-time rival and friend.
Both Federer, 40, and Nadal, 35, missed this year's edition of the Laver Cup, which marked the first time neither one of them were at the tournament.
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Even without Federer, Nadal or Novak Djokovic on their roster, Team Europe clinched their fourth consecutive Laver Cup victory by powering to a 14-1 win over Team World.
However, many fans felt the absence of 'Fedal' during the tournament.
Federer has been out since Wimbledon after withdrawing from the Olympics and the US Open to continue his recovery from a knee-injury that ruled him out for most of 2020.
Nadal withdrew from both Wimbledon, the Olympics and the US Open after dealing with a foot injury.
The pair are most definitely coming towards the end of their illustrious careers and appear to want to give fans at least one more show side-by-side.
And feeling nostalgic, Nadal took to Instagram and asked Federer a question.
"Roger Federer, doubles next year?" Nadal wrote, with a photo of the 2022 Laver Cup venue in London.
While Federer didn't respond immediately, he sent the tennis world into a spin when the time arrived
"Bringing back the old Fedal in London would be amazing," he wrote.
Proposal you can’t throw away… 😃 @rogerfederer @RafaelNadal @LaverCup pic.twitter.com/nYOJNZ9Te1
— Michal Samulski (@MichalSamulski) September 27, 2021
Federer & Nadal playing doubles in a packed O2 Arena in London. That's something every tennis fan would pay good money to watch. pic.twitter.com/yloomCWg3W
— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) September 27, 2021
Nadal wants to play doubles with Federer in the #LaverCup next year. Fedal one last time. pic.twitter.com/3hCjcq1CBF
— Les Grossman (@olumcjobson) September 27, 2021
Roger said Yes! Fedal doubles in London 2022! pic.twitter.com/GJk6NC8rk5
— Fedal Archive (@ArchiveFedal) September 27, 2021
Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal team up at Laver Cup
Federer and Nadal, who both have 20 grand slime titles each, teamed up for the first time in 2017 at the Laver Cup.
The pair played doubles together, which had the sport world watching on in awe as two legends played on the same-side of the court for the first time in a competitive competition.
This year, Europe were leading 11-1 with one day to go in the Ryder Cup-style event.
Europe needed just one win from the four matches scheduled on Sunday to make it four straight titles.
And the doubles pairing of Zverev and Andrey Rublev obliged with a 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 10-3 win against American Reilly Opelka and Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
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