Roger Federer will make decision to play Laver Cup at 'last moment' due to fitness issues

Roger Federer's coach Pierre Paganini has claimed the Swiss star will decide whether he will compete in the Laver Cup at the 'last moment' before his sporting farewell. The 41-year-old has announced that the Laver Cup at the O2 Arena next week will be his last professional competition before retiring from tennis.

Paganini, Federer's physical trainer, says it's uncertain whether he'll compete in London but fears he won't be able to play due to injury. “He will probably decide that at the last moment,” Paganini said. “He's trained to have as much information as possible to know if it's a good idea or not. I'm excited."

The news comes after another Federer coach, Severin Luthi, admitted that Federer aims to play at least one singles or doubles match for the European side at the cup. "It's not final yet but he trained hard last week and is still training this week.

"His goal is to play something - whether it's singles or doubles, we'll have to see, but his goal is still to play the Laver Cup - definitely. We have three in the morning. Trained and the afternoon another two hours of training, I want to do my job well there,” Luthi told the Swiss publication.

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Federer is in Bjorn Born's squad alongside Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud while Matteo Berrettini was recently announced as the squad's alternative, and will step in if Federer is unable to compete. Paganini admitted that he had not spoken with Federer about his retirement, but he knew the decision was coming.

"Not in this form. You can't imagine there being a big meeting where such topics are discussed," Paganini replied when asked if he had advised Federer on his retirement. "No, it's about a person and the very personal decision not to play professional tennis anymore. We trainers are companions, lived with him, had daily conversations, gave feedback. But of course , at some point you felt the direction it was taking.

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