September 24, 2022-an emotional night at the Centre Court. The atmosphere of the stadium was heavy due to the departure of one of the greatest in the racquet sport, Roger Federer. On the night of Federer’s final career match, the American tennis player Jack Sock expressed his gratitude. However, in a humorous turn of events, Sock jokingly apologized to Federer before the match, saying, “don’t want to spoil the night.”

Despite this lighthearted comment, Sock and his partner, Frances Tiafoe, went on to deliver a stunning upset, defeating the legendary duo of Federer and Nadal in a thrilling doubles match. The American duo’s victory naturally sparked a wave of discussion and reactions on social media. Well, during the 20th September episode of the ‘Nothing Major’ podcast, Jack Sock stated,

“That’ll forever be the most hate and negativity and criticism I’ve ever received. And I mean, we get some crazy, crazy stuff, I think, especially from people that assuming gamble on the sport, and they like to DM you after, you know your normal ATP losses, and they say some pretty horrible things. This was tenfold of that!” 

Sock further went on to reveal how difficult were the aftermath was for him: “Just with all the obviously loyal Roger Federer fans, Rafael Nadal fans out there over the years, we were literally the, I would say, for a period of time, probably the most to the most hated people in sports, for like, 48 hours. I mean, I was it was incredible in there. And it never stopped.” What are his doubles partner, Frances Tiafoe’s thoughts on that iconic match?

Tiafoe also revisited those emotional moments from Roger Federer‘s farewell match during a recent interview. According to the 26-year-old Floridan, “It was a crazy moment when they both cried while holding hands. I saw myself at 8 or 9 years old watching their matches on big stages and in Roger’s last match, seeing them in that moment was incredible…I think experiencing it on-site is the most impressive thing that has ever happened to me.“

Shortly after that disappointing loss, Federer walked inside the locker room and he was heard saying to Rafa in a documentary film (available on Amazon’s Prime Video), “Imagine if we would have won the doubles.” In reply, the Spaniard hilariously shouted, “F-king Tiafoe.” So, this match had fun, anger, and sorrow all at the same time. Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe are probably two of the luckiest players in the tennis world to witness those moments from such a close distance.

Jack Sock reveals his admiration for Roger Federer

Although the whole crowd was against the two Americans in that match, Jack Sock says, it was, “Probably the biggest in my career, in Frances’s career, playing Roger, playing Rafa Nova, playing the goats of our sport.” He explained that epic match in the Laver Cup as the “weirdest match” that he has ever played in his entire career. Explaining the last few moments of that match, Sock said, “I don’t think it settled in until after. When I hit that last shot and realized it was over, it was, like, kind of went numb.” Such was the emotional run in this doubles clash!

Jack Sock has previously faced Roger Federer four times in his career and he has lost all four of those matches. However, a hilarious moment of him distracting Federer by turning his back in the middle of a point at the ATP Finals in 2017 stands tall above all the moments featuring these two. Last year, Sock even shared an IG story highlighting this incident, and he wrote, “Whatever it takes to win a point” in the captions. Playing against Federer meant a lot to this American star. He has always seen the ‘Swiss Maestro’ as a role model in his tennis career.

During an interview with WWD in 2015, Sock was asked to name the player who he admires the most in the sport. His reply was, “Roger [Federer] is the ultimate role model. He goes about his business in the most professional way and he’s always nice and very kind to everyone in the locker room. He and I have had a few conversations over the years and spent some time together, and he has always been a positive influence.”

We have heard Sock and Tiafoe’s thoughts on Roger Federer’s farewell match. Now it’s time for you to share your thoughts on that match in the comment box.