Laver Cup takeaways: Is Novak Djokovic the best in the world? What next for Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray?

What a weekend of tennis.

Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Novak Djokovic before Frances Tiafoe clinched victory by saving four match points on his way to beating Stefanos Tsitsipas.

What are the takeaways from the three-day event?

Auger-Aliassime, Tiafoe come up big

If Team World were going to get their hands on the Laver Cup for the first time they needed big performances from their best players, and they got them.

US Open semi-finalist Tiafoe was well beaten by Djokovic on Saturday, but bounced back to overcome Tsitsipas in a thriller, saving four match points in the second-set tie-break and coming up with some high-quality tennis at crucial moments.

“It is an unbelievable feeling,” said the world No. 19, who collapsed to the floor following the win.

“The guys showed up. We all did it together, it wasn’t just me.”

If Tiafoe was the closer, it was Auger-Aliassime who laid the groundwork on the final day, teaming up with Jack Sock to beat Andy Murray and Matteo Berrettini, and then producing a very good display to see off Djokovic in straight sets.

“It was one of the best performances of my career,” said the Canadian afterwards.

Auger-Aliassime looked close to a major breakthrough last season when he made the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and semi-finals at the US Open, but he hasn’t been able to build on his promise in 2022. He is clearly a very talented player with a big game and proved that against Djokovic and in beating world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the Davis Cup last week. Can he use these results as a springboard to more sustained success?

Emotions run high

Friday at the O2 Arena was unlike anything seen in tennis before.

It was after midnight when Federer played the final point of his tennis career. Not long after the tears started to flow.

Federer choked up as he spoke on the court and then couldn’t hold back tears as he sat courtside with his great rival Nadal, who held his hand as both were overcome with emotion.

Federer said it was “exactly” what he had hoped for, bowing out from tennis alongside Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, and with his family there too. If it was a predictably difficult moment for Federer and his family, it was incredible to see and hear what the occasion meant to Nadal as well.

“It has been a difficult day to handle every single thing, and at the end everything become super emotional.”

“For me, it has been a huge honour to be a part of this amazing moment of the history of our sport. When Roger leaves the tour, an important part of my life is leaving too.”

Djokovic makes slick return

For a guy who hadn’t played for over two months, Djokovic looked pretty darn good when he took to the court on Saturday, winning his doubles alongside Berrettini and then swatting aside Tiafoe.

It was a reminder of Djokovic’s class.

“Djokovic is not ranked No. 1 in the world but clearly he is the best in the world,” said former British No. 1 Tim Henman on Eurosport on Saturday.

Djokovic is currently ranked at No. 7, over 3,000 points behind world No. 1 Alcaraz, but has played a shortened season as he was unable to play in Australia, Canada or the USA due to being unvaccinated. He is set to play Tel Aviv this week followed by an event in Kazakhstan and then the Paris Masters at the end of October. As it stands he is qualified for the ATP Finals despite not being in the top eight in the race as Grand Slam winners qualify as long as they are in the top 20.

However, his schedule could be impacted by a wrist injury, which he revealed he has been managing after his loss to Auger-Aliassime.

“I have been struggling with my right wrist for the last four, five days, to be honest. I have been keeping it under control,” he said. “The two matches yesterday probably had an effect. Today was not easy. I couldn’t serve as fast or as accurately as I would like to. That has affected the whole game.

“Could be not playing matches almost three months, and then conditions here are such that the balls are really big and slow. You always have to generate a lot of wrist action and speed, which could be the case why I have been feeling soreness.”

Djokovic is set to play singles and doubles in Tel Aviv this week.

What next for Nadal?

While Djokovic is now back in the swing of things, wrist permitting, the same does not look to be the case for Nadal, who left the Laver Cup after playing doubles with Federer.

Nadal and his wife Mery are expecting their first child soon and it would not be a surprise to see the 22-time Grand Slam champion shut down his season. Nadal suffered an abdominal injury that forced him out of Wimbledon in the semi-finals and then had more problems with it at the US Open, where he lost in the fourth round.

“I’m not good, I’m not good,” he said on Saturday. “The truth is these have been difficult weeks in that sense. Few, very few hours of sleep, a bit of stress in general, slightly more difficult situations than usual at home.

“As a result, well, I’ve had to deal with all that, which is a different pressure to the one you’re used to in your professional life. But, well, luckily everything is good and we are much more calm. And in that sense, I’ve been able to come here, which for me was the most important thing.”

It seems likely that Nadal will now take some time off and look to be in the best shape to go again in 2023.

Murray not planning similar send-off

Andy Murray does not sound like he is going to be following Federer into retirement anytime soon.

The 35-year-old is currently at No. 47 in the world rankings and has scored some encouraging wins this season, even if his form over the summer has dipped slightly. He feared in 2019 that he may have to retire because of a hip injury but now seems to be optimistic for the future.

“I certainly won’t and don’t deserve to have a send-off like that,” said the three-time Grand Slam champion.

“Roger did deserve that night and it was super special having all of those guys there watching on the side of the court.

“I probably would announce when I’m going to play my last event, but when that is I don’t know. I’m still playing competitive tennis and physically feeling good against top players.”

Murray lost both of his matches on his Laver Cup debut, going down in singles to Alex de Minaur and losing in doubles with Berrettini. He has shown he can still compete with the best, but there is still the question of whether he can take another step and again beat the best consistently.