{"id":52387,"date":"2022-09-22T18:54:09","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T22:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=52387"},"modified":"2022-09-22T19:04:11","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T23:04:11","slug":"laver-cup-day-1-session-2-predictions-including-roger-federer-rafael-nadal-doubles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2022\/09\/22\/laver-cup-day-1-session-2-predictions-including-roger-federer-rafael-nadal-doubles\/","title":{"rendered":"Laver Cup Day 1 Session 2 Predictions Including Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal In Doubles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the most looked forward to session in Laver Cup history, Team Europe&#8217;s Andy Murray takes on Team World&#8217;s Alex de Minaur in singles. This match will be followed by the blockbuster, tear-jerking doubles affair featuring Team Europe&#8217;s Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who take on Team World&#8217;s Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe.<\/p>\n<p>Since they are being played on Day 1, both matches are 1 point matches. These will be followed by the 2- and 3-point matches which will be played on Saturday and Sunday before the Laver Cup is awarded Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>Since <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2022\/09\/22\/bending-the-rules-for-roger-federer-at-the-laver-cup\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Laver Cup rules are being stretched<\/a> to allow Federer to pre-plan to play only doubles this weekend, everyone watching knows the night-cap will be the tennis world&#8217;s last chance to see Federer in action.<\/p>\n<p>So, these matches are both Laver Cup critical and part of an emotional ceremony sending off one of the best players of all time.<\/p>\n<h2>Laver Cup Day 1 Session 2 Predictions<\/h2>\n<h4>Match 3 &#8211; Singles (1 Point Match)<\/h4>\n<h4>Andy Murray vs Alex de Minaur<\/h4>\n<p><em>Head to Head: de Minaur leads 1-0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>While everyone is looking forward to the doubles, this match provides a nice story on its own. Match 3 pits a 35-year-old veteran vs 23-year-old climber. It is also a contest between two Laver Cup rookies.<\/p>\n<p>Now ranked #43 in the world, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2022\/06\/26\/wimbledon-2022-andy-murray-continues-quest-to-return-to-previous-glory\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Murray has made an incredible comeback<\/a> from injuries and Covid. His play at the US Open shows he is still a tough out and the best 2 of 3, with a 10 point tiebreaker for the third set gives him a chance to play hard for a short amount of time. In addition, Murray is playing for the home team in his home country. The London fans will be out in force to support their man.<\/p>\n<p>de Minaur had a respectable, but not outstanding summer. He won the ATP 250 event in Atlanta and advanced a few rounds at the US Open. That will not be enough. Murray&#8217;s experience, the crowd, and the Federer effect will be too much for the young Aussie.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Murray in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"PKNWbXtUQKV2VhBTH1qMvA\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1426179048\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'PKNWbXtUQKV2VhBTH1qMvA',sig:'YJRE-vtf7WzN-4yl8VFg-jJatH4pqHkEH1eSMwI0j8s=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1426179048',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>Match 4 &#8211; Doubles(1 Point Match)<\/h4>\n<h4>Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal vs Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe<\/h4>\n<p><em>Head to Head: First Match<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Two all-time megastars vs mid-career journeyman and a rising new star. Holders of 42 Grand Slam titles vs players who have never played a Grand Slam singles final. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2022\/09\/17\/roger-federer-is-the-greatest-artist-in-the-history-of-sport\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Arguably the world&#8217;s greatest ever player<\/a> playing his final competitive match in front of an adoring crowd and a world-wide audience.<\/p>\n<p>It should be, it almost must be, that Federer and Nadal win this match.<\/p>\n<p>Not so fast. If Federer were really healthy, he&#8217;d be playing singles and doubles this weekend at the Laver Cup as the rules prescribe. If this was a stellar Laver Cup duo, Captain Bjorn Borg might hold them for a 2- or 3-point match.<\/p>\n<p>Sock is a Laver Cup doubles stalwart who holds the record with seven Laver Cup doubles wins. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2022\/09\/08\/frances-tiafoe-grand-slam-semifinalist\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Tiafoe is a rising star<\/a> who can jet all over the court and plays doubles somewhat regularly.<\/p>\n<p>While sentiment and history favor Federer and Nadal, Sock and Tiafoe are Laver Cup veterans who can overcome the fans and the wishes for a fairly-tale ending. If Team World wants to challenge Team Europe and finally take the Laver Cup, they need to win matches like this one.<\/p>\n<p>Anyone who&#8217;s seen Laver Cup doubles knows the intensity and skill needed to win; Sock and Tiafoe will have both Friday night.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Sock and Tiafoe in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"qrsKDmOAR3ZbJatmUHz-pg\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/852500744\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'qrsKDmOAR3ZbJatmUHz-pg',sig:'-WbTAbE_bRG6Mbd1rfm62BmQS_a2SW2rQNWdvUbO9Bk=',w:'594px',h:'377px',items:'852500744',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the most looked forward to session in Laver Cup history, Team Europe&#8217;s Andy Murray takes on Team World&#8217;s Alex de Minaur in singles. This match will be followed by the blockbuster, tear-jerking doubles affair featuring Team Europe&#8217;s Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who take on Team World&#8217;s Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe. Since they [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2763,"featured_media":52393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[564,15552,16,16057,348,15512,118,16324,8797,135,15412,114,15836,2373,2369],"class_list":["post-52387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-predictions","tag-alex-de-minaur","tag-alex-de-minaur-predictions","tag-andy-murray","tag-andy-murray-predictions","tag-frances-tiafoe","tag-frances-tiafoe-predictions","tag-jack-sock","tag-jack-sock-predictions","tag-laver-cup-predictions","tag-rafael-nadal","tag-rafael-nadal-predictions","tag-roger-federer","tag-roger-federer-predictions","tag-tennis-picks","tag-tennis-predictions"],"modified_by":"Yesh Ginsburg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2763"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}