“People think, ‘Oh, [Federer’s] retired, so you’re going to retire now.’ It’s just the opposite,” said Godsick. “Before, he used to have the excuse, ‘If I’m practicing or I’m playing, don’t bother me.’ He doesn’t practice and he doesn’t play anymore. So, he’s got more time to create, to think about things. He’s got this incredible partnership with On. He literally is 27 minutes door to door from his house to the offices. So, the shoes that you see, Roger’s actually designing them with their team.
“He’s looking for the next thing,” he added of Federer, who is still heavily involved with Laver Cup planning. “We’re kind of perusing around, what else can we do. At the same time, he’s very hands on with this event. He will come on Monday, he has a little book he keeps in his bag, and he will come with 25 things we either did really well or could do better, different ideas.”
The eighth edition of Laver Cup kicked off with two tense matches won by Team Europe, with a night session to come featuring Flavio Cobolli taking on Joao Fonseca for Team World, which is looking for its third-ever Laver Cup trophy.