Novak Djokovic delighted to contribute after watching Roger Federer’s farewell

Novak Djokovic made up for lost time with two victories in rapid fashion to help Team Europe take control of the Laver Cup on the second day of the team competition in London.

A day after Roger Federer’s emotional farewell to competitive tennis alongside Rafael Nadal in the early hours of Saturday morning at the O2, Djokovic took centre stage with a routine win over Team World’s Frances Tiafoe before he partnered up with Matteo Berrettini to beat Jack Sock and Alex de Minaur in the doubles.

It put Team Europe 8-4 up going into the final day and with points on Sunday worth three, the hosts will wrap up a fifth consecutive title with two more triumphs in the race to hit the 13-point mark.

Doubles delight for Team Europe.@DjokerNole and @MattBerrettini clinch victory over Team World's Alex de Minaur and Jack Sock.#LaverCup pic.twitter.com/HCUhZcPKYw

— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 24, 2022

Djokovic had been restricted to a watching brief on Friday when two of his biggest rivals – but team-mates for this event – joined forces in a memorable doubles contest that brought down the curtain on Federer’s illustrious career.

If the Serbian was itching for a piece of the action, it was not evident during his cheerleader role in the ‘last dance’ of his old adversary but when he stepped onto the court on Saturday night, it represented his first contest since a seventh Wimbledon victory was clinched in July.

Up against US Open semi-finalist Tiafoe, Djokovic had sealed an almost flawless first set inside half an hour.

It was a sign of things to come from the 21-time grand slam champion, who wrapped up a 6-1 6-3 success in 73 minutes and looked in tip-top shape.

Djokovic said on court: “I haven’t played for a few months, the last match