Tennis weekly round-up: Roger Federer bids farewell to tennis at the Laver Cup, Brandon Nakashima claims his maiden career title in San Diego | September 19-25, 2022

All eyes were on Roger Federer over the past week as the tennis icon's retirement drew closer by the day. Federer played the final match of his career at the Laver Cup on Friday, but there was no victorious send-off for either him or his team. The Swiss lost his doubles tie, while Team Europe lost the title to Team World for the first time in the tournament's history.

Elsewhere, 21-year-old Brandon Nakashima grabbed his maiden ATP title at the San Diego Open, while Lorenzo Sonego captured the Moselle Open crown. Plenty of high-profile players were in action at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.

However, most of the big names, including Paula Badosa, Caroline Garcia, Elena Rybakina, and Garbine Muguruza were sent packing early. Naomi Osaka, too, had to withdraw before her second-round match due to illness. In the end, it was Liudmila Samsonova who won the title.

Grand Slam champions Emma Raducanu and Jelena Ostapenko had a good run at the Korea Open, but it was Ekaterina Alexandrova who had the last laugh by winning the title.

Here's a recap of all the tennis action that took place this past week:

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Roger Federer says goodbye to tennis at the Laver Cup as Team World wins the tournament for the first time

20-time Major champion Roger Federer's glittering tennis career came to an end over the weekend at the Laver Cup. Federer teamed up with Rafael Nadal to play the final match of his career, but the duo lost their doubles tie. Nevertheless, Team Europe managed to stay on top for the first couple of days and led by 8-4.

Team World started the final day by winning the doubles tie as Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jack Sock defeated Matteo Berrettini and Andy Murray. The Canadian then continued his good run of form to score a win against Novak Djokovic and put his team in the lead.

Frances Tiafoe looked down and out in his match against Stefanos Tsitsipas. However, the American saved four match points en route to a three-set victory to help Team World clinch their first ever Laver Cup title.

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Brandon Nakashima wins his 1st ATP title at the San Diego Open

Brandon Nakashima defeated Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-4 to claim his maiden ATP title at the San Diego Open. It was a perfect place for the 21-year-old to win his first title as it was his home tournament. The American had lost the previous couple of finals he contested last year.

Nakashima will reach a new career-high ranking of No. 48 following his victory at the San Diego Open.

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Lorenzo Sonego clinches his 3rd career title at the Moselle Open

Lorenzo Sonego defeated seventh seed Alexander Bublik 7-6(3), 6-2 to win the Moselle Open. It was his third career title and first of the year. The Italian didn't drop a set the entire tournament.

Sonego's performances improved with every round. Following wins over Aslan Karatsev, Gilles Simon and Sebastian Korda, he knocked out defending champion Hubert Hurkacz in the semifinals. The 27-year-old's season has been rather underwhelming so far. He'll now be aiming to carry this momentum to finish the season on a high.

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Liudmila Samsonova reigns supreme at the Pan Pacific Open

Liudmila Samsonova capped off yet another great week of tennis by winning the Pan Pacific Open. Up against Zheng Qiwnen in the final, she defeated the teenager 7-5, 7-5 to win her third title of the season. The Russian also knocked out a couple of Grand Slam champions during her run in Tokyo, defeating Elena Rybakina in the first round and Garbine Muguruza in the quarterfinals.

All three of Samsonova's titles have come since August and she won two of them without dropping a set. She'll rise to a new career-high of No. 23 in this week's WTA rankings.

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Ekaterina Alexandrova downs Jelena Ostapenko to win the Korea Open

Seeking her second title of the season, Ekaterina Alexandrova was up against 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko in the final of the Korea Open. The first set was fairly competitive, but the Russian steamrolled her opponent in the second set to win 7-6(4), 6-0.

Alexandrova inched closer to a top-20 debut with her title-winning run in Seoul. She will rise to No. 21 in this week's WTA rankings, a new career peak for her.

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