PRAGUE — In the back seat of a new van in an old city, a stubble-faced Rafael Nadal was laughing hard on my right and a stubble-faced Roger Federer was laughing harder on my left.
The topic was doubles, which Federer and Nadal will most likely play together in earnest for the first time at the inaugural Laver Cup this weekend.
Nadal first lobbied to play doubles with Federer in 2006.
“I made him wait,” Federer joked, with a baritone giggle. “When you make somebody wait, they appreciate it more, so that’s why he’s so excited.