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LONDON—It didn’t make the splash of a teenager winning the U.S. Open last month and then becoming the youngest-ever World No. 1 men’s singles player. But Félix Auger-Aliassime kicked that teen’s butt last week.

In what had been expected to be a glorious homecoming in Valencia for debut Grand Slam titlist Carlos Alcaraz, the Spaniard was instead schooled by the 22-year-old from Montreal, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2. Immediately afterwards, FAA partnered with compatriot Vasek Pospisil to win their doubles match. Upshot: Canada progresses to the Davis Cup finals in Malaga and Espana was eliminated.

Further upshot: Auger-Aliassime, despite a second-round dispatch in Flushing Meadows, arrived in London as the hottest of the racquet bunch for the weekend Laver Cup tournament that is also a last hurrah for Roger Federer. Which, naturally, is soaking up all the oxygen at the O2 arena, though the Swiss Express, on his bum knee — hence the retirement recently announced — is expected to play just one match, he and doubles partner Rafael Nadal taking to the signature black indoor court for Friday night’s marquee event.

The big draw is the Big Four together for the first and last time, meat of the Team Europe side — Federer, Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. (We’ll include Sir Andy here for what the three-time Slam champ once was, but really it’s the Big Three having their ‘bro arm-around moment, farewell to Roger and all that.) Team World, for which Auger-Aliassime will battle and with John McEnroe as captain, is nowhere near as illustrious, its mildly glitterati including American Frances Tiafoe and Argentinian Diego Schwartzman. Taylor Fritz, at No. 12, is actually the highest-ranked in the World gang; Auger-Aliassime is next at No. 13.

Since the inaugural Laver Cup in 2017, Team World has always come a cropper. Team Europe has owned them. In Boston a year ago, described as a “nightmare” by McEnroe, Team World got whacked 14-1 in the cumulative points system, that lone point attributable to Denis Shapovalov and John Isner in their doubles defeat of Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini.

So, yeah, Team World has the odor of underdog and shambolic shagginess about them. Defiant, but. “Not going to hold anything back,” vowed Jack Sock, “Sorry, Roger.” And, flipping the bird cheekily to paragons on the other side of the net, Tiafoe, who with Sock faces the Roger & Rafa tandem out of the gate: “I’m just excited to be playing two up-and-comers.”

Auger-Aliassime was along for the horror ride last September, although his loss to Berrettini was agonizingly close and the longest in Laver Cup history (admittedly, not that long a history) at two hours and 52 minutes. “When you look back, it’s really unfortunate that in four times Team World couldn’t get a win. But last year there were some really close matches, especially on the first day. If this year just half of the matches can go on our side, it would be a different story.

“We have some really good guys. Of course, there’s legends of the game in front of us but we’re all young guys playing good tennis, coming up, getting better and better this year. So this could be it.”

McEnroe had yet to announce when and how Auger-Aliassime would be deployed. But the Canadian has the wind under his sails this year, early expulsion in Queens notwithstanding: his first ATP title, at Rotterdam; extending Nadal to five sets at the French Open; reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, holding match point against eventual finalist Daniil Medvedev before falling in five; semi-finalist at the U.S. Open in ’21; three consecutive majors quarter-finals, in fact.

“I played some good tennis in another type of team event last week so I’m going to try to bring that level and that type of energy again coming into this event,” said Auger-Aliassime. “Everybody’s been playing some great tennis this year. But I’ll happily take my part and try to bring my best game to bring some points for the team.”

On the star-studded Team World, of course, the Big Three bring a collective 63 Slam championships and, while Federer is headed for the exits, Nadal and Djokovic are still big game hunters, Nadal No. 3 and Djokovic No. 7, though the Serb would be much higher if he’d just get his damn COVID vaccine, refusal keeping him out of New York and Melbourne.

The much-bruited NextGen guys have barely made a Slam dent, only Dominic Thiem collecting one (1) major and now being leapfrogged by an even younger cohort, including Alcaraz and Italy’s Jannik Sinner. That up-and-comer set, of course, won’t be endlessly running into the same wall of Roger-Rafa-Joker.

“There’s exciting players coming up,” argued FAA, who straddles NextGen and NextNextGen. “We saw for example in New York, Frances in the semis and the atmosphere was crazy. Then that final match, youngest champion in a long time.” (Only Pete Sampras was younger than Alcaraz, by six months.) “There’s exciting times ahead, with a lot of new faces, very intense and entertaining tennis.”

Paying tribute, though, to the old sparklers. “They’ve been icons and idols to all of us sitting up here.”

The Team World Q & A was more of a freewheeling lark, stuffed with encomiums for Federer, who grinned graciously through the whole thing.

“It’s a sad day for tennis, for sports in general, but Roger’s legacy will live forever,” said Djokovic.

After Friday’s doubles cameo, Federer will get swapped out by Berrettini. Big shoes to fill, he admitted. “Biggest shoes ever I saw in my life. I’m obviously happy to be here, regardless of me playing or not playing. Look at this lineup — my idols since I was a kid.”

Nadal was late getting to London — tweeted out Wednesday: “Wait for me!’’ — because his wife, due to give birth to their first child (a boy) in a couple of months had just undergone minor surgery in hospital. Nearly dozed off at the presser before snapping to attention on a question about Federer.

“The memories that Roger has brought to the sport in my personal way is not only in matches against me,” said Nadal, 36. “I saw him playing on TV before I arrived on tour. Then I was able to create an amazing rivalry together. And has been a friendly rivalry. Not easy sometimes because we were playing for such important things in our tennis career. But at the same time, you understand at the end that personal relationships are more important than sometimes professional things and we were able to handle it, I think, in the proper way.”

That certainly had the vibe of a stink-eye directed at, oh, just a guess here, Nick Kyrgios.

“One of the most important players in my tennis career is leaving. Of course I’m super-excited and grateful to play with him.”

Just one bye-bye match and McEnroe had to decide which doubles team he’d send over the boards against R ’n ’R.

“No one was running away from that one, believe me. We had to flip some coins there.”

Sept 23 - Correction - This article has been updated.

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