Roger Federer bid an emotional goodbye to the sport after losing the double's tie against Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock, which saw the 20-time Grand Slam winner partner long time rival Rafa Nadal. The pair representing Team Europe went down 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 9-11 against Team World at the Laver Cup in London.
The result felt a mere formality as the picture of both Federer and Nadal weeping in the same frame grabbed the eyeballs on social media. The heart-warming scene has been shared by many fans along with their messages and former India captain Virat Kohli too has been left overwhelmed with the moment.
Sharing the photo on Twitter, Kohli posted an emotional tribute to both the tennis legends. “Who thought rivals can feel like this towards each other. That’s the beauty of sport. This is the most beautiful sporting picture ever for me. When your companions cry for you, you know why you’ve been able to do with your god given talent. Nothing but respect for these 2,” he tweeted.
The moment was captured right after the contest when Federer hugged Nadal as well as Tiafoe and Sock before breaking down in tears. Nadal too failed to control his tears, which was also Federer's last match in competitive tennis.
{{/usCountry}}The moment was captured right after the contest when Federer hugged Nadal as well as Tiafoe and Sock before breaking down in tears. Nadal too failed to control his tears, which was also Federer's last match in competitive tennis.
{{/usCountry}}The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) also acknowledged the moment and shared a GIF, which captured both the legends sitting together and crying. "How are we getting over this? @rogerfederer | @RafaelNadal | #RForever," tweeted ATP.
Both Federer and Nadal are known to be good friends but on the tennis court they have been locked in among the fiercest rivals. The dominated the tennis circuit for the last two decades.
Federer first met Nadal ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami in 2004 and the rest is history. The pair then went to face each other another 39 times, making 40 encounters in total.
If we look at the head-to-head results, Nadal emerged victorious 24 times, while Federer won 16 matches.
Federer signed off from competitive tennis with 103 ATP singles titles and overall 1,251 matches throughout his illustrious career. The Swiss' glorious career saw him reign at the top of the ATP Rankings for 310 weeks.