Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's rivalry on the tennis court has been one of the most celebrated affairs in sports history. Both the tennis greats have played against each other 40 times on ATP tour where the intensity was always high, but off court they share a great rapport. Hence, Federer decided to have Nadal as his partner in a doubles match at Laver Cup before retiring from the sport.
Federer and Nadal of Team Europe lost to Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe of Team World 6-4, 6(2)-7, 9-11 in front of a huge crowd on Friday, September 23.
As soon as the match came to an end Federer hugged Nadal and his teammates and broke into tears. Nadal too could not hold his emotions as tears rolled down his cheeks.
Federer first played the Spaniard at ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami in 2004. Since then, they have faced off against each other in a total of 40 matches. Nadal emerged victorious 24 times, while Federer won 16 matches, largely dominating the clay court French Opens.
Federer has won 103 ATP singles titles and overall 1,251 matches throughout his illustrious career.
He has also won 20 Grand Slam titles, including a record-making eight Wimbledon men's singles titles. Federer's glorious career saw him reign at the top of the ATP Rankings for 310 weeks.
Roger Federer on Thursday, September 15 had announced to retire after Laver Cup.
"Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamt and now I must recognise when it's time to end my competitive career. The Laver Cup next week in London will be my final ATP event. I will play more tennis in the future, of course, but just not in Grand Slams or on the Tour," Federer said in a statement while announcing his retirement.