Roger Federer bid farewell Friday night with one last contest before he heads into retirement at age 41 after a superlative career that spanned nearly a quarter-century and included 20 Grand Slam titles and a statesmanlike role.
With a sellout crowd of 17,500 at London's O2 Arena urging him on, the 20-time Grand Slam champion returned after more than a year away to play alongside Nadal, the Spaniard with whom he shared one of tennis's most captivating rivalries.
With the clock past midnight, Federer could have sealed victory in the Laver Cup doubles clash when he served at match point in a tense deciding tiebreak, but it was not to be as Americans Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe ripped up the script.
Sock thumped a forehand winner and sealed a 4-6 7-6 11-9 win for Team World. After a brief moment of stunned silence around the packed arena, the crowd rose to salute the 41-year-old Federer, whose elegance, charisma and sportsmanship have graced tennis and transcended sport during a 24-year career.
Federer produced moments of his trademark magic during a fiercely contested duel and kept his emotions in check. But the tears flowed afterwards as Ellie Goulding sung while a montage of Federer's feats was projected on the black court.
As cascades of clapping and yells of affection came from the stands, Federer put his hands on his hips, his chest heaving. Then he said, “Thank you,” while applauding right back towards the spectators who had chanted, “Let’s go, Roger! Let’s go!” during the concluding moments of a match that lasted more than two hours and ended at about 12:30 a.m.
“It’s been a perfect journey,” Federer said. “I would do it all over again.”
When he was hugged by wife, Mirka, children Leo, Lenny, Myla and Charlene, and his parents Lynette and Robert, there was hardly a dry eye in the house.
"We'll get through this somehow. It's been a wonderful day. I told the guys I'm happy, not sad," said Federer, who announced last week that this would be his final event after struggling to overcome a knee injury.
"I enjoyed tying my shoelaces one more time, everything was the last time," he added. "Playing with Rafa and having all the greats here, all the legends."
Federer broke down as he thanked his wife. "She could have stopped me a long, long time ago but she didn't. She kept me going and allowed me to play, so it's amazing - thank you," he said.
Even though the tears did flow, the Grand Slam champion was able to find the words to express his feelings to fans, his rivals and his family.
"I was just making sure I relayed my passion for the sport to the fans, and let them know that hopefully we'll see each other again on a different type of tennis court somewhere around the world," he said.
"I have no plans whatsoever for where, how, when. All I know is I would love to go and play places I have never played before or go say “thank-yous” for years to come to all the people that have been so supportive of me.”
The night became a celebration of one of the greatest players to have graced the game. Although he was happy with his farewell, Federer said he felt there were a few more words of thanks he needed to address to fans in other parts of the world.
The crowd included Australian great Laver - the man who inspired Federer to create the team competition being staged in London for the first time.
Chants of "Let's go, Roger, let's go" resounded around the packed stands in the championship tiebreak as Federer and Nadal clawed their way towards the victory which the occasion demanded.
One of the fans said on Twitter, “It’s the end of an era. That’s also where tears of Nadal come from. With his friend gone it’s also part of him gone tonight. This was the most amazing era in tennis history. Lucky we were able to witness this. Thank you, Federer.”
Sitting courtside, Rafa Nadal cried as his great rival, Roger Federer, bid a tearful farewell to tennis, later saying an important part of him was also leaving the men's Tour with the retirement of the Swiss.
Pictures and videos of Federer and Nadal - who shared one of tennis's most enthralling rivalries - crying together after combining for Team Europe in a doubles defeat at London's O2 Arena went viral on social media, leaving their legions of fans highly emotional.
Nadal, who has won a men's record 22 Grand Slam singles titles, said it was a difficult night for him emotionally as the defeat to the American pair of Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe marked the end of Federer's dazzling career.
"For me, it has been a huge honor to be a part of this amazing moment of the history of our sport, and at the same time a lot of years sharing a lot of things together," the Spaniard said of Federer.
"When Roger leaves the tour, yeah, an important part of my life is leaving too because all the moments he has been next or in front me in important moments of my life."
List of records and milestones achieved by Roger Federer:
- Won 20 Grand Slam titles, only behind Rafa Nadal (22) and Novak Djokovic (21).
- Claimed 103 titles, second only to Jimmy Connors' Open Era record of 109.
- Won 1,251 singles matches, second in the Open Era behind Connors' 1,274.
- Most consecutive weeks at world number one (237).
- Oldest player to hold the number one ranking (36 years, 320 days).
- Most Wimbledon titles for a men's singles player (8).
- Oldest men's player to win Wimbledon (35 years, 342 days in 2017).
- Never retired from a match in his career, having played 1,526 singles (W 1,251) and 223 doubles (W 131) matches.
- The only player to win two Grand Slams five consecutive times - Wimbledon from 2003-07 and the U.S. Open from 2004-08.
- The only player to reach 10 straight men's Grand Slam finals (2005-06). He played 31 finals in all, one behind Novak Djokovic's record tally of 32.
- The only player to reach all four Grand Slam finals in the same calendar year three times (2006, 2007 and 2009).
- Holds the Open Era record for the longest winning streak on grass (65) and the all-time record on hard courts (56).
- Only men's player to win at least 10 titles on clay, grass and hard courts.
- Won 24 straight finals on the ATP Tour (2003-05).
- Holds the record for most titles (6) at the year-end Tour Finals, which only features players ranked in the top eight.
More than those numbers, people will remember the powerful forehand, the one-handed backhand, the flawless footwork, the spectacularly effective serve and eagerness to get to the net, the willingness to reinvent aspects of his game and — the part of which he’s proudest — the unusual longevity.
Beyond the elegance and effectiveness, while wielding a racket, Federer’s persona made him an ambassador for tennis, someone whose immense popularity helped attract fans.
“This is not the end-end, you know. Life goes on. I’m healthy, I’m happy, everything’s great,” Federer said, “and this is just a moment in time.”
