Roger Federer has posted a pictures for the ages on Twitter as he prepares for the final match of his legendary tennis career.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion will retire from the sport following this weekend's Laver Cup, with Team Europe taking on Team World at The O2 Arena. The Swiss maestro will only play once, teaming up with long-time rival Rafael Nadal in the doubles on Friday night for what promises to be an emotional farewell.
Poignantly, all of the 'big four' that signified Federer's era will be on the same side, with Novak Djokvoic and Andy Murray also selected by Bjorn Borg. Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas make up the squad looking to win the team trophy for the fifth successive time.
But the 41-year-old legend seemed anything but anxious on the eve of his final bow, heading out in London with Nadal, Murray, and Djokovic. The quartet, with 66 Grand Slam titles between them, headed out suited and booted in tuxedos.
Federer posted a picture of the four on Twitter, captioning it: "Heading to dinner with some friends." Within two hours, the host had racked up more than 268,000 likes and had yielded 27,000 retweets.
Only an hour earlier, Federer has uploaded a video of himself - in his tuxedo - seamlessly playing table tennis before heading out. He captioned it: "Just a quick warmup before the gala."
All four stars had earlier been seen on the practice court ahead of their tie with John McEnroe's side. And Djokovic had expressed his pleasure at being part of a weekend that will undoubtedly go down in folklore.
"Once in a lifetime experience to be on the same court with these legends and rivals," he tweeted. "Thank you for making it possible. Looking forward to a great weekend of tennis and a celebration of Roger Federer's career."
Since Federer announced is impending retirement last week, demand for tickets has rocketed. One resale site even had a seat priced at £46,000 in a bid to capitalise on the clamour from fans to see the all-time great in action one last time.
