Throughout the final week of Roger Federer’s life as a professional tennis player, he handled his emotions far better than he had envisioned. But at the end of his final match alongside his rival Rafael Nadal, a tense 4-6, 7-6 11-9 loss representing Team Europe against Team World’s Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe at the Laver Cup in London’s O2 Arena, the 41-year-old finally succumbed.
As the tears began to fall, alongside him Nadal wept, too. After 18 years of meeting each other on the court, contesting some of the fiercest battles in the biggest finals around the world, they spent the final moments of Federer’s career on the same side.
