Roger Federer Farewell – Nadal Federer Cries: The sport of tennis hasn’t seen such emotional night ever. As one of the GREATEST Sports Star ever BIDDED Goodbye – the world had tears in their eyes. Be it Roger Federer himself, or his greatest rival Rafael Nadal or be the fans in stadium or television – everyone could not stop crying on this most emotional night of tennis. Nadal hugged him like baby with tears free flowing and so was some of the players in Team Europe & Team World – Check OUT: Follow Laver Cup 2022 LIVE updates with InsideSport.IN
An emotional final farewell.#LaverCup | @rogerfederer pic.twitter.com/lSZb9KfvbN
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 23, 2022
Laver Cup: Roger Federer lose his FAREWELL MATCH in three set battle, Team Europe vs Team World 2-2: Watch Highlights
Roger Federer Farewell: Watch Rafael Nadal and other teammates cry as they bid farewell to sobbing Roger Federer: CHECK OUT the most emotional TENNIS night ever at LAVER CUP 2022
SOBBING Roger Federer broke down in tears as he bowed out of professional tennis, saying: It has been a perfect journey.
Federer’s illustrious career ended in defeat early on Saturday morning. The 41-year-old could not hold back the tears in front of 17,500 fans at the O2 Arena as he paid tribute to his parents, wife Mirka, two sets of twins, close friends, coaches and colleagues.
“It’s been a wonderful day. I’m happy, not sad. It feels great to be here. I’m happy I made it through,” he said.
Federer cried as he hugged Nadal and other players, then took acclaim from the 17,500 fans who chanted his name.
Nadal also could not hold back the tears. The 36-year-old Spaniard cried as he sat alongside Federer while the pair listened to British singer Ellie Goulding rounding off a memorable night with a performance.
Federer, an eight-time Wimbledon champion, said:
“It feels great to be here. I enjoyed tying my shoes for the last time. Everything was for the last time. Being here with the fans, my family and friends, it didn’t feel stressful – even though I thought I might block a back or something. I’m happy I got through it. The match was great. I couldn’t be happier.
“I didn’t want it to feel lonely out there. To say goodbye in a team, well I thought I was a team player at heart. It does feel like a celebration to me. That’s exactly what I hoped for. I was happy to play tennis and spend time with my friends. It has been a perfect journey, I would do it all over again.
“Everybody is here tonight, which is great. My wife has been so supportive. She could have stopped me a long time ago, but she didn’t. She let me carry on playing, which is amazing.”
For the record, the pairing of Federer and Nadal squandered a match point as they were defeated 4-6 7-6 11-9 by Americans Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock.
The family joined him on court afterwards during a long celebration, which saw many more tears and Federer hoisted aloft by his fellow players.
“Everyone’s here, the boys and girls. My wife has been so supportive. She could have stopped me a long, long time ago but she didn’t,” said Federer.
“She kept me going and allowed me to play, so it’s amazing – thank you.”
The presence of several tennis legends including Rod Laver, along with celebrities including Hollywood actor Hugh Grant and Vogue editor Anna Wintour, added to the occasion.
Current world number ones, Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, tweeted their range of emotions as they watched the match on the television, as did Federer’s Swiss Davis Cup team-mate Stan Wawrinka.
Most Grand Slam Race: Federer ends behind Nadal and Serbian Novak Djokovic – but only titles can’t match his greatness.
| The key numbers in Federer’s career | |
|---|---|
| 20 Grand Slam singles titles | 310 weeks as world number one |
| 103 ATP titles | 28 Masters 1,000 titles |
| 6 ATP Finals victories | 31 Grand Slam finals |
| 1 Davis Cup triumph | £114m career prize money |
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