Tennis great Roger Federer, acknowledged as one of the sport’s most popular stars, ended his professional career with an emotional farewell at the Laver Cup on Friday evening.
The 41-year-old, who received a long ovation as he walked off court for the final time as a professional, won 20 Grand Slam singles titles over his career, and is considered one of the greatest players in tennis history.
Federer cried as he hugged Rafael Nadal and other players, then took acclaim from the thousands of fans who chanted his name at the O2 Arena in London, the BBC reports. 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, who rounded off a memorable night with a performance.
Also present in the packed 17 500-seat venue were Federer’s Kempton Park-born mother, Lynette – her maiden name was Durand – his Swiss-German father, Robert Federer, as well as wife, Mirka, and their four children.
Among celebrities at the farewell event were several tennis legends, including Rod Laver, and Hollywood actor Hugh Grant and Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
Federer and Nadal – for so long rivals at the top of the men’s game – joined forces to play doubles against American pair Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe in the annual team event between Europe and the rest of the world.
Despite Federer not having played competitively for over a year, the veteran duo pushed Sock and Tiafoe before losing 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 11-9 as Team World levelled at 2-2 at the end of play on the opening day.
The defeat brought the former world number one’s 25-year professional career to a close after his 1 750th competitive match across singles and doubles.
The BBC’s Jonathan Jurejko writes of the star: ‘Not only did Federer push boundaries with his play and set a plethora of records, he also became one of the most popular players tennis has ever seen.
‘His style of play – described as balletic, graceful and fluent – has endeared him to millions of fans across the world. So too has his polite and charming personality.’
[Image: Tatiana from Moscow, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45597836]