For all tennis fans, and beyond, this will remain the strong image of an evening. Of the year. And of a part of life which flies away in the London night. The scene made the rounds on social media.
During a musical interlude by singer Ellie Goulding, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are both in tears, sitting on the Team Europe bench. The moment is poignant between these two legends of the sport when the first, 41, dies, and the other, 36, knows that he consumes his last fires on the circuit.
Above all, it is extremely rare, whatever the discipline, to see two rivals so united. Accomplices. Brothers of emotions. “On my first game of service, it was very difficult, the Spaniard will let go a little later, his eyes still wet. I was shaking a little, it was a day full of emotions, hard to grasp. When Roger leaves the Tour, it’s also an important part of my life that goes. »
Federer admits himself that he found it “weird” to savor his last dance with the one who often made him waltz in 40 confrontations (24-16). But he would not have left it to anyone else (and he repeated it enough before the curtain fell against the American pair Tiafoe / Sock) to support him in his final journey on the court. “I arrived on the circuit (Editor’s note: the first Grand Slam he played corresponds to Federer’s first major title at Wimbledon in 2003) and he has always been in front, the guy to beat, blows the Majorcan, who has since surpassed his “best enemy” (22 Majors to 20). There was a great rivalry but always a huge respect with our families, our teams, never big problems. »
The relationship between the two men has improved over the years and will last long after their existence as athletes. A sign of this special bond, Federer warned Nadal ten days before the official announcement of his intention to leave the scene. Earlier than some of his relatives…
“We understood that in the end, we have a lot in common, the same approach to life. On the court, we have opposite styles and that’s what made our rivalry one of the biggest and most interesting, but on a personal level, we’re not that different. We can talk together, freely, we feel confident. It’s beautiful after everything we shared, I’m very proud and very happy that we end up as friends…”
Impossible to remain impassive during his long seconds of common, authentic and sincere tears. “There are a lot of great values in tennis,” smiles Federer. We saw it with Rafa, the respect we have for each other. Between the happiness of the happy ending and the sadness of the end, the 17,500 fans of the O2 Arena and millions of viewers across the planet will have had the privilege of living a little piece of eternity. Gentlemen, thank you for everything…