In September 2022, Federer announced he would retire after that month's Laver Cup - a competition in which he teamed up with Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Ruud and Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in a Europe side taking on a team representing the rest of the world.

It was perhaps fitting, then, that his final match was a doubles contest alongside Nadal, for so long his fiercest rival but also a good friend.

The pair - affectionately nicknamed 'Fedal' - almost won their tie against American duo Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe in London, missing a match point before Team World wrapped up the win.

Afterwards, Nadal could not hold back the tears, Federer's goodbye marking the start of the end of an era. With 37-year-old Djokovic now the only member of the 'Big Three' still playing, the end of that era draws ever closer.

"I'm even happier to finish our career like friends after everything we shared on court like rivals," Nadal said of Federer.