#tbt: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal team up for first doubles pairing at 2017 Laver Cup
The game’s greatest rivals found themselves on the same side of the court for the inaugural team competition at the O2 Arena in Prague.
WATCH: Federer's pre-Laver Cup press conference
Roger Federer is scheduled to play his final match alongside rival Rafael Nadal at a Laver Cup doubles clash, but it won’t be the first time “Fedal” found themselves on the same side of the court.
The two have faced off exactly 40 times in singles, with Nadal holding a narrow 24-16 edge, and it wasn’t until the inaugural Laver Cup in 2017 that the two finally set aside their rivalry as part of Team Europe.
“I know Rafa so well, and he's been a wonderful champion for our sport,” Federer said before the weekend began. “So, for us to spend sort of a week together on the same team and, you know, exchanging ideas of how we could win the Laver Cup over the weekend, I think it's going to be really highly entertaining for both of us.”
Owned in part by TEAM8, Federer’s management company, Laver Cup was undoubtedly aiming for a signature moment amidst all the camaraderie around Prague's O2 Arena.
What better way to set your event apart from the rest by giving fans a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to catch Federer and Nadal together as a doubles team?
“To have the possibility to have Roger next to me is a huge privilege,” said Nadal, “something I wanted to make happen at some point and today I made it happen.”
On the second day of Laver Cup action, the dynamic duo too the court after respective singles victories to face Team World’s Sam Querrey and Jack Sock. For Federer, it was his first doubles match of any kind in over two years, but the Swiss Maestro shook off the rust—and a second-set blip—to match Nadal and defeat Querrey and Sock, 6-4, 1-6, [10-5].
“We will always be rivals as long as we are active. And after this we will be rivals again,” added Federer. “But this was something very special. Knowing you can trust him in the big moments, seeing his decision-making, seeing his thought process, it was very interesting.”
Federer and Nadal will reunite under more emotional circumstances this week as the 20-time Grand Slam champion plans to exit the game after over 20 years on tour, and yet there remains something poignant in his decision to mark his final farewell by sharing the stage with his most consequential rival.