As they reminisced about their old matches and laughed about shared memories, glorious or disastrous depending on the angle, Federer chimed in: “Sitting here, it feels good to go first among the guys,” he said, smiling. “It feels right.” In many ways, this final chapter of Federer’s career is a bleak one. Despite his reputation for avoiding serious injury during his career, his later years have been marred by physical problems. Unlike Serena Williams’ recent intense, competitive retirement Federer can’t trust his knee to last more than a short doubles match. In his final match alongside Team Europe teammate Nadal, he will enter the O2 Arena against Team World’s Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock on Friday night simply hoping to compete at a respectable level. But the circumstances fit. He will be upstaged by three of the fiercest rivals of his life, players who, along with him, have defined the last decade and a half of tennis, advancing it in so many ways. Between them they have won 66 Grand Slam titles, faced each other 234 times and spent 933 weeks at No. 1. For more than a decade they collected the late stages of every major match and prevented almost everyone else from succeeding. “Tomorrow will be something special,” Nadal said. “I think it’s very difficult, difficult. It will be difficult to manage everything, especially for Roger, no doubt. And for me too. In the end one of the most important players, if not the most important player in my tennis career, is leaving, isn’t he?” Federer arrived first and at 41 will leave in that order. Five years older than Nadal, 36, he set his sights high by winning his first grand slam title in 2003, asserting his dominance and forcing everyone else to catch up. Next came Nadal, a teenage supernova who first established himself on clay and then gradually made his way elsewhere. Just as they had built a two-way rivalry, their games and personalities contrasting sharply, Djokovic, now 35, broke through the seemingly impenetrable barrier they had built and marked himself as their equal. While Murray, 35, doesn’t quite hang with the big three, for years he was the only other player to consistently match them at the biggest events. Over time they pushed each other, forcing others to raise their games. They have competed in some of the greatest matches ever seen and have consistently broken each other’s hearts. Apart from the clear respect, there were of course many moments of tension. Now, they will play out the final moments of Federer’s career on the same side of the court. “We will do our best to contribute to the team and a good performance, but at the same time we admire and celebrate his career, because he deserves it in a great way,” Djokovic said.
