'With some friends': Roger Federer's selfie with Nadal, Djokovic & Murray ahead of his last match went viral

Legendary tennis player Roger Federer, who is arguably the greatest of all time, will play his last match as a professional tennis player on Friday (September 23) during the first day of the 2022 edition of the Laver Cup tennis tournament. The 41-year-old announced his retirement from professional tennis last week, and his final match he will partner with his long-time on-court rival, Rafael Nadal.

In his farewell tournament, Federer isn’t playing in the singles section but will take the court for one last time on Friday with Nadal in the doubles event. The two have met in a number of Grand Slam finals, but they will only play together for the second time in history. Apart from being Federer’s farewell tournament, this year’s Laver Cup for the first time will see the legendary ‘big four’ of men’s tennis – Federer, Nadal, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokovic – playing for the same team.

The quartet will represent Team Europe against Team World in a three-day tournament which is taking place in London this year.

Ahead of his final match, Federer on Thursday shared a picture with Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray from this Twitter handle, which has gone viral on the internet.

Within the first 12 hours, the legendary selfie has received more than 468K likes and 45K retweets. Federer captioned the picture, "heading to dinner with some friends @RafaelNadal @andy_murray @DjokerNole."

Even though Federer refers to the other three as friends in the caption, the world will remember them as the Swiss maestro's toughest competitors. While Federer played multiple Grand Slam finals against Nadal and Djokovic, Murray denied him a chance to win the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

Federer, who will partner Nadal in the final match of his professional tennis career, has not played since the 2021 Wimbledon quarter-finals.

The Swiss great has enjoyed a storied rivalry with Nadal over nearly two decades, and together they have won 42 Grand Slam singles titles in a golden era for the men's game.

The pair have played 40 times, including in nine Grand Slam finals, with Nadal holding a 24-16 winning record, but this time they will be on the same side of the net in the Ryder Cup-style event.