Swiss tennis great, Roger Federer received an emotional farewell at the Laver Cup 2022. Playing in the tournament for one last time, the 41-year-old invited his arch-rival and good friend, Rafael Nadal, to partner with him for a doubles match. They were up against the American duo of Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe. Eventually, the legendary duo ended up on the losing side. This marked the end of an era. An era that has the dominance of Roger Federer written all over it.

Tennis is a pretty competitive game. We often see fiery exchanges between players which turn uglier at times. However, it is pretty surprising to see the top two players of the game Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are cool as a cucumber. It reminds us of an incident that happened 12 years ago.

What Roger Federer predicted 12 years ago turns out to be ironic

12 years ago, in a doubles match, tennis legends Pete Sampras joined hands with Federer to take on the duo of Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal. Irked by Sampras’s words, he served a ball directly at his body. Later, the commentator asked Federer how his and Nadal’s rivalry was more of a laid back as compared to that of Agassi and Sampras. To which Federer said, “towards the end, it’s gonna get bitter/fierce between me and Rafa.”

Years passed by and with time, the legendary duo came closer. In fact, Federer chose Nadal as his doubles partner for his last tournament. Further, the bromance of these two was visible when Federer’s retirement brought tears to the eyes of his arch-rival.

Fans seem to remember words of Federer from the match 12 years ago after the old video resurfaced. Here’s how they reacted as it turned out to be the complete opposite of what Federer predicted.

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“We all know how bitter/fierce turned out to be still not over their crying faces,” a fan sadly reacted.

“above the belt” that’s a way to see it— [roger’s agents take me to another room and shoot me],” a fan wrote.

Remembering the emotional end to Federer’s career, another fan wrote, “Awww… we got to see how fierce the rivalry got. Puddle of tears on the court.” 

Amused by the irony another fan wrote, “This vid was so hard to watch but fed saying “rafa do something” gets me every time HAHAHAHHAHA”

“This match was something to say the least,” another fan reacted.

Read more: ‘What if He Names His Son Rogelio?’ – Rafael Nadal’s Intimate Revelation on Roger Federer Makes Tennis World Lose Their Mind

One of Nadal’s fan praised the legend for his calm nature. “This exho is memorable for all the wrong reasons. But Rafa was adorable during it so that’s all the matters,” she wrote.

“Crying shaking throwing myself into the abyss,” an emotional fan reacted.

One of Federer’s fan was more impressed about his looks in the old video. “Now lets talk about how good he looked on this vid??????????????” he wrote.

“LMFAO he really tried to resist the romance,” another fan jokingly tweeted.

Federer vs Nadal head to head

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are two of the world’s greatest tennis players. The two, along with Serb Novak Djokovic, are the only male tennis players with 20+ Grand Slam titles.

While Federer and Nadal are good friends off the court, they were intense rivals on the opposite sides of the court. The two clashed 40 times, out of which Nadal won 24 matches, while 16 times Federer came on top.

WATCH THIS STORY: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, and Others In The Greatest Comebacks in Tennis

What is your favorite Federer and Nadal moment? Let us know in the comments.