"If that didn't put a tear in your eye" - Tennis journalist reveals his image of the year in tennis ft. Nadal and Federer

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's emotional moment at this year's Laver Cup is the image of the year in tennis as far as journalist Brett Haber is concerned.

Federer chose the 2022 Laver Cup to be his last professional tournament and wished to play his last match in the doubles category alongside Rafael Nadal. After the duo lost a close encounter against Team World, began Federer's farewell ceremony. The 41-year-old shared a special moment with Nadal as the two legends sat next to each other and held hands at one point while shedding tears.

Speaking on the Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis podcast recently, Haber dubbed it the "image of the year" and suggested that there was something wrong with people if that moment didn't move them emotionally.

"I believe that the image of the year in tennis, and there have been a lot of them this year, is the shot of Roger and Rafa holding hands on the Team Europe bench as the ceremonies are unfolding to honor Roger after they lost the doubles match," Haber said. "If that didn't put a tear in your eye as a tennis fan, sports fan, Roger fan, or Rafa fan... I know sometimes the fan bases, if you're a Roger fan, you can't be a Rafa fan and vice versa."

"I never totally understood that, but they respect each other. It wasn't necessarily the smoothest relationship at the very beginning of their careers, but for the last decade or more, it's been beyond warm. It's been two guys in a very small club of people who could conceivably understand what it's like to walk in each other's shoes and to live this life."

Haber added that although Novak Djokovic might end up as the statistically best player, Federer and Nadal have been the flagbearers of the sport for over a decade.

"We all know how lucky we are in the golden age and yeah, Djokovic is probably going to end up being on top of the numerical chart of everything. But Roger and Rafa, what a gift to the sport that those are the guys who have carried the flag on the men's side for the last 15 years," he added.

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Roger Federer receives honorary Swiss Sports award

Roger Federer at the Laver Cup

Roger Federer was conferred with a rare honorary title at the 2022 Swiss Sports Awards last Sunday. Before being named the Best Sportsperson in the entire history of the awards in 2020, the 20-time Grand Slam champion won the Swiss Sportsperson of the Year award on seven occasions, beginning in 2003. He took to social media to thank his family, fans, and team.

"I couldn’t have been as successful as I have been throughout my career without all the help I have received over the years from my incredible fans, parents, wife and team. Thank you for the honorary Swiss Sports award," he wrote on Instagram.