Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic contested plenty of epic battles throughout their illustrious careers.
From the Masters 1000 events such as Indian Wells to the Grand Slams and hallowed turf at the Wimbledon Championships, the pair pushed one another to their absolute limit on 50 different occasions.
Along with Rafael Nadal, Federer and Djokovic’s rivalries are some of the greatest that tennis has ever produced.
But the Swiss Maestro and reigning Olympic champion once took a break from playing against each other, to compete as a team.
When did Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic play doubles together?
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic wowed fans when they played doubles for the one and only time at the 2018 Laver Cup.
The tournament was held for the first time a year before and was very successful and during that first ever, Federer played doubles with Nadal for the first time.
They emerged victorious, and the following year, the 20-time Grand Slam winner decided to team with Djokovic, who was making his first Laver Cup appearance.
When asked about the prospect of their partnership before it took place, Federer said: “I’m thrilled, excited, I have never played with Novak.
“We have had so many great battles in all the singles courts, and to finally team up together I think is going to be very special for both of us.
“I think we still have to talk over it a little bit exactly, maybe either who’s going to take the lead or, you know, how do we play exactly.
“But we have a great support team here. We are hoping for a really great opening day. It will be very exciting to kick things off in the doubles together. It’s very cool.” Djokovic added: “As Roger said, very, very excited to have the unique experience.
“We never played doubles together. This is what this competition is all about, you know, bringing us all together. We are going to have a great challenge and hopefully great support from team members and we can have fun.”
Did Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic win their 2018 Laver Cup doubles match?
Despite making a great start, Federer and Djokovic lost their 2018 Laver Cup doubles match.
They took the first set against Kevin Anderson and Jack Sock, but the Team World pair levelled proceedings before clinching the match tiebreak to earn valuable points for team Europe.
Ultimately the loss did not prove costly for Team Europe as they secured a 13-8 victory to retain the title.
“It was great to play with Roger, it was great fun,” Djokovic said post-match. “We talked a lot of strategies on the bench and what was useful for our players.
“We have always had plenty of respect for each other, now that will be strengthened. But this kind of quality time is like no other.”
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
