It wasn’t long before the tears began to roll again

He cried, and it was hard not to cry with him.

Federer is, as Nadal said in his acceptance speech, one of the greatest players of all-time, but he came second on the night - and that hurt like hell. As Federer said just before the sobs took over, “God, it’s killing me”

"You can't go through your whole life as a tennis player taking every victory that's out there. You've got to live with those, you know. But they hurt even more so if you're that close, like at Wimbledon or like here at the Australian Open. So that's what's tough about it.”

“Rog, sorry for today,” said Nadal, turning to his friend with genuine compassion in his voice. “I really know how you feel right now. Remember that you are a great champion and you are one of the best in history and you will beat Pete Sampras’ 14 titles for sure.”

Federer mustered a weak smile and nodded his appreciation, but the pain was still there on his face. It wasn’t long before the tears began to roll again.