Clijsters on Federer's connection with rival Nadal: "That's going to be a lifetime of friendship"

The friendship of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal demonstrated how rivals can become close friends, and nothing demonstrated the beauty of it more than the Laver Cup this year.

Emotions from Federer were expected at his retirement ceremony but nobody expected to see Nadal as emotional as he was. He was somewhat of an emotional person by self-admission but he shed more tears than Federer did that night.

Another one that cried that night was Clijsters who remembered it:

"I was crying my eyes out, especially when Mirka walked on the court and hugged him, and obviously seeing him with the players on the court and his connection with Rafa. Okay, Rafa and Novak are still playing, but I guess the connection between Rafa and Roger, just their history and you could see the appreciation for everything that they have done, what they have been able to achieve in tennis, and then also realize that this all does come to an end."

She added:

"I think it was more of an appreciating kind of night. For me to see Rafa and Roger, without a doubt, that's going to be a lifetime of friendship. They have such nice families, their parents are great, and their coaches and teams are so respectful. I always think that it really comes from a lot of that, the background, how you are brought up, to respect your opponent. There were definitely moments [in their careers] when they were frustrated with each other but as you get older, you realize how impressive it is what they have done," she added.