Laver Cup #TBT: When Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal teamed up in doubles

Stories of the Open Era: Tennis' team events, including the Laver Cup

On Thursday it was announced that Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will be teaming up for doubles at the second annual Laver Cup, which begins tomorrow at 12 p.m. ET in Chicago. It's not the first high-profile pairing Federer has been a part of for Team Europe, which will compete against players from the rest of the world, including American Jack Sock and South Africa's Kevin Anderson—the two men the Swiss and the Serb will face.

The Laver Cup's big draw last year was the dream pairing of Federer and Rafael Nadal on the same side of the net. The two tennis titans made an ideal team—both dressed in Nike at the time; one righty and one lefty; 35 Grand Slam titles between them—and they were a success, defeating Americans Sock and Sam Querrey, 6-4, 1-6 [10-5].

"Everyone was waiting for this moment since they announced this event is going to happen," said Team Europe's Tomas Berdych. "This is the time. So I think it's almost like a celebration of tennis.”

It turned out that Federer and Nadal—who won't compete in this year's Laver Cup, due to injury—were able to do some celebrating of their own because of their play:

"It was an unforgettable day," Nadal said, "after the history behind us to be on the same part of the court fighting for the team is something we enjoyed a lot."

"For me, personally, it is a great moment too," said Federer. "We only ever practiced once together, back at the World Tour Finals, so we don’t show each other a lot. We will always be rivals. But this was something very special, it was an absolute pleasure being on the court with Rafa and seeing his decision-making process."

Federer and Djokovic will try to replicate the success of the original dream team when Laver Cup play begins on Friday. Here's the full lineup: