Laver's 'epic' reaction to tearful Federer speech

Roger Federer's tearful victory speech after winning his 20th Grand Slam title was too much for some people to bear.

The World No.2 appeared on the verge of tears throughout his acceptance speech, before finally breaking down as he thanked his family.

"I love you guys, thank you," he said, letting the tears flow before planting a kiss on the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.

The Rod Laver Arena crowd then gave the Swiss legend an incredible standing ovation as he wept tears of joy.

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And their elation was only boosted as cameras spotted none other than Rod Laver having an incredible reaction to the beautiful moment.

The Australian tennis legend, who himself has won 11 Grand Slam titles, thought the moment was so extraordinary, he wanted to capture it on his iPhone.

It was a powerful moment that was initially lost on Federer as he struggled to see through his tears.

But when he later appeared on the Channel Seven panel, he was alerted to Laver's reaction, and the great man was truly humbled.

"He's the best, 'The Rocket' (Rod Laver)," Federer said.

"I'm so happy when I see him every time, like any legend of the game... I thank you guys every time.

"It's because of them that I play tennis, it's that simple, and to see 'The Rocket' front row taking a picture, my god that was epic.

"I didn't even see it happening because I was crying too much."

And the Fed wasn't the only one loving Laver's epic reaction, as tennis fans took to Twitter to enjoy the moment.

Laver later posted a tribute to Federer on his new Twitter page, however their was no sight of his emotional images from the stands.

After Federer tweeted a selfie of himself with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup with a trophy emoji, the No.20 and a love heart emoji, the tributes flowed featuring some of the biggest names in the world of tennis.

"Congratulations Roger- the GOAT!!!" tweeted 18-time grand slam winner Martina Navratilova.

"Grand slam number 20 for @rogerfederer! Just unbelievable. A truly superhuman effort!" added former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash.

Swiss president Alain Berset reportedly telephoned Federer as he made his victory tour to offer his personal congratulations.

Federer's impressive performance under extreme pressure from Cilic also earned the admiration of Indian cricket great Sachin Tendulkar.

"Grace, power and agility. No one in the world could play that shot. @rogerfederer #AustralianOpen2018 #AusOpen," he tweeted.

The Swiss master was typically emotional in victory, tearing up as he made his acceptance speech.

"Nobody makes me cry like Roger Federer...no one... there is no one like him..." 18-time grand slam winner Chris Evert wrote.

"He was so close to making it through the speech without crying! I'm crying now too" wrote former world No.5 Eugenie Bouchard.

'CAREER SNAPSHOT OF ROGER FEDERER'

Age: 36
Height: 185cm. Weight: 85kg
Born: Basel, Switzerland
Lives: Bottmingen, Switzerland
Ranking: 2
Career prize money: A$144 million
Career titles: 96
Career win-loss record: 1139-250
Grand slam titles: 20 (Australian Open 2004, 2006-07, 2010, 2017-18; French Open 2009; Wimbledon 2003-07, 2009, 2012, 2017; US Open 2004-08)
Grand slam win-loss record: 332-52
Australian Open win-loss record: 94-13
Best Australian Open results: champion 2004, 2006-07, 2010, 2017-18
Coaches: Ivan Ljubicic and Severin Luthi

'Road to the title:'

1st rd: bt Aljaz Bedene (SLO) 6-3 6-4 6-3
2nd rd: bt Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) 6-4 6-4 7-6 (7-4)
3rd rd: bt 29-Richard Gasquet (FRA) 6-2 7-5 6-4
4th rd: bt Marton Fucsovics (HUN) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 6-2
QF: bt 19-Tomas Berdych (CZE) 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 6-4
SF: bt Hyeon Chung (KOR) 6-1 5-2 (ret)
F: bt 6-Marin Cilic (CRO) 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 3-6 6-1

'with AAP'