Roger Federer: 5 career highlights of the Swiss tennis giant

Roger Federer, widely considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, has announced that he will retire from the game after the Laver Cup in London from September 23 to 25, 2022. Federer’s skills, temperament, and consistency are what tennis fans will remember him by. From 2003 to 2009, the eight-time Wimbledon Champion played in 21 out of the major 28 tennis singles finals. 

Here we take a look at some of the highlights of the Swiss master’s gliterring career:

First Grand Slam win

Federer was 22 years old in 2003 when he won his first major title, the Winbledon men’s singles, by defeating Austrian Mark Philippoussis. This would start his record of eight wins in the Wimbledon men’s singles, which remains unbroken till date.

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Meeting the eternal rival

Federer’s on-court rivalry and off-court camaraderie with another tennis great, Rafael Nadal, would define a large part of both their careers. The two first met in the third round of the 2004 Miami Masters, a match which Nadal won. The duo would go on to win 11 back-to-back majors between them. Federer and Nadal have faced each other on the tennis court for 40 times, with the Spaniard leading 24-16.

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2008 Wimbledon Final

Federer entered the 2008 Wimbledon final as the undisputed back-to-back five-time champion of the tournament. He faced Nadal in the final for the third time in a row, having defeated the clay court specialist on the two previous occasions. The two would go on to script a historical battle on the Wimbledon center court on that day in a match often regarded as the greatest tennis match of all time. The many moods of the match has been well-captured in the 2018 Andrew Douglas documentary, Strokes of Genius.

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Conquering clay

The clay courts are notorious for being difficult to master even by some of the greatest names in the game. Federer proved that he can bring his magic on at the Roland Garros in 2009 when he defeated Swedish Robin Soderling in the final and in the process, equaled Pete Sampras‘ then-record 14 total Grand Slam victories.

Thunder down under

In 2017, way past his prime, the then 35-year-old Swiss legend entered the Australian Open as the 17th seed. He met Nadal once again in the final, defeating top-10 players like Tomáš Berdych and Kei Nishikori in the process. Despite being behind 1-3 in the fifth set, the Swiss great prevailed in the match, winning 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–3.