Roger Federer’s career-defining moments: Beating Pete Sampras at Wimbledon, career Grand Slam at French Open

Roger Federer is set to retire from tennis.

Federer hangs up his racquet as unquestionably one of the greatest players of all time. But what are his career-defining moments?

The start of the RF era

Federer’s breakthrough moment came at Wimbledon in 2001.

Before Wimbledon was RF’s domain it was where Pete Sampras ruled. Sampras had won three titles in a row at the All England Club from 1993-1995 and was bidding for a fifth straight title in 2001 when he ran into a 19-year-old Federer.

Federer was not entirely an unknown quantity. He had won the boys’ championships at Wimbledon in 1998 and was seeded 15th for the tournament. However, few were thinking that he would beat Sampras, arguably the greatest grass player of all-time, who had won 56 of his previous 57 matches at Wimbledon and held a then-record 13 Grand Slam titles.

Federer had, though, enjoyed a good season, winning his first ATP Tour title and beating three top-10 players. He had the Centre Court crowd enthralled and sniffing an upset as he got two sets to one up against Sampras.

Even when Sampras rallied and took the fourth set on a tie-breaker, Federer didn’t wilt. He fended off two break points the final set with winners and then broke to win the match 7-6(7) 5-7 6-4 6-7(2) 7-5 with a forehand down the line.

It was a passing of the torch moment.

The era of Sampras was over – he would win just one more major at the 2002 US Open before retiring – and the Federer era was beginning. Although Federer would lose in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon that year to Tim Henman and then the first round the following year, he claimed his first title at SW19 in 2003 and over the next six years dominated the sport like few others have ever done.

Completing the career Grand Slam

Despite Federer’s early career dominance, the French Open had eluded him until 2009.

Rafael Nadal had won four times in a row in Paris since his debut in 2005 and had beaten Federer in the previous three finals. It looked like the only way Federer would be able to complete the career Grand Slam would be to somehow find a way past Nadal.

But he didn’t need to. Robin Soderling pulled off one of the shocks of the century when he beat Nadal in the fourth round, paving the way for a new French Open champion.

The final was a routine win wrapped up in under two hours against Soderling as Federer won a then-record-equalling 14th Grand Slam title and became only the sixth man to complete the career Grand Slam. He was presented with the trophy by the last man to do it, Andre Agassi.

“This was my greatest victory,” said Federer at the time. “I can now go the rest of my career without worrying that I would never win the French Open.”

Winning the 2017 Australian Open

They say never count out a champion, especially one with 17 Grand Slam titles, yet ahead of the 2017 Australian Open there were those writing off Federer’s chances.

He had lost his previous three Grand Slam finals and was ranked at No. 17 in the world after missing most of the second half of 2016 due to a knee injury. At 35 years of age, had age caught up with Federer? Not yet.

Federer won five-set matches against Kei Nishikori and Stan Wawrinka to make the final, where he came up against Nadal. Federer hadn’t beaten his great rival at a Grand Slam since the 2007 Wimbledon final and had never previously beaten him at a non-grass major.

It looked like Nadal would come up trumps again in a thrilling final as he broke for a 3-1 lead in the fifth set. But Federer hit back, breaking after an incredible 26-shot rally and then recovering from 15-40 down to seal one of his most memorable wins.

“The magnitude of this match is going to feel different,” said Federer afterwards.

“I can’t compare this one to any other one except for maybe the French Open in 2009. I waited for the French Open, I tried, I fought. I tried again and failed. Eventually I made it. This feels similar.”

Beating Roddick to beat Sampras

Think back to Federer’s Wimbledon highlights and matches against Nadal and Djokovic immediately spring to mind. But Federer’s clashes with Roddick at SW19 were some of his best; he may even hold them in higher regard considering he won all four of them, three in finals.

Roddick played some of the best tennis of his career against Federer in the 2009 final but it still wasn’t enough. Federer responded to Roddick’s booming serve by firing down a career-high 50 aces and coming from a set down to win 5-7 7-6(6) 7-6(5) 3-6 16-14. At the time it was the longest final in Wimbledon history – and one that Roddick might have won had he converted any of four set points at 6-2 up in the second set tie-break.

The victory saw Federer clinch his 15th Grand Slam title, moving one ahead of Sampras, who had flown in to watch the match at Wimbledon.

“Today with Pete it was a bit special,” said Federer afterwards.

“When he walked in and I saw him for the first time, I did get more nervous. I said hello to him, too, which is unusual. But I thought, ‘I don’t want to be rude.’”

Wimbledon finals vs Nadal and Djokovic

Perhaps a contentious choice as Federer didn’t come out on the winning side in 2008 or 2019, but the epic Wimbledon finals against Nadal and Djokovic were not just two of the most memorable matches of Federer’s career, but two of the greatest matches ever.

In 2008, Federer and Nadal were contesting their third Wimbledon final in a row. Federer had won both the previous finals but Nadal, having crushed his great rival 6-1 6-3 6-0 in the French Open final a month earlier, raced into a two-set lead. Federer took the third set and then saved two championship points in an incredible fourth set tie-break.

With no roof over Centre Court the match was twice disrupted by rain and in the fifth set it looked like it could be pushed back a day as the gloom set in. But play went on and Nadal eventually won the fifth set 9-7 at 9.15pm after Federer had at one stage been two points from victory.

If that was a crushing defeat for Federer then 2019 was even tougher to take.

In the longest Wimbledon final ever, lasting four hours and 57 minutes, Federer had two championship points against Djokovic but couldn’t convert either, even with the crowd urging him on. Djokovic eventually prevailed 7-6(5) 1-6 7-6(4) 4-6 13-12(3) in what would be the last Grand Slam final of Federer’s career.

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