Nine Significant Matches of Roger Federer’s Career: Part I
The end of 2010 signals the end of yet another great year for Swiss champion and current World Number 2, Roger Federer. Once again, some of the most significant records set this year were by the Maestro. These included that of his 16th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, the 900th ATP match played by him at the Stockholm Open against Taylor Dent and his fifth victory at the Barclay’s ATP World Tour Finals title match. Another landmark achievement made by Federer this year is his record breaking titles collection, which eclipses that of Pete Sampras. In addition to this, Federer has been named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for four straight years, from 2005 to 2008. To honour the tennis legend and mark his presence in the world of tennis, this three part feature will pay homage to nine important matches out of the Maestro’s illustrious career.
Match 9: First round of the 1998 Toulouse Open – Federer defeats Guillaume Raoux 6-2, 6-2
When the Greatest Player of All Time won his first victory at the ATP, he was not given much accreditation or attention for it; in fact, very few people probably even thought of his a formidable contender in the future. In addition to this, the win was not even given much credit in the press, where it was accorded a one-liner in the Associated Press recap of the first round. The article mentioned, fleetingly, “There was disappointment for French Number 3 Guillaume Raoux, who lost to Swiss qualifier Roger Federer, 6-2, 6-2.”
Match 8: Final of the 2001 Milan Open – Federer defeated Julien Boutter 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-4
Before the Milan Open, Federer had won a small tournament in 1999, in Brest, France. Despite this, the first major victory of his career was at the 2001 Milan Open, and it was where he began to be taken seriously as an emerging player. Not only did Federer defeat Julien Boutter in the finals, he also scored an impressive victory over eventual World Number 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the semi finals of the same event. Federer took away the Milan trophy that year, as well as $54,000 dollars in prize money.
Match 9: Quarterfinal of the 2004 US Open – Federer defeated Andre Agassi 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
Although Roger Federer has had a lot of success in New York, he has not played too many specifically memorable or spectacular matches at the US Open, especially if his last two five-set upsets during the tournament are considered. The Maestro has won the US Open title four times, but in the process he dropped ten sets. While this may not seem like a lot to laymen, it is comparatively weak considering the records of some other US Open champions. So perhaps his biggest US Open success was in 2004, the year in which he won the Grand Slam title for the first time. The number one seed defeated one of Andre Agassi’s stronger challenges to win the match in five sets. This was also the match in which John McEnroe famously predicted the Maestro’s future prowess as a tennis player. Although he already had three Grand Slam titles at the time, so Superbrat’s prediction is not too impressive or prescient.
The next two installments will discuss six other landmark matches played by Roger Federer over the course of his career.
Tags: