Nine Significant Matches of Roger Federer’s Career: Part I
With the end of 2010, comes the close of another successful year for Roger “the Maestro” Federer. A frequent and much-loved candidate for GOAT, or Greatest of All Time, the Maestro set a whole new record for himself by winning 900 ATP matches, a challenge
he achieved during the first round of the Stockholm Open against up and coming tennis player Taylor Dent. In a career which has spanned almost a century of matches, and will surely hold a few hundred more, it is impossible to pick a limited number of matches
and declare them to be Roger Federer’s greatest achievements. However, there are a few matches which either heralded a change in his game, or a turning point in his career. This three part series has detailed nine such important matches, and the first installment
discussed matches such as the 1998 Toulouse Open, the 2001 Milan Open and the 2004 US Open. This three part series honours and applauds the efforts of the Maestro, who will no doubt go down in tennis history as one of the best players the game has ever been
graced by.
Match 6: 2003 French Open first round – Federer lost to Luis Horna 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-7
Roger Federer began the clay event at Roland Garros as World Number 5. He had won 33 of his last 38 matches, facing only five losses. However, he appeared listless, exhausted and unable to concentrate in his straight-set defeat.
What makes Horna’s victory more astonishing is that at the time of this tournament, the Peruvian pro was ranked World Number 88 on the ATP charts. However, Roger Federer later went on to say that this match signaled “a turning point in his career”. The match
gave FedExpress a wake-up call, and he found himself questioning his motivation for the game. He proceeded to push himself whole heartedly in order to achieve greatness. Just four weeks later, Roger Federer won his first Grand Slam trophy at Wimbledon.
Match 5: 2009 French Open semi-final – Federer defeated Juan Martin Del Potro 3-6, 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
In a surprise loss at Roland Garros, Roger Federer’s biggest contestant at this event, Rafael Nadal, was knocked out in the fourth round. With his exit from the tournament, Federer had an open path to his career Grand Slam. However,
it seemed as if Juan Martin Del Potro had other plans, and he got in the way of an easy win for Federer. In the first two sets, Federer appeared to be completely fazed. He dropped the first two and it seemed as if his dream of career Grand Slam completion
would not come true in that year. However, he returned to emerge victorious in the third set and broke Del Potro in the third game of the fourth set. In the next two sets, he only lost two games. After this, his 9-0 win loss record against Swedish player Robin
Soderling came in handy, and their match was merely a formality.
Match 4: 2009 Wimbledon final – Federer defeated Andy Roddick 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 3-6, 16-14
In the same year as his career Grand Slam, Federer went on to win the next Grand Slam at the All-England Club. Federer won almost 80 percent of the points he made on his serve during this match, and he never let the crowd feel
as if he was in any danger of losing the match – not even during his epic last-set battle with American Number 1 Roddick, which would have fazed any other player. If Roddick had won the match, Federer would have lost his second consecutive final at Wimbledon.
The next and last installment of this series details the next three noticeable matches of Federer’s career.
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