Nine Significant Matches of Roger Federer’s Career: Part III
With the year at a spectacular end for Federer, this three-part series is dedicated to honouring the player who has done so much for his sport. The first two parts scanned six important matches of his career – here are the remaining three in the last instalment.
Match 3: 2008 Wimbledon final – Federer lost to Rafael Nadal 4-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(8), 7-9
When sports fans who do not watch tennis, or have a die-hard interest in the sport are asked about the 1980 Wimbledon final between Bjorn Borg and John “Superbrat” McEnroe, a great deal of them may think that McEnroe emerged
as the victor from the unbelievable, greatest match ever. This may be because McEnroe managed to take away the stupendous 18-16 fourth set tiebreak. However, Federer will not be awarded that benefit 20 years after his 2008 Wimbledon final with Nadal, as every
fan will remember that Rafa took him down in the classic title match despite his superb performance. However, despite the fact that this loss was probably the most crushing defeat ever suffered by any tennis legend, Roger Federer returned to the court in September
with a new purpose and focus. He came to the US Open with ultimate determination, and only lost three sets in the entire tournament before making it to the final match.
Match 2: 2001 Wimbledon fourth round – Federer defeated Pete Sampras 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5
This match is frequently considered one of the most overwhelming and significant victories of Roger Federer’s career. The player, who was 19 years old at the time, managed to stun American legend Pete Sampras on Centre Court
at the tournament. With this victory, Federer managed to break Sampras’s record of 31 successful matches on the courts of Wimbledon. “Pistol” Pete began the match with Federer after winning 56 of the last 57 matches which he had played. Even though Federer
was defeated by British favourite Tim Henman in the next round, the quarterfinals, Federer’s victory over Sampras made sure that the tennis world took notice of FedExpress as a player to be intimidated by. It would take two more years for Federer to live up
to the many expectations generated by this victory.
This success also earned the Swiss Maestro the name of “Yankee Killer”, because this was the seventh consecutive time that he had managed to score a win over players from the United States. He would go on to win one more match against an American tennis
pro until Andre Agassi took him down in the fourth round of the 2001 US Open, held a few months later.
Match 1: 2003 Wimbledon final, Federer defeated Mark Philippoussis 7-6(5), 6-2, 7-6(3)
This is no doubt the most important and significant victory in this list, since it was the match kicked off Roger Federer’s Grand Slam spree. Today, Federer has a record breaking number of Majors titles; this January, he completed
the Australian Open to win his 16th Grand Slam. However, until 2003, Federer had never even been able to make it past the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam tournament. However, all that changed at the Wimbledon tournament in 2003. The tournament lasted
for a fortnight, and Federer only dropped one set over the course of all his matches. In the epic final which won him his first Majors title, the Swiss Maestro committed only nine unforced errors. After he raised the cup, he wondered about the future of his
career, saying, “To win Wimbledon as a first Grand Slam. I hope it’s not going to be my last.”
Federer can rest on his laurels, knowing that he has made an impact on the sport which no tennis player has been able to do. He is indeed the Greatest of All Time.
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