Today we celebrate the career of a great athlete. Roger Federer will always be known as tennis royalty. The 20 time Grand Slam champion ushered in a new era of tennis. An era that saw one of the most dominant periods the sport has ever seen. From 2005 Wimbledon through 2010 Australian Open, Roger Federer appeared in 18 out of a possible 19 Grand Slam Finals. His only non-finals appearance? A semi-final run in the 2008 Australian Open. During the 2006 AND 2007 season, Roger lost a combined TWO Grand Slam matches, posting a record of 53-2 on the biggest stages. His only 2 losses were the finals of the French Open, where he lost to the greatest clay court player in history (R. Nadal). The records that Federer sets during his career are simply mind blowing. He bridged the gap between the serve and volley era, and the baseline era. Roger was a special combination of both play styles. He was an aggressive player that saw to end points as quickly as possible. He loved getting up on the net and using his touch to end the point before it even began. He also had the power and precision to play on the baseline as well. He possessed one of, if not the greatest, one-handed backhand in the history of the game. A shot that served as a weakness early in his career grew to become just another one of his many strengths on the court. At the end of the day, Federer was a competitor until the very end.
I was born a couple years too late to truly enjoy just how great Federer was. I began watching tennis around 2015, when Roger was in the twilight of his career. He was still a top 4 player in the world, however, he wasn’t the same beast that tore apart the tour in the early 2000’s. By the time I started watching him he had won just 2 Grand Slam titles since the turn of the decade (2010 Australian Open and 2012 Wimbledon). His best days were behind him and people thought his time as Grand Slam champion was over. As the year turned into 2016, the worst of Federer’s career was yet to be seen. He suffered both knee and back pain, the former would keep him out of the US Open that year, the first time he missed the tournament since 1998. That injury would just be the start of what would ultimately end his career, injuries. It has been an unfortunate end to Roger’s career. It always feels a little different when an athlete is forced to retire, rather than going out on their own terms. From his retirement announcement it is clear to see that he still wants it. He still has the mental drive to be on the court, his body just won’t let him. While he will go out on the terms of father time, he created his own path down tennis history that will never be repeated.
Roger Federer is a rare athlete/team that I have very vivid and clear memories of watching them perform. I will remember all the times I cheered him on and watched his triumph in victory. I will also remember the times of sorrow and pain I felt in his losses. I can remember being in a Hotel room at Kings Island watching Federer beat Cilic in the 2017 Wimbledon Final. I remember sitting on my bed in my Freshman dorm hall watching him beat Djokovic in the 2019 ATP Finals. I remember sitting in a Panera Beard grabbing lunch with my girlfriend watching the score update on my phone as he beat Tsitsipas in the semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors. On the other hand, I remember him losing to Djokovic in the semi-finals of the 2020 Australian Open. I remember going to bed with Roger up 2 sets to 1 against Dimitrov in the 2019 US Open Quarterfinals, only to awake to the news that he had lost the match in 5 sets. And I will never forget, for the rest of my life, watching him lose in the 2019 Wimbledon Final to Djokovic. I am a die hard Browns fan, and I watched that team go 0-16 during an entire football season. Not even that could compare to the pain I felt after Roger lost that title. I think it hurt so much because even at that moment I knew that was potentially his last shot to win a Grand Slam. I could go for hours recounting moments in my life that I was watching Federer, or checking the scores. He was a constant in my life as my interest for the sport increased, and just as my knowledge of tennis has hit a peak, his time has come to an end.
Federer will leave his impact on the sport long after his departure. A key impact that might get lost to the seas of time is his influence on the rise of both Nadal and Djokovic. Roger was the beginning of the Big 3 Era, which saw Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal winning nearly every title during a 10 year stretch. If Roger doesn’t exist, I wholeheartedly believe that Djokovic and Nadal don’t become the 20+ time Grand Slam champions that they are today. They would have without doubt been all time greats, their passion and drive to become the best has always been enough. However, if Federer isn’t there forcing the both of them to continuously improve and advance their game, I’m not sure how the tennis landscape would look today. This is the first step in what will be a long process of dethroning the 3 giants of the game. Rafa has had his fair share of injuries throughout his career, but has shown no stop in his mentality to physically dominate his opponents. Djokovic is also still in great shape and looks to continue his career for the next 5-10 years as well. As all three men continue to impress the world with their skills on the court, it’s important to take a step back and realize that without the competition these 3 men brought to the court, none would have reached the otherworldly heights they’ve reached today.
This is day 3 of trying to complete this post. I could go on for days talking about how much I’ll miss watching Roger. It’s been difficult trying to put all the emotions I have felt into understandable words and sentences. At the end of the day the tennis world, and sports world as a whole, have lost a great. And while Roger will certainly continue to be involved with the ATP, and make frequent trips to Wimbledon, not having him on the court will take some adjusting. We all saw this happening for months now, but that doesn’t make the news any easier to digest. The world will go on. Federer will play his last ever ATP event at the Laver Cup next week, an event he helped get started. He will get the send off that he deserves, and the calendar will continue to roll forwards and the weeks will continue to move along. While the memories of his matches will begin to slowly fade away as time moves on, the impact he has had on my life, and the sports of tennis, will never be forgotten.
Federer’s Career Stats (some of my favorites)
- Career Record: 1251 – 275 (82% win percentage)
- 103 titles
- 20 Grand Slams
- 8 Wimbledon Titles (made 12 total finals)
- 2008 Men’s Doubles Gold Medalist (with S. Wawrinka)
- 7 Cincinnati Master’s Titles
- 10 titles at Halle, and The Swiss Indoors EACH
- Won every final he appeared in between October 2003 – October 2005 (24 titles
- 11,478 aces served (3rd most all time)
- Played over 18,500 serves games (winning 89% of them)
- 2014 Davis Cup Champion
Sources:
Your Average Tennis Blog 