Roger Federer in attendance during the 2025 Wimbledon | Credit: IMAGO / Visionhaus
Roger Federer will soon be inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame for his glittering 24-year career that stretched from 1998 to 2022.
Federer played tennis as if it were art, thus earning the name ‘Swiss Maestro’. In his professional years, he spent 310 weeks as the World No.1 and lifted 103 trophies.
Out of the 103, he won 20 at the Grand Slams—six at the Australian Open, one at the French Open, eight at Wimbledon and five at the US Open. His Grand Slam tally would have been 31 if not for a certain Novak Djokovic, a Rafael Nadal and, surprisingly, a Juan Martin del Potro.
While Djokovic and Nadal denied the Swiss multiple triumphs, Del Potro did it only once at the 2009 US Open. However, the Argentinian inflicted the deepest wound as the 20-time Grand Slam champion never experienced glory at Flushing Meadows again.
“The 2009 US Open final against Juan Martín del Potro, I should have won that one,” Federer told Tages-Anzeiger. “Back then, I had back pain in the warm-up and then missed so many chances. That was one of the matches I shouldn’t have lost. It also broke my streak at the US Open.”
This was Federer’s first loss in the US Open final after five straight wins. A year prior, he had lost an equally long streak in Wimbledon at the hands of Nadal, whom he feels was the deserving winner.
“My streak also ended at Wimbledon 2008,” he added. “Every time a streak was on the line, the whole thing got even bigger. But at Wimbledon, it somehow had to be that way. Rafa had deserved it so much. That’s why I thought afterwards: ‘That’s okay’. But against Del Potro, I should have won.”
Novak Djokovic returning a shot at the Shanghai Masters |Image Credits: IMAGO / VCG
Roger Federer was one point away from his 21st Major title at the 2019 Wimbledon. He earned two championship points against Novak Djokovic at 7-8 in the fifth set, but the Serbian refused to give up.
Djokovic recovered from the losing position, and after eight games and a tiebreak, prevailed in the longest Wimbledon final, which stretched to four hours and 57 minutes.
“Funnily enough, that one didn’t bother me for long,” Federer recalled. “No idea why. Maybe it was because of the children. Maybe because I’d beaten Rafa in the semi-final. But I felt like it was over, I’d played a great tournament, shame I lost, and on we go. I analyzed it very matter-of-factly for myself. In the following days, I had the occasional flashback. But never again after that.”
The 20-time Grand Slam champion ended the title clash with superior stats. He recorded 25 aces and 94 winners to Djokovic’s 10 and 54. He averaged 79 per cent on first-serve points and 51 per cent on second-serve points, whereas the eventual champion could record 74 per cent and 47 per cent averages, respectively.
The numbers added to Federer’s fans’ disappointment, but didn’t bother the man himself as much.
“Not for me,” he noted. “I said to myself, ‘From now on, it’s just a good memory.’ The last thing I wanted was to drive myself crazy over it. I didn’t deserve that, because I really had played well. I still remember coming back home after the final and the children rushing toward me. I said: ‘Hey, I just need five minutes.’ I had to let off steam briefly and lie on the bed. Then I went down to the living room. There were 30 people there, and we had a good evening together.”
Federer could never reach a Grand Slam final again and now stands third in the all-time tally behind Djokovic (24) and Nadal (22).