A
21-year-old Federer found himself in uncharted territory having failed
to get past the quarter-finals at any previous Grand Slam.
But
with unseeded Australian Mark Philippoussis on the other side of the
grass court, Federer held his nerve to produce a breathtaking
performance winning 7-6, 6-2, 7-6.
Any suggestions that he might not be the man for the big occasion quickly evaporated.
2004 – Australian Open defeating Marat Safin 7-6, 6-4, 6-2
Russian
Marat Safin beat Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick to reach the final, a
gruelling run, that caught up with him against Federer.
A 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 win was thanked, in part, due to a commanding serve that was fast becoming a staple of Federer's game.
His
second Grand Slam title was boosted by the fact he soared to the top of
the men's rankings after a semi-final win over Juan Carlos Ferrero.
The sky was the limit from here for the new world No 1.
2004 – Wimbledon defeating Andy Roddick 4-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-4.
Back
where it had all began 12 months prior, Federer was the name on
everybody's lips as expectation was higher than ever before for the
Swiss.
And this was a Slam he was made to work really hard for as he came from behind to beat American Andy Roddick 4-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-4.
Federer
miraculously saved six break points in a tight fourth set before
sealing his third Slam title with a trademark ace finish.
'I threw the kitchen sink at him but he went to the bathroom and got his tub,' Roddick said in defeat.
The Swiss showed he had the substance to match the style with this title
2004 – US Open defeating Lleyton Hewitt 6-0, 7-6, 6-0.
His
opponent, Lleyton Hewitt, said it best in defeat: 'With the depth in
men's tennis the way it is, I don't think people realise how hard it is.
It's an incredible effort what he has done.'
In
fact, Hewitt went in to the match at Flushing Meadows on a 16-game
winning streak, but on reflection, he'll accept he was blown away in
devastating fashion by the Swiss.
And of all the Slam successes to date for Federer, this one was one of his most comfortable as he overcame Lleyton Hewitt 6-0, 7-6, 6-0.
Two
bagel sets sandwiched a competitive second but with three Slam titles
out of four - he was knocked out of the French Open at the semi-final
stages by Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten - the dream for a complete set went
on.
2005 – Wimbledon defeating Andy Roddick 6-2, 7-6,
6-4
There
was a sense of deja vu when Federer and Andy Roddick emerged on to
Wimbledon's Centre Court, twelve months after they did battle in the
previous final.
That occasion was a close encounter, a match where Roddick looked capable of upsetting the world No 1.
But
this was a far more straightforward spectacle as Federer produced a
near faultless display to win his third straight Wimbledon 6-2, 7-6,
6-4.
The win put Federer alongside Pete
Sampras and Bjorn Borg as a player who had won three successive Slam
events in the Open era.
2005 – US Open defeating Andre Agassi 6-3, 2-6, 7-6, 6-1
Life
across the Atlantic was an enjoyable one for Federer as he lifted his
second US Open after an elegant duel with Andre Agassi.
At the age of 24, this 6-3, 2-6, 7-6, 6-1 victory pushed the Swiss to his sixth Grand Slam title.
Not
just the number of titles he was adding year-on-year, this was a really
special win in Federer's eyes as it came against one of his role models
in Agassi.
But anyone looking for the
magic potion Federer seems to find in Slam season will be disappointed
as he joked: 'I don't know how I do it.'
2006 – Australian Open defeating Cypriot
Marcos Baghdatis 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2
On paper, this seemed like a fairly straightforward challenge for the man whom everyone feared.
But
when Federer found himself a set and a break down, he would have been
forgiven to have had more sweat on his brow than normal.
Cypriot
Marcos Baghdatis had seen off Roddick, Ivan Ljubicic and David
Nalbandian and fancied his chances despite being the overwhelming
underdog.
Federer, however, got stronger as the match went on, winning 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2 for his seventh Slam title.
2006 – Wimbledon defeating Rafeal Nadal 6-0, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3
Mentally
this was a major hurdle cleared for Federer as he took on Nadal - the
man who had got the better of him in their last five meetings.
But this was Federer's territory; he excels on grass and stormed to a 6-0, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 win.
Rafael Nadal
looked to rally, and did, in the third set but the whitewash in the
first set the tone and three years on from where his Grand Slam journey
began, he showed no signs that he had lost the appetite for more.
2006 – US Open defeating Andy Roddick 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
Whenever
Federer took to court in 2006 he was sporting a Cheshire Cat style
smile - he simply looked incapable of putting a foot wrong as he took
his third Grand Slam of the season in New York.
A
6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Roddick saw the Swiss become the first man
in the Open era to win three successive Wimbledon and US Open titles in
the same years.
Here was a player writing history with every successful groundstroke.
Victory
in New York was his ninth Grand Slam title in three years which
demonstrated the sheer dominance Federer had over the rest of the field.
2007 – Australian Open defeating Fernando Gonzalez(Chile)7-6, 6-4, 6-4
Lifting
the title in Melbourne is a player's perfect start to the year and
Federer's plans showed no sign of changing as he started 2007 much like
he did against Baghdatis in 2006.
His
opponent this time around was Chile international Fernando Gonzalez but
the crowd turned up to be dazzled by one man on the court.
All
Gonzalez could do was hail a 'great champion' after succumbing in
straight sets as Federer ran out a comfortable 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 win.
2007 – Wimbledon defeating Rafeal Nadal 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2
Bjorg's record was the carrot dangled in front of Federer ahead of his grass court meeting with Nadal at Wimbledon in 2007.
The
Swedish legend had five straight Wimbledon titles to his name and all
that stood between Federer and emulating Bjorg was the Spanish
powerhouse.
Nadal never looks to be
beaten and it took a gargantuan effort from the world No 1 to oust his
rival 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2 after three hours and 45 minutes of
breathtaking tennis.
No chance anyone inside Centre Court were planning to leave this epic battle early.
2007 – US Open defeating Novak Djokovic 7-6, 7-6, 6-4
When
the game's best face-off, it often comes down the finest of margins and
it proved so between Federer and Novak Djokovic in New York.
A fiercely competitive encounter swayed with the Swiss as he secured a 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 win.
Down a break in each set, the key, often, to Federer's success is his ability to stay calm under pressure and he did just that.
Victory saw him become the first man ever to win Wimbledon and the US Open for four years in a row.
2008 – US Open defeating Britain's Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2
As a 21-year-old Murray shuffled on to court, few gave him a fighting chance against the well-loved Federer.
Wearing
the logo of the man he was trying to emulate - Fred Perry - Murray was
simply outclassed in a 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 victory which lasted a mere one
hour 51 minutes.
When asked by a
reporter if he was debating 13 Grand Slam titles and retirement, the
Swiss star scoffed: 'I'm not going to stop at 13 - that would be
terrible!'
Ten years later he is still asked that same question...
2009 – French Open defeating Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-6,
6-4
If there was a single black mark next to Federer's name it was in Paris at the French Open.
In
the same era as Nadal, one of the greatest clay court players of all
time, even Federer struggled to assert his dominance on the surface.
Semi-final
heartache became a fixture and so when he faced shock Swedish finalist
Robin Soderling, for the first time he had a major opportunity to break
the streak.
He concluded a 6-1, 7-6,
6-4 victory in one hour and 55 minutes to join Perry, Don Budge, Roy
Emerson, Rod Laver and Agassi as the only men to have won all four Grand
Slam titles.
2009 – Wimbledon defeating Andy Roddick 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14
The
French Open success weeks earlier was not enough to lift him back to
World No 1 but he made sure he rose to the summit with his sixth
Wimbledon title.
Roddick must have
been cursing his luck that after the gruelling route to reach the final,
he faced Federer once more in a fascinating five-set match.
In
a fifth set that lasted 95 minutes and was 30 games long, the match
became the longest men's singles final ever in terms of games played.
But
the Swiss won it 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14 to surpass Pete Sampras's 14
Grand Slam wins and regain the title he lost to Nadal the previous
year.
2010 – Australian Open defeating Britain' Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 7-6
Federer's
case to be regarded as the 'Greatest Of All Time' took a major boost
after this straight sets win over Andy Murray in Melbourne.
The
28-year-old Swiss showed all of his experience to win 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 as
Murray received a valuable lesson in what it takes to lift the Slam
title that eluded him.
This was
Federer's 22nd Grand Slam final - a staggering achievement given the
quality of players in the game - and few would have anticipated this
masterclass to be his only Slam success of the year.
2012 – Wimbledon defeating Britain' Andy Murray 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4
The
Swiss is one of the most loved players left in the game but, for once,
he was not the crowd favourite as he stepped out on Centre Court.
Briton's
Murray was the man in the spotlight and when he took the first set,
there was a feeling reverberating around the venue that now was his time
for Grand Slam glory.
But the emotion
of the piece caught up with the home favourite and Federer is one of the
all-time greats for a reason, he digs deeper than few others can.
A 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 win left Murray in tears before he exacted his revenge on the same court during the London Olympics.
2017 – Australian Open defeating Rafael Nadal
This was an absolute classic between two of the game's all-time greats.
Over three hours and 38 minutes, Federer and Nadal produced pulsating tennis with both players at the top of their game.
But Federer found a new level in each set and his serve proved irrepressible as he toiled with Nadal in Melbourne.
A final that will make the highlights reel for many years to come, this was one tennis fans love to reminisce on.
2017 – Wimbledon defeating Maricn Cilic(Croatia)6-3, 6-1, 6-4
Wimbledon
always feels like a second home for Federer - such is the success he
has enjoyed over the years at the All England Tennis Club.
But
he was without a win in London since 2012 and he had his eye on a
record of becoming the most successful male player at the tournament.
A
face-off with Croatia's Marin Cilic stood between him and another SW19
title and a 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 victory came all too easy in a showpiece
event.
Roger Federer captured his record eighth All England Club title to
become the tournament's oldest men's champion of the modern era
Murray
was forced out through injury, Nadal retired against Cilic, Djokovic
crumbled against Hyeon Chung and suddenly, the tournament opened up for
Federer to make history.
A 24-minute
first set in the final is misleading as thereafter the Swiss was pushed
all the way by a spirited Cilic to win his sixth Australian Open title.
When the final point landed in he fell to his knees and it was not long before the tears began to flow.
At 20 Grand Slam titles, Federer stands in a league of his own in the men's game.
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