Tennis great Roger Federer has announced his retirement at the age of 41. Federer, in his last professional assignment, will be seen in action at the Laver Cup next week. Tributes started pouring in on Thursday after Federer announced his decision on social media. The official Twitter handle of Wimbledon posted a video of a 16-year-old Federer claiming the boys’ singles title.
“’We’ll be seeing him again.’ In 1998, a 16-year-old named Roger Federer won our boys’ singles title. The rest is history," read the caption.
"We'll be seeing him again"In 1998, a 16-year-old named @rogerfederer won our boys' singles title. The rest is history…
Head over to our YouTube and go back to the start of a journey like no other ✨
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) September 15, 2022
Federer will end his career with eight Wimbledon titles, the most by any male tennis player in the open era. His first Wimbledon victory was in 2003 after he outplayed Australia’s Mark Philippoussis in final. It also turned out to be Federer’s first Grand Slam title win.
Though, the Swiss maestro’s tryst with Wimbledon dates back to 1998. Federer, at the age of 16, defeated Georgian Irakli Labadze in the final of the 1998 Wimbledon junior boys’ singles title. Federer had made his Wimbledon debut a year later.
In 2001, Federer caused a major upset after he defeated then world no.1 Pete Sampras. Federer clinched a 7-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 victory to oust the legendary American tennis player. It eventually proved to be a career-defining match for Federer.
In 2003, he beat Andy Roddick in the Wimbledon semi-final and won first Grand Slam crown after outclassing Philippoussis in the summit clash. Federer had ended the year with 78 wins under his belt.
In 2008, Federer took part in one of the greatest matches in the history of tennis. Federer was up against Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon final. The match lasted for 4 hours and 48 minutes but Federer had to concede a heart-breaking defeat eventually
A year later, Federer once again featured in another epic Wimbledon final but this time he managed to emerge victorious. He outplayed Andy Roddick in the final to win his 15th Grand Slam title.
Federer became the first-ever male tennis player to win 20 Grand Slam titles. He achieved this historic feat after defeating Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the 2018 Australian Open final. Only, Rafael Nadal (22) and Novak Djokovic (21) currently have more Grand Slam titles.
Federer’s last Grand Slam final appearance was against Djokovic at the 2019 Wimbledon.
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