Roger Federer stands on the threshold of yet another record to add to his multiple 'firsts'.
Beating Kei Nishikori in the quarter-final on Wednesday - his 21st consecutive Wimbledon appearance - would mean he becomes the first man to win 100 matches in a single Grand Slam.
Wimbledon.com turns the spotlight on Federer’s career at Wimbledon – the site of his maiden Grand Slam triumph.
THE DEBUT
A 17-year-old Federer, ranked No.103 in the world, played his first Wimbledon main draw match in 1999 against 24-year-old Jiri Novak and lost in five sets. Wild card Federer had claimed the junior title the previous year.
“I was in the top 100, I had no problem qualifying for Wimbledon and I played against Roger who was a junior and a wild card," Novak, ranked No.9 in the world at the time, told AFP in a recent interview.
“I was thinking, ‘What a great draw’. I wasn't too good on grass so I thought this was a good chance to win a match. I thought he wasn't bad but during the match I never thought he could achieve what he has.”
TAKING DOWN PETE
Federer’s fourth match victory at Wimbledon is one of his most memorable.
Pete Sampras was the four-time defending champion and seven-time winner at the Championships while Federer was 19 and ranked No.15 when they met in the fourth round in 2001.
In a three hours 41 minute contest, Federer marked his Centre Court debut with a stunning five-set win to reach his first Wimbledon quarter-final.
“In 2001, I realised that the kid had the talent and all the shots, and that he was already there in terms of what he could do with the ball. I also saw that Roger was a great athlete and had great balance on the court, that he moved so well,” Sampras recalled of that match in an interview with The Telegraph.
Federer often refers to that win as one of his most special moments on court.
“The day I beat Sampras at Wimbledon in 2001. I don’t know how but on match point I knew he was going to serve wide,” he was quoted by Reuters. “I waited, and he didn’t hit the serve perfectly. I was on the ball and just needed to make good contact. I hit my return very well and he couldn’t get to it. Winning that match was quite a thing. It was huge. Those five seconds I would like to relive.”
MAIDEN TITLE
Federer’s 11th win at Wimbledon in 2003 was the one that secured him his first of 20 Grand Slam titles. After a straight-sets result over Andy Roddick in the semi-finals, Federer squared off against Australian Mark Philippoussis.
Still only 21, it felt like Federer’s first major was overdue as it had already been two years since that big upset over Sampras, and two years since he had reached a Grand Slam quarter-final.
After taking out one huge server in Roddick, Federer did the same in the final, neutralising Philippoussis’s massive serve in a 7-6(5), 6-2, 7-6(3) rout.
“I proved it to everybody, you know,” Federer said after the win. “It is a big relief to me because there was pressure from all sides, also from myself. I wanted to do better in Slams. Now I am holding the trophy, it is hard for me to even think of it.”
MATCHING BORG
In 2007, Federer became the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win five consecutive Wimbledon titles. His 38th match win at the Championships was a five-set battle against his nemesis Rafael Nadal in the final.
Federer equalled Borg’s Open era record of five in a row with the Swede watching from the Royal Box.
“It was such a huge occasion and such huge pressure. I will have special memories all my life. We gave each other a Swedish hug,” Federer said of Borg after his win over Nadal.
“I saw Bjorn up in the stands and it made me a bit more proud of myself. And to see him after the match was great as well. I was almost crying when I was up 5-2 so I had to stay pretty relaxed. All of a sudden he had game point.
"I tried to stay focused but it's hard. So many things go through your mind. On the second match point I thought I would be aggressive again and it paid off.”
GREATEST MATCH EVER?
Federer’s streak of five straight Wimbledon crowns was halted by a 22-year-old Nadal in 2008, in a five-set final that was concluded in near-darkness, and one that is considered one of the greatest matches of all time.
The two arch rivals were facing off in the Wimbledon final for a third year in a row. Federer had scooped his 44th victory in straight sets over Marat Safin in the semi-finals. But in the final, he fell 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7 to Nadal in four hours 48 minutes.
John McEnroe was commentating and called the best match he’d ever seen. His rival Borg had similar thoughts.
“That’s the best tennis match I’ve ever seen in my life. I was just happy to be there, to be part of that final. You cannot see a better tennis match,” Borg was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
THE DOUBLE
In 2009, Federer finally completed the career Grand Slam by beating Robin Soderling to win at Roland-Garros for the first – and only – time.
The new champion arrived at Wimbledon and marched to a final against Roddick in a repeat of 2004 and 2005.
Just 12 months after that legendary final against Nadal, Federer produced another classic, this time with Roddick as the co-creator, as he celebrated Wimbledon win No.51.
Federer hit 50 aces on the way to a 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 3-6, 16-14 victory. The match broke a record as the longest men's singles final (in terms of games played) in Grand Slam tournament history with 77 games.
Federer joined Nadal and Borg as the third player in 40 years to achieve the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double in the same year. He also eclipsed Sampras’ men’s all-time record of 14 major titles, by securing a 15th major.
“This year is crazy,” Federer said. “Things didn't look so good when I lost in the final of the Australian Open, which was still just an unbelievable result. But to come through and battle back and win Paris and now Wimbledon back-to-back, something Bjorn did a couple of times, it's amazing.”
SEVENTH HEAVEN
In 2012, Federer ended a two and a half year Grand Slam title drought and equalled Sampras’ record of seven Wimbledon trophies won with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Andy Murray in the final. It was Federer’s 66th match-win at the All England Club.
LUCKY NUMBER EIGHT
With such a storied career at Wimbledon, it made sense that Federer would eventually hold the record of most men’s Wimbledon to himself.
He accomplished that in 2017, with a straight-sets final success over Marin Cilic. At 35, he became the oldest man in the Open era to win Wimbledon and the first man to lift the Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy on eight occasions.
Federer had taken six months off at the end of 2016 and it paid off as he returned from his break to win the Australian Open then Wimbledon.
“Gotta take more time off, I don’t know,” joked Federer on court, as his wife Mirka and their four children watched over from the stands."I guess it's disbelief that I can achieve such heights."
