NEW DELHI: Switzerland tennis legend Roger Federer, considered one of the greatest to ever pick up a racquet, turned 42 on Tuesday.
Ever since turning pro in 1998, Federer went on to clinch some of the most memorable wins in the history of the sport and won numerous titles. His 24-year run at the highest level of the sport showcases the consistency and longevity he had.
Federer secured the number one position in ATP Rankings numerous times, ending as the year-end top-spot player on five occasions. Overall, he spent 310 weeks of his career as the number-one ranked player.
Federer has won a total of 103 ATP tour-level championship titles in singles competition, the second-highest in the Open era next to America’s Jimmy Connors (109 titles).
Out of these are 20 Grand Slam titles he has won across the Australian, French, US Open tournaments and the Wimbledon, which is the third-highest among all players, with Rafael Nadal (22 titles) and Novak Djokovic (23 titles) above him.
Federer has secured the Australian Open six times in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017 and 2018.
He also has one French Open title win, back in 2009.
Federer has secured eight Wimbledon titles on the lawns of London. He won the title successively from years 2003-07 and then in 2009, 2012 and 2017. He has the most Wimbledon singles titles in the history of the sport and in this way, has become the poster boy of this prestigious tournament.
The Swiss player has also won five US Open titles successively from years 2004-08, making him the player with second highest US titles, next to Bill Tiden of USA, who has seven titles.
Federer has won six ATP Finals singles titles in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011. He is tied with Novak Djokovic for having won the most singles titles at the season finale.
Federer has also secured two Olympics medals, a gold medal in the men’s doubles event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He along with Stan Wawrinka beat Sweden’s Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson in the final.
It was followed by a silver medal in the singles competition at the 2012 Olympics in London, where he lost to Andy Murray. Federer was an extremely versatile player who could conquer his challenges no matter where he played, be it on grass or clay.
He went on to have storied rivalries with Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, with who he formed the ‘Big Three’ of men’s tennis in the modern era.
He trailed 16-24 in his rivalry against Nadal, which is considered to be his best rivalry. Federer also had a record of 23 wins and 27 losses against Djokovic in a total of 50 matches.
But no matter who won or lost, Federer’s matches with these two icons were always well-received by fans and served as the perfect advertisement for the sport.
Federer also had some doubles success, winning eight doubles titles and having a record of 131 wins and 93 losses in this category. His best Grand Slam performance in doubles was a quarterfinal finish in 2000 Wimbledon
Federer brought down the curtains on his two-decade career during the last year’s Laver Cup competition. He ended his career with a record of 1251 wins and 275 losses in singles competition. (ANI)