20 Years
20 Titles

Rise to the top

Slow and steady wins the race

If staying-power was a kind of sport, Roger Federer would be its champion. He did not burst onto the scene like Rafael Nadal, who already won the French Open at 19. Neither was he a slow maturer like Andre Agassi, who had to play tennis professionally for ten years before he got to be number one in the rankings. Federer's virtues couldn't be more Swiss: staying power, humility, and hard work. As American tennis legend Billie Jean King put it: "champions keep playing until they get it right."

«Federer decided quite late to focus on tennis.»

Bernhard SchärSports reporter at Swiss National Radio and long-time Federer-watcher

Federer's career was slow and steady: in his early years as a pro tennis player he worked his way up bit by bit - without interruption, but also without any leaps - as if it were all just a matter of time. His weapons were style and confidence. Many of his competitors varied in their performance, and went up and down the rankings like yo-yos. But for Federer, the only way was up. The first time he was number one, he was 22.

The four annual Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open) are the royal road to tennis stardom. While the young Federer looked good in other tournaments, he couldn't manage to make it in the Grand Slams. He lost two quarter-final matches in Paris and Wimbledon in 2001 and then had seven further losses. Critics were talking in terms of him having a "block". Federer, it was whispered, was never going to win a Grand Slam.

Then came the year 2003. Federer was nearly 22 when he appeared for the fifth time at Wimbledon. This time it was going to be different. Not only did Federer manage to win the tournament - on the way to victory he lost only one set.

Suddenly he was beating down powerful opponents like Andy Roddick. And while he had played at a high technical level before, this victory seemed to take a great weight off his mind. As he held his trophy up on that memorable Sunday afternoon, tears rolled down his cheeks.

Federer really took off. 2004 was one of his best years. Out of 74 matches, he lost only six. Out of 17 tournaments he played in he won eleven, including three Grand Slams. His position as first in the world was indisputable.

And he continued his winning streak: in the following two years he won 95% of his matches and dominated at will. Only John McEnroe managed, in 1984, to win more games than Federer did in these years.

He had matured tactically, and he worked intensively at his coordinated movements and keeping in shape. He was one of the first tennis pros to hire a personal physiotherapist, who now travelled wherever Federer went.

Respect and fair play

Federer went on to break one record after another. The commentators were lavish in their praise: Federer was now the King of Tennis. But while he distinguished himself on the court, he remained a modest human being. In interviews he could be self-critical, mentioned his weaknesses often and tried to work at them. At the same time he was sporting in his attitude to his opponents and was praised by all for his fair play. One motto of his that is often quoted goes: "Play with respect. Win with grace."

The fan survey of the ATP, the world tennis federation, to name the world's favourite tennis player was won by Federer again in 2017 for the 15th year in a row. In the ATP's poll of the players themselves for the "Sportsmanship Award" honouring particularly fair players, Federer has almost always been recognised as the fairest player on the Tour - and this from his toughest competitors.

One of his strongest weapons was always his serve. The figures show: of the players often called the "Big Four" – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray – Federer has far and away the most reliable serve. He wins over seven out of ten service games. Every tenth serve is an ace.

What distinguishes his service is not so much its speed but its sheer variety. Hardly anyone has such a varied serve, which makes it very hard for his opponents to foresee what he is going to do. His killer instinct comes in here: Federer is only the third player in tennis history to have hit 10,000 aces.

The arch-rival

Between 2004 and 2008 Federer won just about everything there was to win. When Federer lost, it was nearly always against his arch-rival: the Spaniard Rafael Nadal. In 2005 Nadal was already close behind Federer and remained a full 160 weeks, that is, over three years, right behind him.

Between them, they dominated the sport. Federer won four Grand Slam titles in Melbourne, five in New York and five at Wimbledon. Nadal was unbeatable on the clay court. Four times in a row he won the French Open in Paris. In this period they faced each other 16 times, of which 13 were in a final.

No other player has beaten Federer as often as Nadal. Particularly on the clay court, Nadal's left-handed forehand meant trouble for Federer.

Nadal is actually right-handed, but his uncle and trainer Toni Nadal trained him to play with the left – and it has paid off for him. With great speed and plenty of top-spin Nadal hit the balls across from the baseline, where Federer often had to return them backhand – the stroke that earns Federer far fewer points.

The bitterest defeat

Federer preferred the faster surfaces – grass most of all. He had won forty games in a row at Wimbledon when he again faced Nadal in the 2008 final. He felt sure of himself and was regarded as the favourite. The stands were full of celebrities; Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia had come specially all the way from Spain. But instead of Federer Nadal surged ahead and surprised everyone by taking the first two sets. Federer's nerves seemed on edge. The third set stood at 5:4, when play was suspended due to rain. Back on the court later on, Federer seemed changed and took the initiative. He took the third and fourth sets. After another suspension, going into the fifth set, the daylight was fading.

«It was the bitterest defeat I saw happen to him.»

Bernhard Schär

The question was whether the match could even be played to the end, but play was already well advanced. Everyone wanted to witness how this thriller would come to an end. Federer was struggling with the poor light, but they played on. After four hours and 48 minutes Nadal won the last set 9-7. The spell was broken: Federer was beaten again on grass.

Among Roger Federer's trophies there was still one Grand Slam tournament missing: the French Open. He had been in the final three times, and three times Nadal had beaten him.

This rankled with Federer. Still, he was clearly the second-best player on clay at this time. Were it not for Nadal, he would have won the Paris trophy long ago. Federer needed to wait.

In 2009 he finally got his chance. Nadal, who had never yet lost a match in Paris and won every match over five years, went down to a surprising pre-quarter-final defeat before Robin Söderling, seeded 25th.

Federer now showed what he was capable of. In the final he did not leave Söderling a ghost of a chance and disposed of him in three sets. So now he had this trophy to add to his collection at last.

Federer dominated the world of tennis to such an extent that the public was used to him winning all the time. It seemed only Nadal could beat him. Then came the year 2010.

Besides Nadal there was now a young Serb called Novak Djokovic making a name for himself. For the first time in six years Federer dropped to third place. Whereas Nadal took three of the four Grand Slam trophies that year, next year it was Djokovic who dominated. Andy Murray was able to show his talent, too, and reached place four. The "Big Four" competed intensely in the years that followed for top place. The new competition made the sport more exciting and harder to predict. Federer saw things that way himself.

Whereas Nadal was best on the clay court, Djokovic was a multitalented player with a well-honed technique, high speed and mobility.

Djokovic, a year younger than Nadal, surged forward. He too was winning 90% of his matches. 2011 was the first year in a long time that Federer ended without a Grand Slam title.

«We were all spoiled by the immense success of Federer. If he lost a semi-final, it seemed like a great defeat.»

Bernhard Schär

Between 2000 and 2015 Federer played over 1,200 matches – about 80 a year. This was hard to equal. Federer is outstanding not just in terms of quality – he has lost no more than 18% of his matches over an entire career – but also in terms of sheer quantity: he has played no fewer than 1,389 matches to date. He has never abandoned a single one.

Even if many fans saw it differently, Federer played high-quality tennis in these years too. Only when he had a knee injury while swimming with his children in 2016 did he have to call a halt. This most serious injury to date made him take a half-year off. For the first time in 14 years he was out of the Top 10. Many critics thought his career was finished. Many speculated that he would bow out of the game.

Since 2012 Federer had not won a Grand Slam tournament. Many tennis pundits had written the Swiss player off. But Federer himself had a different view of things.

He took some time, took a half-year off and carefully laid the ground for his comeback. In this period he started using a larger racket, after having used smaller and heavier varieties.

«Even in the darkest hours, Federer went on believing in himself.»

Bernhard Schär

At last in January 2017, he made his comeback at the Australian Open. The public were excited to see how Federer would do after his downtime. He did auspiciously well. Several times he had to play over five sets, but at the end he won the semi-final against Stanislas Wawrinka. Federer showed he was still able to play top form in the moments when it counted.

In the final he faced Rafael Nadal again. Nadal was coming back from a recovery period too. Each won two out of the first four sets. In the last set Nadal led 3:1, but Federer pulled out all the stops, breaking Nadal's serve twice and winning 6:3.

With constant hard work, Federer overcame his age handicap to optimise his backhand again (see video). It brought him decisive points against Nadal.

Mentally, he was on top form too. Instead of playing anywhere and everywhere, he forsook the clay court and concentrated on grass, where he won his second Grand Slam title of 2017, at Wimbledon. The comeback was crowned with success.

He was now playing a more offensive game. He tried to keep the rallies very short. In the rest of that year he won seven out of twelve tournaments. The critical voices had fallen silent. Never before, experts agreed, had a tennis-player played such good tennis at the age of 36. But people were asking: how can someone be so fit at that age?

One of the secrets of his comeback is time. While a player needs 148 minutes on average to win a Grand Slam match (playing over five sets), Federer needs just 123 minutes. In comparison, Djokovic, Murray and Nadal are pretty close to the average.

Other factors, however, are even more decisive than the length of play. Federer's positional play is what lets him return balls with rapidity and just at the right moment. Federer is regarded as a stylish kind of player – gracious rather than muscular. His style of play is technically refined but not as physically demanding as that of other players. This gives him an advantage.

No end in sight

When you add up all the ATP ranking points a player has won in the course of a career, the numbers make it very clear: Federer is far ahead of the field. He has been playing on the ATP tour for the past 20 years. With his 20th Grand Slam title he will add 2,000 points to his lead over his nearest competitors, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Federer has put his stamp on a whole era of tennis – and the end is not in sight. With his superior technique and fitness, Federer still has it in him to win. As long as he still enjoys playing tennis, he will go on. And with every season, every tournament, every match, every set, every point he wins, he is just confirming his lifetime title: Roger Federer, King of the Court.

«He just loves tennis. It is his life - along with his family.»

Bernhard Schär