Misc Tennis

Roger Federer’s top 10 moments – how you voted

Roger Federer with his first Wimbledon trophy in 2003

Roger Federer has called time on a career that spanned 24 years and saw him become one of the greatest players of all time.

The Swiss won 20 Grand Slam singles titles and 103 ATP Tour titles, as well as attracting legions of fans around the world.

BBC Sport looked back at 10 iconic moments in his career – then asked readers to choose their favourite.

Two stood apart from the rest – the classic 2008 Wimbledon final against Rafael Nadal came top with 38% of the vote, just ahead of his 2017 Australian Open win over the Spaniard, which was selected by 36%.

Wimbledon 2001 – beating Sampras at age 19

Pete Sampras was the top dog at Wimbledon. In 2001 he was the four-time defending champion, world number one and heavy favourite for the title.

Then, in the fourth round, he came up against a pony-tailed 19-year-old who was starting to move up the rankings himself.

Federer, the boys’ champion at Wimbledon in 1998, came through 7-6 (9-7) 5-7 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 in three hours and 41 minutes to end Sampras’ Wimbledon dominance.

It would be the first of many stunning results on Centre Court for the Swiss great.

Wimbledon 2003 – first Grand Slam title

Federer would win eight of his 20 major singles title at Wimbledon

It was fitting that Federer won his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon, which he has often described as his favourite tournament.

Having failed to go beyond the quarter-finals in his previous outings at a major, Federer dropped just one set on his way to the final, where he beat Australia’s Mark Philippoussis 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 7-6 (7-3).

An emotional Federer dedicated his win to former coach Peter Carter, who died in a car accident the previous year.

“Peter was one of the most important people in my career,” he said. “I hope he saw it from somewhere.”

The victory was the start of a period of dominance, with the Swiss winning 11 of his majors between 2004 and 2007.

Wimbledon 2008 – Epic final against Nadal

Roger Federer congratulates Rafael Nadal on his victory
Before Wimbledon in 2008, Federer and Nadal had won 14 of the previous 16 Grand Slam titles

Federer may have lost but the final between him and Rafael Nadal in 2008 is widely regarded as one of the greatest matches of all time.

Federer was bidding for a sixth consecutive singles title but Nadal had thrashed him in the French Open final a few months previously and held an 11-6 winning record over the Swiss.

Played out over seven hours because of rain delays, Federer lost the first two sets, saved two championship points in the fourth and forced a fifth before Nadal claimed a…

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