Roger Federer: Dreams of a young ball kid from Basel came true
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Roger Federer - (L) as a ball boy as Swiss Indoors, (R) Lifting his 8th Wimbledon title
Roger Federer has yet again taken the world by surprise. This time, however, it’s not with something on the court but rather a decision to not step on the court. The 20-time Grand Slam champion announced his retirement on 15th September confirming his plan to end a glorious career later this month.
The 2022 Laver Cup will be etched in history as the final tournament where Federer played as the Swiss Maestro will hang up his racket after the 3-day event in London later this month. Since Federer’s announcement, a true tennis fan can only feel a sense of gratitude and an empty feeling as Roger decides to step away from the sport.
Roger Federer retires with 103 career titles, the second most on ATP Tour
With fans aware of Federer’s achievements over the years with a plethora of records to his name and a legacy that will remain undented for years to come, Roger’s career is exemplary for not only the records or his on-court mannerisms that made him stand out, but it also gave newcomers a hope.
Having played a variety of sports growing up, Federer settled for a tennis racket at the age of 12. Federer had taken the step-by-step approach coming up having served as a ball boy for the Swiss Indoors in 1992 and 1993 as he chose to make the tennis court his second home.
Federer would go on to hold the racket for the next 29 years before announcing his retirement at the age of 41. But before that, apart from being a ballboy, he was making big strides as by age 14, Federer was the national champion and joined the ITF Junior circuit in 1996.
Over the next two years, Federer dominated the Junior circuit. His biggest accolade came at the 1998 Wimbledon when he won both singles and doubles titles in the Junior category and would go on to finish runner-up at the 1998 US Open as well, sending a big message on what the ATP Tour was about to see.
While he had to wait till 2003 to win his debut Grand Slam title, he was racking up Tour titles across surfaces and was turning the heat on the established players giving them a run for their money. The Wimbledon title in 2003 however opened the gates of success for Roger who would go on to dominate for the entire decade thereon.
By 2010, Roger had already broken Pete Sampras‘ record of 14 Grand Slam titles and became the man with most majors as he continued to lead the Tour smashing records at will. All of this came with elegance and grace on the court which made Federer the benchmark of a model tennis player.
As he steps away from the sport to which he gave everything he had, one can only look at Federer as the biggest example of where consistent hard work and ambition can take you, from being a ballboy in Basel to inscribing his name on the honours board at every tournament he played at. Farewell Maestro.
Also Read: “F**k him tho,” Tennys Sandgren posts a hilarious tribute for Roger Federer upon his retirement
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)