After turning professional in 1998, Roger Federer’s career spanned four decades at the top of the men’s game, during which he took the game to new levels.
In that time, he’s played Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras; taken on the great clay-courters like Gustavo Kuerten and Guillermo Coria; stared down Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt; and, most famously of all, locked horns with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. And he’s beaten the lot.
It is no slight on the others to say that Federer’s career has been defined, in many ways, by his clashes with Nadal and Djokovic.
Between them, the trio have dominated men’s tennis, mopping up the Grand Slam titles and leaving very little room for anyone else to get a look-in. Together, they have inspired each other to unrivalled heights.
While Nadal was making his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon in 2003, Federer won his first grand slam title, beating Mark Philippoussis in the final to win the first of his eight Wimbledon crowns and 20 slam titles.
As he made his way through the draw, unbeknown to him, a man who would become an integral part of the rivalry with Nadal was watching in the stands.
