The Newest Hall of Fame Member: Looking Back at Roger Federer's Legendary Career

On Saturday, August 29th, Roger Federer will be the latest men’s player inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The beloved tennis star is receiving the honor thanks to nearly two decades of accolades, including 20 Grand Slam singles titles and 103 total titles on the ATP Tour.

Record-Breaking at Wimbledon

When ESPN asked Federer what career accomplishments still astound him, he responded, “I mean, I can’t believe I won eight Wimbledons. For me, that’s like an absurd number … I would have been okay winning one, so let alone eight. So that’s crazy.”

The then-21-year-old won his first Grand Slam title at the Wimbledon Championships in 2003, beating Mark Philippoussis in four sets. The Swiss player was only five years into his professional career, and he successfully defended that title the following two years, both times defeating Andy Roddick.

In 2006 and 2007, Federer continued that streak by taking down rival Rafael Nadal in four sets and the next year defeating the Spaniard again, this time in five sets. Nadal finally broke this streak, but Federer was far from done. The next year, he returned to Wimbledon and took home a sixth title in five sets using the new tiebreaker set rule.

The Swiss player’s last two Wimbledon titles came many years apart, his next occurring in 2012 against Andy Murray and the final in 2017 against Marin Čilić in three sets.

With this eighth win, Federer set a new record for most men’s singles at Wimbledon. No player has since matched or surpassed this accomplishment.

US Open Titles

During that aforementioned interview with ESPN, Federer also highlighted his US Open wins, saying, “Or then the five in a row here at the US Open. Those kinds of things are pretty crazy.”

The Maestro took home his first men’s singles title at Flushing Meadows in 2004 by defeating Lleyton Hewitt in three sets. He successfully defended that title the next year against Andre Agassi in four sets.

In 2006, Federer returned and again won against Andy Roddick, also in four sets. The following year, he faced Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam final for the first time and won in three sets.

In 2008, the young player took home his last US Open title by defeating Andy Murray in three sets. Federer’s five titles tie him with Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors for most US Open men’s singles wins. He is also the only player of the three to achieve that number in a consecutive manner.

Australian Open Wins

Even though he did not mention them in his greatest accomplishments, Federer also took home six Australian Open singles titles. His second Grand Slam win came at the 2004 tournament, where he defeated Marat Safin in three sets. He secured his second final victory there in 2006 against Marcos Baghdatis.

The Swiss player successfully defended that title the next year against Fernando González. In 2010, he defeated Andy Murray in three sets that went into a long tiebreaker.

In 2017, Federer defeated Rafael Nadal in five arduous sets. The next year, he won his 20th and last Grand Slam title at the Australian Open against Marin Čilić, also in five sets.

Other ATP Tour Success

Federer had a single win at the French Open in 2009 against Robin Söderling. He also won six ATP Finals titles (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, and 2011), four of which were called the Tennis Masters Cup at the time.

While competing on the ATP Tour, Federer won 1,251 matches overall. He also spent 310 total weeks ranked No.1 in the world according to the men’s singles ATP rankings. That includes a record-setting 237-week run that started on February 2, 2004 and lasted all the way until August 17, 2008.

Beloved Off the Court

Throughout his career, Federer was one of the most adored tennis players of all time due to his kindness, sportsmanship, and humility off the court. At his special US Open exhibition event, it was clear that the Maestro still has legions of fans ready to don memorabilia and pack out stadiums just for a glimpse of the retired star.

When the first of The Big Three finally retired after the 2022 Laver Cup, the tennis world lost one of the greatest players that the sport had ever seen. Thankfully, his legacy is far from forgotten, and he will be rightfully inducted into the Hall of Fame later today.

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