The first page of Roger Federer’s Wimbledon story was written in 2003.
The Swiss legend won his first Grand Slam title at the event that year, beating Mark Philippoussis in the final.
Federer, then 21 years old, beat the unseeded Australian 7-6, 6-2, 7-6.
He went on to become the winningest male player in Wimbledon singles history, capturing a further seven titles.
Upon capturing that initial Wimbledon crown, what thoughts raced through Federer’s mind?
Roger Federer thought ‘I cannot believe it’ after winning his first Wimbledon title
“What did I think about?” Federer said rhetorically during his post-match press conference.
“You know, it’s just I cannot believe it, you know? This is really what went through my mind the first moment when I sat down on my chair, then just quick flashback.
“You don’t have much time, you know. But in the first moment, you know… then you see the trophy, and it’s so beautiful. Gold.
“You don’t have golden trophies very often [laughter]. Just the way, you know, when you look at it and when you hold it, is something you’ve always dreamed of.
“So right then, you feel like, you know, ‘am I dreaming? This is true right now?'”
Federer won five consecutive Wimbledon titles from 2003 to 2007, beating Rafael Nadal in the 2006 and 2007 finals.
Nadal finally overcame the Swiss maestro in 2008, triumphing 6–4, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 9–7, in what was one of the greatest matches in tennis history.
Federer won three more Wimbledon titles after 2008: in 2009, 2012, and 2017.
What would have happened if Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner played at the same time as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal?
Roger Federer’s last Wimbledon final
Federer contested his last Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic in 2019.
The Swiss legend looked set to claim a record-extending ninth title when he engineered two match-point opportunities at 6-7, 6-1, 6-7, 6-4, 8-7, 40-15.
It was not to be, as Djokovic produced some superb tennis – including a wondrous cross-court passing shot – to snatch the opportunity away from Federer.
Djokovic went on to secure the final set 13-12, winning the tiebreak 7-3.
At four hours and 57 minutes, it was the longest singles final in Wimbledon history.
It’s quite unreal,” Djokovic said afterwards.
“Like similar to ’08 maybe, I will look back at it and think, ‘well, it’s not that bad after all,” Federer later remarked. “For now it hurts, and it should, like every loss does here at Wimbledon.
“Epic ending, so close, so many moments. Yeah, I mean, sure there’s similarities [between this and 2008]. I’m the loser both times, so that’s the only similarity I see.”
