Roger Federer has won more Wimbledon titles than any other male singles player in history.
Federer made his Centre Court debut at Wimbledon against Pete Sampras in 2001, before going onto surpass his rivals title record 16 years later.
With the Swiss now an iconic figure at SW19, one of Federer’s Wimbledon winning rackets has been sold for a sizeable fee.
The grass court major was actually his final ever professional tournament, with Federer losing in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2021.
The Wimbledon final victory that Roger Federer says was his most memorable
Federer officially retired in 2022 with 20 Grand Slam titles, eight of those coming at the grass court major.
When answering 73 questions with Vogue in 2019, the same year that Federer lost the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic despite having two championship points, he was asked about his most memorable victory at The Championships.
In response to this question, Federer revealed that his first Wimbledon victory in 2003 stood out the most to him.
“2003. It was my first one,” said Federer. “I thought that was it, I had achieved my dream winning Wimbledon. It was epic.”
Fourth seed Federer, who had just won his first grass court title in Halle, made it all the way to the final with a semi-final victory over Andy Roddick.
Having only dropped one set, Federer met unlikely Wimbledon final opponent Mark Philippoussis.
Despite having the advantage in the head-to-to-head going into the match, Philippoussis had actually beaten Federer in their most recent match that came on the clay of Hamburg earlier that year.
Federer managed to put that defeat behind him and beat the Australian in straight sets to secure an emotional first Wimbledon and Grand Slam title.
What did Roger Federer say about his 2003 Wimbledon victory at the time?
After achieving his dream to win Wimbledon, Federer was asked in his post-match press conference about whether it lived up to his expectations.
“Oh, you know, like I said on the court, for me this is the best ever, you know,” said Federer. “It was my most important match in my life, you know, and already the semi-final was maybe the most important.
“So that I didn’t lose a set, you know, in these two matches and played so well and I kept my level up, you know, is just absolute dream. And then in the end, you know, to lift the trophy is something you don’t expect, you know. But when it happens, it’s, for me, very tough with the emotions.”
| Wimbledon 2003 | Roger Federer’s Result |
| First Round | Beat Hyung-taik Lee, 6-3 6-3 7-6(2) |
| Second Round | Beat Stefan Koubek, 7-5 6-1 6-1 |
| Third Round | Beat Mardy Fish, 6-3 6-1 4-6 6-1 |
| Fourth Round | Beat Feliciano Lopez, 7-6(5) 6-4 6-4 |
| Quarter-final | Beat Sjeng Schalken, 6-3 6-4 6-4 |
| Semi-final | Beat Andy Roddick (5), 7-6(8) 6-3 6-3 |
| Final | Beat Mark Philippoussis, 7-6(5) 6-2 7-6(3) |
Federer was then asked about Pete Sampras’ record, with the American holding a record seven Wimbledon singles titles.
At just 21-years-old, Federer tried to dismiss this idea and suggested that Sampras’ record seemed very far away.
“Oh, this is, you know, one of his seven, you know. I’m so far away, you know,” said Federer. “I’m just happy, you know, to be on the board, you know.
“It’s so nice, if I look at all the players who have won here, you know, a lot have been idols to me. Just to be on the board with Borg and these people, it’s just nice, you know, to be a part of history at Wimbledon, you know – and in Grand Slams in general, you know. And, you know, it’s incredible.”
Little did Federer know that he would go onto win five consecutive titles and would surpass Sampras with his eighth and final Wimbledon title in 2017.
Despite no longer being an active player, Federer has made appearances at Wimbledon in both 2023 and 2024 as a spectator.
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