Roger Federer: 20-Time Grand Slam Champion Facts

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Roger Federer, (born August 8, 1981, in Basel, Switzerland), a Swiss tennis player who dominated the sport in the early 21st century with his exceptional all-around game.

He won a record eight Wimbledon titles, and in 2018 he became the first player to claim 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles.

Federer, who started playing tennis at age eight, became Switzerland’s junior champion when he was 14.

In 1998 he captured the Wimbledon junior singles championship and secured the Orange Bowl junior tournament crown in Miami. The following year Federer made his debut on the Swiss Davis Cup team and became the youngest tennis player (at 18 years 4 months) to end the year among the world’s top 100, finishing that season at number 64.

Federer has won a record eight Wimbledon titles and is the only second tennis professional to win 100 or more career singles titles and also the second player to record 1200 wins in the open era.

Apart from his eight Wimbledon titles, Federer has also won six Australian Open trophies, five US Open and a French Open title.

His last major win was at the 2018 Australian Open, which made him the first-ever man to win 20 Grand Slams.

Federer reached the semifinals at the 2019 French Open and advanced to the final at that year’s Wimbledon, where he lost an epic 4-hour 57-minute match (the longest final match in Wimbledon history) to Djokovic.

After losing in the semifinals at the 2020 Australian Open, Federer had two knee surgeries that caused him to miss the rest of the season.

Although he returned in 2021, his play was limited. However, he did compete at Wimbledon, where he lost in straight sets in the quarterfinals. That proved to be his last Grand Slam event.

Federer was again sidelined by knee problems, and in September 2022 he announced that he would be retiring after the Laver Cup. Later that month he played in his final competitive match, a doubles event in which he paired with Nadal but eventually they lost.

Here are the top outstanding facts about Roger Federer :

1. He won 103 ATP Single Titles

Although he has won 103 ATP singles titles in his career, Federer has played in an era where he dominated men’s tennis along with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

The three have dominated the world in men’s tennis for almost 20 years. They have won 283 ATP singles titles between them, with Federer winning the second most titles of all time after Jimmy Connors.

Federer remained in the top 3 during most of the early 2010s, but the success of Djokovic and Nadal ended his dominance over grass and hard courts.

2. Won his First Title at the age of 17

Roger Federer’s first accomplishment came at Wimbledon in 1998, where he won the boys’ singles final over Irakli Labadze. He also teamed up with Olivier Rochus to defeat Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram in the boys’ junior finals.

Federer won four ITF junior singles tournaments in his career, including the prestigious Orange Bowl, where he defeated Guillermo Coria in the final.

He ended 1998 with the No. 1 junior world ranking and was awarded ITF junior World Champion. He ended his junior career at the end of 1998 with a high ranking of No. 1 in singles and No. 7 in doubles.

3. Roger Federer won first Grand Slam in 2003

In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon beating Mark Philippoussis in the final. He had a chance to take over the world’s No. 1 ranking if he made it to the Montreal final.

However, he made it to nine finals on the ATP Tour and won seven of them, including the 500 series events in Dubai and Vienna.

4. Olympic Medals Won by Him

Federer made his Olympic debut in Sydney in 2000, where he entered the singles competition. He reached the semi-finals stage but lost to Tommy Haas and then lost to Arnaud Di Pasquale in the bronze medal match.

At the 2012 Olympic Games, Federer and Stan Wawrinka won the gold medal in doubles, after beating the Swedish duo of Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson in the final.

In the 2012 Summer Olympics, Federer won against Del Porto in a 4-hour 26-minute semi-final, before losing in straight sets to Andy Murray in the final where he won an Olympic silver medal.

5. Rafael Nadal has been his Biggest Rival

Federer and Rafael Nadal have played 40 times, with Federer trailing 16–24. Federer has a winning record on grass 3–1 and hard courts 11–9, while Nadal leads on clay 14–2.

Most of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record nine Grand Slam finals.

6. His Golden Year

In 2006, Federer won 12 singles titles with an impressive match record of 92–5. Federer reached 16 of the 17 finals during this season.

7. Federer: A Vegan!

Until the age of 14, Federer was a vegan. But, later he found interest in non-veg food and now eats whatever fills his stomach.

8. A Benevolent Person

Being a benevolent and graceful personality, he established ‘Roger Federer Foundation in 2003, which provides relief operations such as food, shelter, and other basic necessities. He is also a brand ambassador for UNICEF.

9. Richie Rich

With an earning of around $78 million (2018), he is counted among the richest sports personalities ever. He possesses luxurious houses and villas in Dubai, the Swiss village of Valbella, and in Wollerau, south of Zurich.

10. Roger And Juliette

After winning his first Wimbledon title in 2003, a cow was gifted to him, named ‘Juliette.’

11. He is Featured on Postal Stamp and Swiss Coin

In 2007, the Swiss Post in Basel, Switzerland released a special edition stamp for Federer. He was the first living Swiss person to be featured on a Swiss stamp.

The picture on the stamp was of his holding the first Wimbledon trophy. Later, in 2010, Roger Federer was awarded a special edition stamp by Austria’s Postal Service.

In December 2019, Federer became the first living person to be the face of Swiss coins.

12. The Only Individual To Have Won The Milestone

Well, here’s another feat by this tennis legend; by winning the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award four times, he is the only individual to do so.

Conclusion

These were some of the interesting yet lesser-known facts about Roger Federer as for his career, after winning the 19th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2017 Roger Federer talked about his retirement and clearly said that until his body supports him, he will play and it doesn’t matter if he is 36 of 40.