Roger Federer | The master who waved a magic wand on court 

A player who reconciled with his tennis mortality, tweaked his technique, spruced up his fitness and competitively excelled across three decades in the sport is on his way out 

On July 3, 2022, Roger Federer attended a special ceremony at Wimbledon to mark the 100th anniversary of the Centre Court. A year ago, he had trudged out of the same hallowed turf in a pensive mood, following a painful straight-set defeat — including a dispiriting 0-6 scoreline in the final set — to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals. “I hope I can come back one more time. I’ve missed it here,” Federer said on that sunlit celebratory centenary Sunday. “I knew walking out here last year it was going to be a tough year ahead. Maybe I didn’t think it was going to take me this long to come back but the knee has been rough on me. But I’ve been happy.”

Just over 10 weeks later, Federer, announced that the upcoming Laver Cup (September 23-25) would be his last ATP Tour-level tournament. The Swiss could not sufficiently recover from the knee surgery he had undergone in the aftermath of the 2021 Wimbledon reverse. It was his third since the start of 2020, a period which saw him play just six professional tennis events. “The message to me lately has been clear,” he said. “I am 41 years old. I have played more than 1,500 matches over 24 years. Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamt, and now I must recognise when it is time to end my competitive career.”

The ending may not have been to his many fans’ liking but in the future, when memories shift and time doesn’t act as a fixative, Federer’s will only be remembered as a stellar career, a fantastic longlist of achievements which can never be whittled down.

He won 20 Grand Slam singles titles, 103 ATP singles trophies, 28 Masters crowns and six ATP Finals (year-end championship). Of his 1,526 matches, he won 1,251 (82%) and was also ranked the World No.1 for 310 weeks, a record Novak Djokovic surpassed only last year.

Federer first made his mark at Wimbledon 2001 when, as a pony-tailed 19-year-old, he upset the then grass-court king and seven-time champion Pete Sampras in the fourth round.

Playing the way purists would approve of — with elegant classicism, touch, precision and economy of movement — he appeared to herald the changing of the guard with the pulsating five-set victory.

Since then, Federer’s career has been about managing the pressure of expectations as much as tennis. Two years later, he broke through at Wimbledon for his first Major trophy, and that kick-started a four-year period where he was the undisputed best. From 2004 to 2007, he won 11 of the 16 Majors to be held, with the only suspense during every Slam fortnight being how much more he could elevate his level of play.