Blog: Federer makes history again

Uzair Alavi

January 29, 2018

Switzerland´s Roger Federer kisses the winner´s trophy after beating Croatia´s Marin Cilic in their men´s singles final match on day 14 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 28, 2018 - AFP

Earning a “Grand slam” victory is the toughest thing to achieve in tennis. Not only do you need to be at the pinnacle of your physical and mental abilities, but you also need to navigate through a plethora of players who are fiercely competitive and just as hungry as you are.

So it is not surprising that only a handful of players have had the honour of hoisting Grand Slam trophy or trophies.

For 43 years, Australian Roy Emerson held the record of most Grand Slam titles. He won his 12th Grand Slam in 1967 and his record stood the test of time, as even great players such as Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg were not able to go past No. 11.

That all changed when Pete Sampras arrived on the scene in the early 1990’s. The American won his 13th Grand Slam in 2000 at Wimbledon, he established a brand new record and many were left in awe, as Sampras had achieved something no one thought was even possible. If you look at the greats who were unable to topple Emerson’s tally, it just makes Sampras’ achievement that much more special.

Sampras retired in 2002 after winning his 14th Grand Slam at the US Open and once again there was talk of his record being nearly untouchable and almost impossible to break. That was until a certain Roger Federer arrived on the scene.

This combination of pictures created on January 28, 2018 shows Switzerland´s Roger Federer holding his record 20 tennis Grand Slam tournaments winner´s trophies - AFP

The Swiss made his breakthrough by beating Sampras at Wimbledon in 2001 and won his 1st Slam at the same event in 2003. From 2003, Federer took control of Grand Slam titles and in 2009 at Wimbledon, he did what at the time was considered impossible. In a marathon match on Centre Court, he ousted American Andy Roddick, 5-7,7-6,7-6,3-6,16-14 to claim the 15th Grand Slam title of his career, thus establishing a new record.

However, another player Rafael Nadal was catching up to Federer fast. The Spaniard who currently stands at 16 Slams, has won the French Open an unprecedented 10 times and is also a former winner at Wimbledon, US Open and the Australian Open. But just as Nadal started getting close to Federer, Djokovic hit his prime in 2011 and began his dominance in Grand Slams. From 2011-2016 Novak Djokovic won 11 Slams, and by the end of the 2016 season, Djokovic stood at 12, Nadal at 14 and Federer at 17 Grand Slam titles.

Roger’s Federer’s five year Grand Slam drought ended in 2017 at the Australian Open, where he won his 18th Grand Slam. During his drought, his main rivals were edging closer to his all-time record and it seemed that Nadal and Djokovic would catch up with Federer as age was on their side.

But Federer has defied age time and again, his main rivals who are much younger than him are the ones dealing with injuries now while he is playing almost as good as he played ten years ago, winning 3 of the past 5 Grand Slam tournaments.

His last win at the Australian Open defies all logic and has set him apart from every other legend.

Spectators wave placards as they cheer for Switzerland´s Roger Federer after his victory over Croatia´s Marin Cilic in their men´s singles final match on day 14 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 28, 2018 - AFP

Federer's victory over Marin Cilic this past Sunday in the Australian Open Final made him a 20-time Grand Slam winner. No man before Federer had gone past 14 Grand Slams, and now he has raised the bar so high, that players can only look in awe and appreciate what the great legend has achieved.

Roger Federer was winning Slams before the arrival of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, he won Slams when they were both in their primes and he’s winning Slams in what is surely the twilight stage of his career.