On this day: Roger Federer ends wild junior hunt at Orange Bowl at 17

On December 20, 1998, Roger Federer won the prestigious Orange Bowl crown following a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Guillermo Coria. When his main rival for the year-end no. 1 spot on the ITF junior list suffered a loss a few days later, Roger secured his junior tennis throne for 1998, all that after a wild chase. It was a significant moment in the young Swiss' early career, helping him taking a big step towards a professional career. It is a perfect opportunity to travel back in the past and revive what had been an exciting season for young Roger, bursting onto the scene as the true champion and a conqueror of the ATP Tour a few years later. The Victorian Junior Championships was the season's starting point for the 16-year-old Swiss, winning the title after losing only one set in six encounters against his good friend Olivier Rochus in the quarter-final.

In the title match, Roger toppled Julien Jeanpierre, who took revenge a week later in the semi-final of the Australian Hardcourt Junior Championships, beating Federer 6-1, 6-4. Roger had a great run in Melbourne, reaching the semis in both singles and doubles but missing a chance to go at least one step further after wasting a match point in his 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 loss to Andreas Vinciguerra. After that, Federer stayed away from the junior circuit for two and a half months, heading to Greece where he failed to qualify for two Futures tournaments (Futures Tour started that year, and those were Roger's first tournaments at that level). April brought the first struggles on clay, but it was all good for the Swiss in the end after taking the 23rd City of Florence International Tournament, beating Filippo Volandri 7-6, 6-3 in the title clash. The results were not that good in May, and Roland Garos wasn't much better following the first-round loss to an unknown Jaroslav Levinsky, who prevailed 9-7 in the third set after a titanic battle.

It was time to hit the grass courts, and that proved to be a completely different story, with Roger showing his full potential on the quickest surface! At the LTA International Junior Championships in Roehampton, Federer lost in the semis to Taylor Dent but won the doubles crown with Olivier Rochus. The best was yet to come at Wimbledon, though, where the Swiss stormed over the field to win the title without losing a set, backed by another doubles success with Rochus. This result set the eyes of the entire tennis world on Federer, which was always the case with the junior champion at the world's most prestigious event. His triumph was appreciated back at home, and Roger had no time to enjoy the trophy or attend the gala dinner! The tournament director of the Gstaad ATP event reacted quickly, securing Roger the main draw wild card and "forcing" the youngster to take the first flight to Basel and be driven to Gstaad, arriving there after midnight.

Roger Federer won the 1998 Orange Bowl title and became junior year-end no. 1.

The draw gave him Tommy Haas in the opening round, but the German withdrew and left Roger making the ATP debut against the Argentine's Lucas Arnold Ker. The more experienced player won the encounter 6-4, 6-4 and praised his young rival, especially his serve. The Swiss Davis Cup captain Stephane Oberer attended the match and invited Roger to train with the squad before their quarter-final clash against Spain, another essential experience for the upcoming star who was yet to turn 17. Now, Roger targeted the year-end no. 1 spot on the ITF junior list, trailing to Julien Jeanpierre and Fernando Gonzalez. He wouldn't have gained too much by finishing second or third on that list, while the ITF junior champion would receive not only media and tournament directors' attention but also the appreciation from the sponsors.

At the end of July, Roger made the semi-final of the European Closed Junior Championships, losing to Feliciano Lopez 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 and taking a break for a couple of weeks, coming back in Geneva Challenger in the last week of August and suffering an opening-round loss. The US Open was his 11th junior tournament of the season, and it proved to be a very good one, with fast conditions perfectly suitable for his game style. Nevertheless, David Nalbandian was too strong in the final, defeating Roger 6-3, 7-5 and preventing him from becoming the first Wimbledon-US Open champion since Mark Kratzmann in 1984. After this, Federer stayed away from the junior circuit for two and a half months but was far from quiet mode, taking his first significant steps in the professional career, which always comes as a priority in comparison to competing against fellow juniors. At the end of September, Federer went to Toulouse and qualified for his second ATP event, ranked 878th!

The 17-year-old was keen to prove himself among the more experienced and accomplished players, ousting Guillaume Raoux and Richard Fromberg in straight sets for his first ATP quarter-final! Jan Siemereink halted Roger 7-6, 6-2 in what already was the sixth match for Roger in less than a week, also struggling with an injury. Next week was reserved for his hometown of Basel, ranked inside the top-400 just four years after serving as the ball boy there! Now, Federer had a chance to play on the central court against none other than a former world no. 1 and a multiple Major champion Andre Agassi! The more experienced player proved to be too strong, scoring a 6-3, 6-2 triumph and controlling the scoreboard from start to finish. After his instant success, Roger Federer already had a contract with the International Management Group, entering the court equipped with Nike gear and Wilson racquets, just like his idol Pete Sampras. One week later, Roger stepped down to play on the Satellites Tour at Switzerland 2 Masters.

In the first of four tournaments, he lost in the opening round to Armando Brunold. Federer was almost eliminated from the other three due to a lack of effort before the organizers gave him another chance, knowing how old he is. The youngster learned his lesson well, winning both singles and doubles titles in the next event and emerging as the overall winner of that Satellite with two singles crowns. Now, standing on the verge of the top-300, Federer could focus on the junior season's closing tournaments, failing to make an impression at Eddie Herr and ITF Sunshine Cup/ Connolly Continental Cup at the end of November and early December. The Swiss needed a title at the Orange Bowl if he wanted to overtake Jeanpierre at the top of the junior rankings. Still, things were not that great initially, standing just two points away from defeat against Raimonds Sproga before raising his level in the remaining encounters to keep his dream alive. Also, Feliciano Lopez took down Jeanpierre, so everything was on Roger and his results now.

In the quarters, he beat Ricardo Mello, David Nalbandian in the semis and Guillermo Coria in the final on December 20, all in straight sets, to claim his second-biggest junior crown and take the no. 1 spot on Monday. An interesting thing happened on a practice court while Roger entertained the people around with a monkey imitation. At one point, he hurt his foot that soon swelled, having to play his last few matches with a bandage on it! Roger did everything he could in the battle for the year-end no. 1 spot, but there was still a danger of losing it in the closing week of the season, as Jeanpierre entered a Yucatan Cup.

He needed a title to retake the top spot from Roger, but Andy Roddick prevented that, beating the Frenchman 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 in the semis, which meant that Roger secured the season's best junior award. Federer seemed to forget this Andy's "favor" very soon, defeating him 21 times from their 24 ATP matches and in some of the most important encounters in a career of both. Still, the most important thing was that he finished the season as the leading junior player, ready to concentrate on his pro career entirely in 1999. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3h5jHDD