Roger Federer: 'You never knew what was going to happen'

Roger Federer's era began exactly twenty years ago. It was February 4, 2001 and Milan was the scene of one of the events that would change the history of sport. The 19-year-old Roger Federer, a very talented boy No. 27 in the ranking, won his first ATP tournament of his career. Another 102 would follow, including 20 Grand Slams. At the PalaLido, the Swiss defeated, not without difficulty, the Frenchman Joulien Boutter with the sets of 6-4, 6-7, 6-4. "I had lost the previous two finals in Marseille and Basel, so I really wanted to win my first ATP title - said the Swiss a couple of years ago in an interview with ATP -. It has been a great week for me, I have beaten some great players along the way. I remember defeating Moya and Kafelnikov, before overtaking Boutter in the last act. I was very tense when I entered the pitch, also because he had an excellent serve and I didn't know what was going to happen. I think that victory was more of a relief than true joy and happiness. I never thought I could win so many trophies. ”Federer is expected to return to the field next March in Doha after more than a year of hiatus due to a knee injury. Forty years old next August 8, the Swiss boasts an impressive career prize money, which is close to 130 million dollars. The record is also incredible, which speaks of 1242 victories against 271 defeats. Already mentioned of the 103 titles (second only to Jimmy Connors, leading with 109), including 20 Grand Slams and 28 Masters 1000, Federer also boasts the record of weeks at the top of the ATP ranking, 310 and at almost 37 years old he was the oldest leading the world rankings.

Roger Federer recalls his first title

Roger Federer beat Goran Ivanisevic and Yevgeny Kafelnikov to make it to the final against Boutter, who won fans a year later at the Australian Open when an opponent in a doubles match inadvertently hit and killed a bird that had been chasing a moth on court. Boutter rushed over to see if he could save it, but when he saw it was too late, he got down on his knees, crossed himself and gave the bird, a house martin, dignified last rites. “I really wanted to win my first ATP title. That was a big week for me... I felt like I had pressure, because maybe I went into that final as a little bit of a favourite,” Federer recalled. “But it was fast indoors and Boutter was a big server, so you never knew what was going to happen.”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3aBb94Q