Roger Federer played with painkillers during Wimbledon breakthrough run

After two quick exits at the All England Club, the 1998 Wimbledon junior champion Roger Federer was ready to make an impression in the cathedral of tennis in 2001. Roger reached the quarter-final at 19 after stunning the Wimbledon king Pete Sampras in epic five sets to remain on the title course. The youngster had to battle hard to pass four obstacles and find himself in the last eight, struggling with a groin injury and taking painkillers to endure all the efforts. In the second round, Roger took down Xavier Malisse in five sets and survived two tie breaks against Jonas Bjorkman in the next match to set Pete Sampras clash that went to the distance.

Roger Federer advanced into the Wimbledon 2001 quarter-final despite an injury.

After three hours and 41 minutes, Federer prevailed 7-5 in the decider, dethroning the Wimbledon legend and entering the quarters where he would lose in three tight sets to Tim Henman to end his great run before the semis. The youngster played at home in Gstaad next week, which made the injury even worse, skipped all the action ahead of the US Open and never found the proper form by the end of the season. After advancing into the semi-final in Miami next March, Roger spoke about the struggles at Wimbledon and the fact he would love to win the matches more efficiently in a couple of months at the All England Club, reducing the number of pre-Wimbledon events and hoping to be fit for the grass Major.  In Miami, Roger stormed over Andrei Pavel in under an hour, playing on a high level on both serve and return and racing into the last four to remain on the title course.    "Last year, I had a tough campaign at Wimbledon, struggling a lot physically despite a deep run. I had a five-setter in the second round, another challenging match in the third, and the toughest one against Pete Sampras in the last 16. I played with painkillers because of the injury, and I would love to have easier matches in the opening rounds this year while playing one tournament less before Wimbledon. Hopefully, I will be fit for Wimbledon," Roger Federer said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/39LfOBD