Roger Federer to make Wimbledon history against Lloyd Harris in Grand Slam opener
ROGER FEDERER will make Wimbledon history when he faces Lloyd Harris in their Grand Slam opener on Tuesday.
Roger Federer jokes about Wimbledon seedings
Roger Federer locks horns with Harris in their Wimbledon opener on Tuesday, a huge 21 years after the Swiss’ first outing.
And that means the 37-year-old, who has been seeded second for the competition, will make history.
Federer will become the first player, on both the men and women’s side of the draw, to ever participate at Wimbledon a staggering 21 years in a row.
He made his first appearance back in 1999, back when he was 17, and went down to Jiri Novak in five sets in the very first round.
Federer was also dumped out at the same stage in 2000 and 2002, reaching the quarter-finals of the competition in between.
But, in 2003, Federer struck gold.
The Swiss star breezed past Australian Mark Philippoussis 7-6, 6-2, 7-6 in the final to break his Grand Slam duck.
From then on he started to dominate Wimbledon, scooping the prize four more times on the trot after being Philoppoussis.
In 2004, he bested Andy Roddick over four sets before beating the American the following year as well.
In 2006, Federer edged out Rafa Nadal, winning 6–0, 7–6(7–5), 6–7(2–7), 6–3 in a five-set thriller.
He needed five sets to beat Nadal the following year, too, overcoming the Spaniard 7–6(9–7), 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 6–2.
But then, in 2008, his luck ran out.
In a match widely-regarded as the one of the best in tennis history, Nadal managed to make it third time lucky with a 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(8–10), 9–7 battle.
Federer was to regain his title the following year, beating Roddick to overtake Pete Sampras’ as the sport’s ultimate Grand Slam champion.
But he would have to wait until 2012 to scoop the prize again, where he beat an emotional Andy Murray in the final.
Federer experienced final heartbreak in 2014 and 2015, losing both matches to Novak Djokovic, but reigned supreme again in 2017, battering Marin Cilic.
Whether he can win again in 2019 is something only time will tell.
But Federer will etch his name into the history books once again when he locks horns with Harris on Tuesday.