Roger Federer, often called the "Swiss Maestro," is one of the most accomplished players in tennis and definitely one of the most liked. Starting his professional tennis career just around the time when Pete Sampras set a record for most Grand Slam titles won by a man - 14, the Swiss player, born in Basel, Switzerland, always seemed to be destined to become the "next big thing."
And it didn't take very long before Federer made his mark on the ATP Tour. In 2003, he showed his qualities on the Grand Slam level, beating the likes of Andy Roddick on his way to the Wimbledon title, which was also his first major.
Only one year after that, Federer also won the Australian Open, after which he climbed to the world no. 1 spot for the first time in his career, and he followed up on the success with another Wimbledon title and his maiden US Open trophy, too.
In the following years, Federer dominated the sport. He won 12 Grand Slam titles between 2003 and 2007, having three seasons in which he won three majors, more specifically, three seasons in which he won the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.
There was always one Grand Slam that he seemed to be unable to conquer, and one particular man also had something to do with it. Rafael Nadal is undoubtedly the best clay court player in the history of the sport, and he was the man who always stopped Federer at the Roland Garros, four times in the final and twice in the semifinals.
But in 2009, Federer managed to win the French Open, capitalizing on Nadal's surprising fourth-round loss to Sweden's Robin Soderling. By doing so, the Swiss player completed a Career Grand Slam.
Yet, despite winning the Australian Open six times, Wimbledon eight times, and the US Open five times, he never managed to win the Roland Garros more than once, and therefore, he never completed the Career Grand Slam more than once, unlike his rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
The Swiss legend also has a silver medal in singles at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and a gold medal in doubles with his fellow compatriot Stan Wawrinka from the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
After struggling with injuries for the majority of the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Federer made a decision to retire from the sport in 2022. He played his last match at the 2021 Wimbledon, losing to Poland's Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals.
