Roger Federer made his first Grand Slam quarterfinals in back-to-back tournaments at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2001. The Swiss was unable to repeat those accomplishments a year later, suffering early defeats and hoping for a better run in 2003 .
Federer won his first grass-court title in Halle just weeks before Wimbledon and traveled to the All England Club as favourite. Roger only dropped one set against Hyung-Taik Lee, Stefan Koubek and Mardy Fish whom he met in week two.
The Swiss beat Feliciano López in the fourth round despite a serious back injury that almost cost him the first set and possibly the entire match. Federer beat the injured Sjeng Schalken in the quarterfinals to set up his long-awaited clash against Andy Roddick, two youngsters facing off in their first Major final.
Federer played at a high level winning 7-6, 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 43 minutes. Roger dodged a set point in the tie break and never looked back in sets two and three.
Roddick only missed two break chances early in the second set and struggled to keep pace with his opponent.
The American suffered three breaks that pushed Roger to the finish line.
With 34 serve wins, Federer made just 35 errors to properly tame his shots and build up the pressure in front. After the match, Roger was feeling confident after such a solid performance, showing he has what it takes to be great and hoping for more in the title clash against Mark Philippoussis.
The Swiss was ready to try his luck again in the following years if he lost the final, which he did not. “I still have one game to play, and if I don’t win the title, I will try to come back and be successful in the next few years”
Federer visited Wimbledon during a layover in London.
During the presentation of the Sports Trophies in Switzerland, Roger Federer evoked the famous Laver Cup ceremony.
The Swiss even revealed in front of his family that there are different scenarios depending on his emotional state. “In fact, with my agent Tony Godsick, we had planned a plan B in case I wasn’t able to say a word.
I have to say I was a little anxious before everything fell into place. At first, a few weeks earlier, I wasn’t even sure if I could play, so I figured I should show up in a suit and tie.
Then I realized I could do a double and that relaxed me a bit. On D-Day, despite the tears and emotions, I was able to say a few words, so it was great, and I think I fought well in the end (laughs)”
