Roger Federer made a name for himself in his junior years, finishing the 1998 season as No.1 at the end of the year having conquered Wimbledon. Still a teenager, Federer advanced to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2001, stunning seven-time champion Pete Sampras in London before falling in close sets to Tim Henman.
Federer had a strong run in the first half of 2002, contested the first Masters 1000 final in Miami and took it one step further in May in Hamburg, winning the first trophy at that level and entering the top 10 the next day.
Roger Federer spoke about Martina Hingis in Rome in 2003.
After premature outings at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and lost points from the previous year, Roger was unable to play at his best for the remainder of the season, struggling on and off the pitch and hoping for a better race in 2003.
He had a great start to the mentioned season, scoring the most wins ahead of Indian Wells and playing at a high level on clay after conquering Munich and reaching the third round of Rome.
When asked about the National Athlete of the Year award, Federer admitted that it was not easy to win it in Switzerland and that it was not his main target. He also mentioned Martina Hingis, who had decided to retire from tennis, leaving Roger as the ultimate Swiss tennis star during those years.
“I don’t know, every year you have guys who achieve something big, like Simon Ammann last year. Then you have the skiers who win races or World Cups.
Maybe I’m the most popular Swiss athlete, but in terms of results I have to step it up in big tournaments or the Davis Cup to be the sports athlete of the year.
This is the reason why I have not yet achieved this goal in Switzerland. I was second last year, third two years ago. Yet it is not the most important thing in life.
I may have received more attention since Martina Hingis retired, but I was popular even though she was still active. Plus, my results have helped me become more popular.
My goals are higher than that. I mean, I hope I will one day be the Sports Athlete of the Year if we have some guys who are not performing, “said Roger Federer.
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