History was made on Sunday 5th July on the hallowed turf of Wimbledon’s Centre Court as arguably the greatest player ever to grace the game, Roger Federer, won an all-time record 15th Grand Slam singles title.
The Swiss superstar, who was contesting a record seventh successive Wimbledon men’s singles final, prevailed in a marathon five-set final against long-time rival Andy Roddick 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 3-6, 16-14 to claim his sixth crown at The Championships.
In a fitting touch, seven-time Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras was there to see his record broken – the American finished his illustrious career with 14 major singles titles. Sampras was joined on the front row of the Royal Box by Manolo Santana, Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg.
The victory also holds significance in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings as Federer will now reclaim the No. 1 ranking after surrendering the top spot to Rafael Nadal 46 weeks on 18 August, 2008. The Swiss had previously sat atop the Rankings for a record 237 weeks, since 2nd February, 2004 – the day after he claimed his first Australian Open crown (d. Safin).
Federer continues to etch his name in the history books. Just four weeks ago the 27-year-old achieved the career Grand Slam as he finally laid his hands on the Coupe des Mousquetaires, defeating first-time finalist Robin Soderling in his fourth straight Roland Garros final.
