At the peak of his powers, no player in the world could match Roger Federer on the court, especially at Wimbledon. No man has dominated the All England Club like the Swiss when he won the crown for five years in a row between 2003 and 2007 before adding three further titles, the last of which came in 2017. Since then, Federer has been forced to watch Novak Djokovic close the gap to his record at Wimbledon, with the Serb sitting on six titles after his triumph in 2021.
Djokovic has won the last three titles at the All England Club, notably beating Federer in a thrilling contest in the 2019 Final, where he had just enough when it mattered the most to close out the final set 13-12 on a tie-breaker. Federer has fallen off the pace of his contemporaries in the Grand Slams, allowing Rafael Nadal to surpass him and Djokovic to join him on 20 crowns. Federer will be determined for one last great effort at Wimbledon if his knee injury permits, and is backed at 20/1 in the odds for betting online on tennis to rise to the occasion to claim his ninth title at the All England Club.
At the age of 40 and with his recent injury problems, it would be a remarkable achievement for the Swiss to rise to the top once more. Djokovic will also be smelling blood in the water to attempt to catch Nadal for the most Grand Slams after missing out at the Australian Open. Then there is the next generation of talent who are achieving great things in the game and are ready to challenge the old guard for the major honors. Federer will not have to defy his age, but also the brilliance of the next crop of players who watched him dominate an era and have strived to match his style and aura on the court.
For all the players on the ATP Tour, Federer was the gold standard, even though Nadal and Djokovic were present on the scene, no player did more for tennis’ reputation across the globe than the Swiss. Just as Tiger Woods delivered sensational performances in golf, Federer was the equivalent in becoming a household name, not only for his success but the manner of his victories. On the Wimbledon baseline, Federer was serene in his dominance of good players, picking his spot down the line with ease to march his way towards his eight titles. Rarely was he flustered, and even when he did lose, he did so with a fight against Nadal in 2008 when his run of five-straight crowns was halted by the Spaniard.
Federer deserves one last shot at the All England Club after bowing out in 2021 at the hands of Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets in the quarter-finals. That result cannot be the end of the Swiss in a venue that he held an imperious hold on for five years, and arguably an entire decade. He has resisted calls to retire, but perhaps a famous run to his ninth Wimbledon title might be enough to ensure that he ends on a high note rather than a struggle against the dying of the light.
