Monday, 22 September 1997- this was the day Roger Federer began his march towards the ATP top ten. At that time, he was nought but a little known youngster. Now, after 20 long and memorable years in the men’s professional tennis, Roger Federer is the epitome of tennis. Federer, Lleyton Hewitt and Juan Carlos Ferrero all started their journey at a similar stage. Roger Federer began his illustrious career at world no.803. Hewitt, who would later go on to become the world number one, at 808. Ferrero, another top ten contender, kickstarted his campaign at 756.

“The ATP rankings is where it all starts for every player,” Federer said. “It’s about getting your foot on the ladder and seeing your name on the computer rankings for the first time. I’ll never forget that moment and the excitement I felt after that Satellite. It was the start of a long journey to the top for me”. In 1997, Federer, just a 16-year-old then, finished nine years of schooling with his sights firmly set on a professional tennis career. Since then he has never looked back and his ascent in to the top 50 ATP rankings was fast.

Federer has 93 trophies, a staggering win-to-loss record of 1119-249, and a record number of 302 weeks at the top spot. The Swiss acs has achieved everything he could have dreamed of. After 2 grand slam titles and a resurgence in 2017, he shifts his focus towards reducing the gap between him and Rafa in the singles rankings. He is zoning in on that top spot again.

Federer has been a revered personality, not just as a great sportsman, but as a wonderful human being as well. The day he hangs up his boots will be a definitive moment in the sport of tennis, and to fill the void that he leaves, will be a tough task for the future generations of tennis players to come. However, for now he does not seem to be in any hurry to do so, and looks forward to the 2018 season with plenty of goals already on his to-do-list.