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Roger Federer is the all time men's singles champion at Wimbledon, winning eight times. One of the greatest players in tennis history, and arguably the greatest, Federer is known for his serve, lethal forehand and all court game. On grass he really has no weakness, and his slice backhand, crisp volleys and amazing footwork all form part of a devastating arsenal.
Born in Switzerland in 1981, Federer rose to prominence at Wimbledon in 2001, when as an unseeded 19 year old, he beat defending champion Pete Sampras in a five set classic in the fourth round. This was to be the one and only professional tour match between two tennis legends. Federer fell to home favourite Tim Henman in the subsequent quarter final.
Federer lost in the third round to Croatian Mario Ancic in 2002. In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title, defeating Andy Roddick in the semi-final before topping Australia's Mark Philippoussis in the final. This was the start of a remarkable run of five consecutive singles titles from 2003 to 2007, matching Bjorn Borg's record from 1976 to 1980.
In 2004 and 2005, he beat Andy Roddick in the final. In 2006, he defeated Nadal in four sets in the final, the first in their trilogy of consecutive Wimbledon finals. 2007 was a much closer affair, with the final going the distance. Nadal started the final brightly and led by two sets to one before Federer staged a comeback to win in five sets.
The 2008 final between Federer and Nadal was one of the greatest Wimbledon finals in history. Nadal had his best ever start in the final, taking a two sets lead. Federer came back and won the next two sets, both in tiebreaks. Interrupted by rain delays, the match extended into the evening. After a long, epic tussle, the final and deciding set was won 9-7 by Nadal in the fading light. Nadal had his first Wimbledon crown, denying Federer a record sixth consecutive title.
Federer regained his crown in 2009 in another epic high quality final, this time against the hapless Andy Roddick. Despite playing the match of his life, Roddick lost 16-14 in the final set. Federer lost at the quarterfinal stage in both 2010 and 2011. He won his seventh Wimbledon in 2012, defeating Great Britain's Andy Murray in the final.
He reached the final again in 2014 and 2015, losing both matches to Serbia's Novak Djokovic. In 2016, Federer lost in the semi final to Canada's Milos Raonic. Federer won his eight title in 2017, beating Croat Marin Cilic in the final. He also became only the second man in the Open Era since 1968 to win Wimbledon without dropping a set.
In 2018 Federer fell again at the quarterfinal stage. In 2019 he reached the Wimbledon final for a record 12th time. His opponent in the final was arch rival and world number 1 Novak Djokovic. In another extraordinary match, Federer lost in the fifth set tiebreak, 13-12, despite holding two match points on his own serve earlier in the set. It was the longest Wimbledon final in history at four hour and fifty seven minutes, but it was Federer's most disappointing final defeat.