An all-time record in Grand Slam singles title haul was made on Sunday, July 5 at the All England Club as Swiss superstar Roger Federer outlasted American sixth seed Andy Roddick in a thrilling match that lasted four hours and sixteen minutes. The final score 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14.
Federer, who regains the number one ranking following the title win, reached a record seventh consecutive Wimbledon men’s singles final. Out of these seven, he won six times. The only blemish in this record was his loss last year to Rafael Nadal.
During the entire match, Federer could not break Roddick’s serve except for the final game when he won the first match point on the American’s serve.
Former Slam-record holder Pete Sampras was seen at the Royal Box together with other tennis greats such as Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver and Manolo Santana. Sampras holds 14 major singles titles, seven of them from Wimbledon.
“I’m happy I broke the record here in some ways because this is always the tournament that’s meant the most to me because of my heroes and idols being so successful here,” Federer said.
“It definitely feels like it’s come full circle for me starting it here (first Grand Slam win in 2003) and ending it here. Of course, my career is far from over,” he added.
It only took Federer six years to amass 15 Slam titles as opposed to Sampras’ twelve years.
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Roger Federer’s Slam title record:
Australian Open: 3 titles
French Open: 1 title
Wimbledon: 6 titles
US Open: 5 titles
