Roger Federer established himself as one of the players to beat on the ATP Tour in 2001 and 2002, improving his game and achieving his first notable results in Majors and Masters 1000.
The Swiss reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Roland Garros in 2001, picked up the pace and repeated the feat at the All England Club a few weeks later
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After winning the junior Wimbledon crown in 1998, Federer found his best game in the cathedral of tennis in 2001 and qualified for the quarter-finals after a thrilling 7-6, 5-7, 6-5, 6-7 triumph.
7-5. over seven-time champion Pete Sampras in the fourth round. The young man prevailed in three hours and 40 minutes, overcoming all obstacles and staying focused until the last point to emerge victorious and qualify for the quarter-finals.
Federer sealed the deal with a game-winning comeback in game 12 to find himself in the quarters, facing Tim Henman in a battle for the semis.
The youngster lost three tight sets against the Briton, battling a groin injury for seven days and missing all tournaments between Gstaad and the US Open.
Roger had the opportunity to face the other American legend, Andre Agassi, in the fourth round in New York, but he lost in straight sets and failed to reach his third consecutive quarter-final in a major tournament.
Federer and Agassi faced off at the Miami Masters six months later, the Swiss battling for his first Masters 1000 trophy against the crowd favourite. The experience paid off in Florida, as Agassi beat Federer in four sets to lift the trophy.
In the fourth set, Roger led 4-2 before Andre won the remaining four games to seal the deal and leave the 20-year-old empty-handed. Talking about Sampras and Agassi, Federer said they were different players and liked the Wimbledon clash against Sampras more than the Miami final against Agassi.
Moreover, Federer revealed that Pete was his favorite player when he was young, while he couldn’t say the same about Andre due to his style of play.
Cahill pays tribute to Federer.
Remembering a match between Roger Federer and Andre Agassi in 2003, Darren Cahill has revealed that after losing, Agassi predicted the Swiss maestro would change the way tennis was played.
“I don’t remember the score, but Andre lost, he was beaten soundly by Federer,” Cahill said. “I was shocked by Federer’s level of play, he took the racket from Andre’s hands.
It was one of the finest displays in tennis and I walked into the locker room afterwards to tap him on the shoulder. I said to him, “Bad luck, mate. Roger was too good“.
