Federer

At his best, Federer's feet never seemed to touch the court, manoeuvring him effortlessly into position to swat away an impossible winner with the merest ...

Federer had not beaten Nadal at a grand slam in nearly a decade and it appeared the Spaniard had once again worn down his rival when he took a 3-1 lead in the fifth set. He was not finished, winning a record eighth Wimbledon title the same year and then retaining his Melbourne crown in 2018. When back problems contributed to a slump in form in 2013, and the end of his astonishing run of 36 straight grand slam quarter-finals, Federer allowed himself to reveal his doubts. Nadal was increasingly affected by injury but now Federer found his path to more slam titles blocked by Djokovic, who beat him to the Wimbledon crown in successive years before winning another final battle at the US Open. He recruited childhood hero Stefan Edberg as a coach and volleyed his way back to the Wimbledon final in 2014. He was twice denied a calendar Grand Slam, something achieved in the men’s game by only Rod Laver – twice – and Don Budge, after losing to Rafael Nadal in the final of the French Open. Although he enjoys a good relationship with Nadal that has strengthened throughout the years, the Swiss was never able quite to hide his belief that his game, built on attack and risk, was superior to his rival’s more pragmatic approach. One of his finest moments came in the summer of 2009 when, taking advantage of Nadal’s shock first loss at Roland Garros, he finally lifted the French Open trophy in his fourth final before going on to reclaim the Wimbledon crown. It was a measure of Federer’s talent that, when he won his first grand slam title at Wimbledon in 2003, aged 21, there was a sense of ‘at last’. Every time Federer won, his interpretation of tennis as art seemed to sprinkle a little more stardust on the game. It was not until he saw a psychologist and learned, Bjorn Borg-style, how to find his inner calm that he began to live up to his potential. The Swiss hangs up his racket as not just one of the best but one of the most loved athletes of all time, a sporting god inspiring devotion in millions worldwide.