The year when I became a HUGE roger FAN...

The 1st time I heard about Roger was in d 2000 Wimbledon championships. And I think no one had even heard his name before that. It was a fourth round clash with the King of Grass" Pete 'Pistol' Sampras. Everyone in the Centre court arena would have thought that it would be cake walk for Sampras. Pete had won 13 grand slams before this event. N he had won d Wimbledon championships for an unprecedented 8 times! He had broken all d records, beating all great players from Agassi to Goran Ivanisevic. He was the greatest tennis player after Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe. He re-defined d art of serve n volley. His one handed back-hand was simply breathtaking. Coming back to d championships, Sampras cruised through d earlier rounds. He was up against a young man aged 20, hailing from Switzerland. Roger Federer had won d boys title at d Wimbledon in 1998. But he never knew that this match could change his life forever. Roger battled through grueling 5 set match n eventually beat the champion. He fell on his knees after d last point. It was an emotional farewell for Sampras. He dint cum back to Wimbledon as injuries haunted him.

After d fourth round victory, roger was up against d British favorite Tim Henman. Roger fought hard but Henman was playing fantastic tennis. Roger lost d match but he left a mark on d centre court. Henman then met Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia where he lost. Goran then went to win d championship where he beat Patrick Rafter. He became d 1st wild card entrant to win d Wimbledon.

Roger was out of d news for some 2 years. He had lost to Mario Ancic in 2002 Wimbledon. Lleyton Hewitt had won d championship beating David Nalbandian of Argentina.

Roger was born in Basel, Switzerland on August 8, 1981. As a child, he was fascinated by basketball. He never grew up dreaming of tennis stardom. Federer says that, He used to play chess with has dad, knocking the pieces off when he lost. After he started playing tennis at d age of 17, he took d setbacks hard, smashing rackets & crying inconsolably after the defeats. Eventually, in his early 20s, Roger learned to control such things with the help of his girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec who was also a tennis player. He learned to control such feelings, part of a general maturation that led to his steady on court demeanor. In the year 2003, I became a huge fan of roger after he won the Wimbledon beating Andy Roddick in d finals. I became a huge fan of his one hand backhand. It was amazing. Still Cherish those MOMENTS!!