“I was very nervous”: Federer became number 1 for the first time twenty years ago

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Twenty years ago today, something historic happened in the sport: the name Roger Federer appeared at the top of the world rankings for the first time. The tennis world looked very different then than it does now: the Australian Open is played on a green hard surface, Novak Djokovic was eliminated from the junior tableau in the semi-finals and Federer wore his long hair tied in a ponytail.

On January 30 in Melbourne, it became clear that a Swiss would ascend the tennis throne for the first time: Federer defeated the Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in the semi-finals of the Australian Open and thus secured enough points to replace the American Andy Roddick as number 1. “I was very nervous at the end, you still notice that,” Federer admitted to SRF shortly afterwards. “I just wanted to be the best and that’s what I am now. It’s crazy.”

Federer becomes the 23rd No. 1 in men’s tennis history. For him, it’s an ejection seat: Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Marat Safin, Gustavo Kuerten, Lleyton Hewitt, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Andy Roddick have held the position since the turn of the millennium. Stability returns with Federer: it was only in August 2008 that he was pushed off the top by Rafael Nadal. Federer’s 237 weeks in a row remains the record.

He took back No. 1 five times – most recently in June 2018 when he was almost 37 years old. An age record that could be broken by current number 1 Novak Djokovic (36) as early as March. (cmu)

Source : Blick