One of the waning moments when Federer was not a Wimbledon champion.
A relaxed Federer commanded Centre Court with elegant ease nine years ago, scoring his sixth straight-sets win of the fortnight to fulfill a childhood dream by winning Wimbledon.
It was Federer's first Grand Slam title in his 17th major appearance. The 21-year-old former Basel ball boy became the first Swiss man to win a major championship, didn't face a break point in the final, and surrendered just six points on his first serve in the one hour, 56-minute match.
Grand Slam finals aren't easy, but Federer sometimes made it look that way. Continuing the near-flawless form he showed in his straight-set semifinal win over Andy Roddick, the fourth-seeded Federer’s vast variety of shots and ability to play offensive tennis from virtually any position on the court were too much for Philippoussis, who couldn't keep pace in running rallies.
Sitting in his court-side seat, emotions did what opponents could not do during this fortnight—crack the concentration of Federer, who sobbed with joy. He broke down again while thanking his supporters in his victory speech.
"I was always joking around when I was a boy, 'I'm going to win this,' " Federer told the Centre Court crowd. "I never thought it possible to win a Grand Slam."
In his six tournament victories, Philippoussis pounded 164 aces, including a record-tying 46 in his five-set victory over Andre Agassi in the fourth round, but Federer’s fast hands enabled him to put most of the Aussie's powerful returns back in the court. Philippoussis hit only 14 aces in the final and a committed a crucial double fault in the first-set tiebreaker that gave Federer a set point at 6-4. Two points later, Philippoussis flailed a forehand several feet beyond the baseline to hand Federer the first set.
"I didn't have one break point today, and he definitely returned a lot better than I did," Philippoussis said afterward. "He took advantage of his chances, and it was too good."
In a classic championship performance, Federer delivered 50 winners, 21 aces, and committed only nine unforced errors. It was an authoritative performance from the 1998 junior Wimbledon winner, who joined Bjorn Borg, Pat Cash, and Stefan Edberg as one of four men to win both the Wimbledon junior and professional championships. Federer completed the grass-court season with a 12-0 record.
When Federer upset seven-time Wimbledon king Pete Sampras in the fourth round two years earlier, he was anointed as the American's successor and a future Wimbledon winner. Sampras himself selected Federer as the favorite to win Wimbledon in 2003, and the player who has proven himself a champion on all surfaces looked completely comfortable raising the first of many Grand Slam trophies.
Federer's Most Memorable Wimbledon Moments
—No. 5: Toppling the top seed, and his idol (2001, vs. Sampras)
—No. 4: First Championships, first major (2003, vs. Philippoussis)
—No. 3: Bending but not breaking, for five straight (2007, vs. Nadal)
—No. 2: The greatest loss of all time (2008, vs. Nadal)
—No. 1: The king's coronation (2009, vs. Roddick)
