WATCH—Team Europe defends Laver Cup title:

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This Sunday, Sep. 30, 2018, is a special day for Roger Federer and his millions of fans—it’s the 20th anniversary of the 20-time Grand Slam champion’s first career ATP tour win.

Fresh off a fantastic summer that saw him win the Wimbledon junior title and finish runner-up at the US Open juniors (to David Nalbandian), a 17-year-old Federer battled through qualifying to get into the main draw of the ATP tour event in Toulouse, France in late September. He would then beat Guillaume Raoux in the first round, 6-2, 6-2, for the first ATP tour-level win of his career.

That win over the now-retired Frenchman came on Sep. 30, 1998, exactly 20 years ago.

Federer, ranked No. 878 at the time, followed up his win over No. 45 Raoux with a 6-1, 7-6 (5) victory over No. 43 Richard Fromberg before falling to No. 20 Jan Siemerink in the quarterfinals, 7-6 (5), 6-2.

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Today is the 20th anniversary of Roger Federer's first ATP tour win

Today is the 20th anniversary of Roger Federer's first ATP tour win

Fast forward 20 years and he now has 1,168 career match wins on the ATP tour (1,168-256 overall) and 98 career titles, as well as the record for most Grand Slam titles for a man in the history of the sport with 20 (which includes six Australian Opens, one French Open, eight Wimbledons and five US Opens). He also has a record 310 career weeks as the world No. 1.

After falling earlier than expected at the last Grand Slam of 2018 earlier this month—he lost to John Millman in the fourth round of the US Open—the No. 2-ranked Federer will return to action at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, where he’s a two-time champion in 2014 (beating Gilles Simon in the final) and 2017 (beating Rafael Nadal in the final). Nadal won’t be playing there this year but the rest of the Top 5 will be there (Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro and Alexander Zverev).

“I personally enjoy my time in Shanghai,” Federer said after winning the Shanghai title last year. “I always look forward to it every year. Shanghai is a priority for me in my schedule. I always manage my schedule throughout the year that I can also peak during Shanghai. It’s always nice to be back.”

Last year Federer won his first 13 matches of the fall season, winning titles in Shanghai and Basel before the winning streak was snapped in the semifinals of the ATP Finals (against David Goffin).

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Today is the 20th anniversary of Roger Federer's first ATP tour win

Today is the 20th anniversary of Roger Federer's first ATP tour win

ATP Beijing & Tokyo (Sep. 30-Oct. 7)

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