On July 5, 1998, Roger Federer, a 16-year-old Swiss boy born in Basel, was lifting a trophy presented to him by the Duke and Duchess of Kent in the Center Court box at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon.
Minutes earlier, on Wimbledon’s popular track 2, known as ‘The Cemetery’ for its fame of burying hopes in the main draw tournament of great tennis players’, Roger Federer had won the Georgian Irakli in the final of the junior category Labadze for a double 6-4.
The BBC made a brief informative flash from center court, after the women’s doubles final, in which the Dukes of Kent, accompanied by Chris Gorringe, executive director of the tournament, presented the cup to the Swiss player who, noticeably moved, showed it to the public. It is a document with no more sound than the background, but finished off in its last moments by the commentator with a premonitory “we will see him again”.
Federer raised his arms after an ace that gave him the point of the final victory against Labadze. “I was satisfied, but not euphoric,” Federer recalled from that moment a few years ago. Peter Carter, his friend and his coach, defined the final from another perspective. “He played the final with the concentration of a professional tennis player,” Carter said. “Now all that remains is to improve his volleys,” added the coach who died in a traffic accident in South Africa in 2002.
That victory disrupted Roger Federer’s immediate plans. The young Swiss canceled his invitation to the tournament’s Champions’ Dinner, to travel to Bern on Sunday by plane, and then by car to Gstaad. He had received a wild-card from Kobi Hermenjat, tournament director, for what was to be his first participation in an ATP draw.
From playing on a grass court and practically at sea level, to doing it on the clay of Gstaad at more than a thousand meters of altitude, it was a challenge for the young Federer to adapt. Even more so when his victory at Wimbledon, the first for a Swiss since Heinz Gunthardt won the All England Club junior in 1976, raised great expectations in the country. In fact, on Monday he was barely able to train calmly because he had to attend to numerous requests from the media.
The fans also wanted to get closer to Roger, and they came to protest because the game scheduled for Tuesday against the German Tommy Haas was scheduled on track 1, with less capacity than the central one. With the court full, Federer did not meet Tommy Haas, but with the Argentine Lucas Arnold, who replaced the German when he dropped out due to injury. Arnold won the match by a double 6-4. Although Federer showed his quality, something was still missing. “Only when you play regularly with the professionals have you just played as a junior and you don’t make junior mistakes,” Federer explained of his experience in the tournament that ended with Álex Corretja winning the title by beating Boris Becker in the final.
And from Gstaad to La Coruña. Stephan Oberer, captain of the Swiss Davis Cup team, selected Federer as the sparring partner for the team that faced Spain in the World Group quarterfinals. Federer accompanied Marc Rosset, Ivo Heuberger, Lorenzo Manta and George Bastl to Galician lands. Spain, led by Manolo Santana, who formed with Carlos Moyà, Álex Corretja, Julián Alonso and Javier Sánchez Vicario, prevailed by a clear 4-1.
After these experiences, Federer focused on the goal of finishing the season as junior world number one for which the Argentines David Nalbandian and Guillermo Coria, the Chilean Fernando González and the Swede Andreas Vinciguerra were also fighting.
Back in the category, his first tournament ended with a defeat in the semifinals of the European Championship against Feliciano López. Already at the United States Open, Nalbandian beat him in the final of the Parisian Grand Slam 6-3, 7-5, but Federer established his leadership in the Orange Bowl, defeating Nalbandian in the semifinals and Coria in the final. .
Federer finished off the season by playing the Sunshine Cup with Switzerland, a team competition in which Spain beat the Swiss in the semifinals, although Roger beat Juan Carlos Ferrero in his individual match. Spain, with a team made up of Juan Carlos Ferrero, Tommy Robredo and Feliciano López, won the title that closed the campaign.
Last Tuesday, the young man who won the Wimbledon junior test 25 years ago, a tournament in which he won eight titles and forged a good part of his extraordinary legend, was received as the All England Club’s guest of honor. An ovation for a minute and a half, with the entire audience on their feet when Federer entered the Royal Box marked another great moment while a video was watched with his great deeds in the tournament. Federer sat in the Royal Box between Kate Middelton, Princess of Wales, and his wife Mirka. Behind him were his parents, Lynette and Robert. He was also accompanied by his friend and coach and his wife, former tennis player Mary Joe Fernández.
