5 most emotional moments from Roger Federer's career so far
The iconic Roger Federer has continued, at 35-years-old, to add laurels to his ever-growing trophy cabinet – this time with wins at the Australian Open – his 18th Major – and his fifth title at Indian Wells.
Now heading into Miami and hoping to score the sunshine double, Federer seems to be entirely unstoppable.
The Swiss has never been one to shy away from expressing emotion on the court – so here we look at 5 of his most emotional moments:
#5 Australian Open 2006 – repeat success
Federer had already won an Australian Open title – in 2004, with a win over Marat Safin in the finals. But 2005 saw Safin take the title, with an early defeat of – you guessed it – Federer. Looking to take back the title in 2006, Federer, the top seed – and by now the World No. 1 had perhaps only two difficult matches en route to a final from the then little-known unseeded player Marcos Baghdatis in the final.
Cypriot player Baghdatis defeated a number of the top seeds – Ivan Ljubicic and David Nalbandian among them, to run into the final – and there, immediately took the first set off Federer to truly declare himself.
With the first two sets going to the brink – one each to Baghdatis and Federer, it was the No. 1 who finally mounted a solid juggernaut to firmly wrest the momentum of the match back in his direction.
An emotional Federer, on whom the match had taken an emotional toll, thanked both his own team and that of Baghdatis for their support as he accepted his trophy.