A look back at Roger Federer’s journey in the Olympics
The Olympic Games are just a few days away. The spectacle can be witnessed only once in four years. People remain anxious to witness the performance of some of the greatest athletes in the world.
A number of athletes participate in the sporting extravaganza hoping to make history. Some athletes find pride even at the chance to represent their nation at the grand stage.
Roger Federer, one of the greatest ever people to set foot on a tennis court, will not be participating in any tournament, including the Rio Olympics, for the rest of the year due to injury.
One could probably conjecture that this was his last chance atwinning the gold in Men’s Singles event, leaving the gold medalthe missing accolade in his trophy-laden career. Here is a flashback at his Olympics journey so far.
Sydney Olympics, 2000
The Sydney Olympics in 2000 was the first appearance for Federer at the Olympic level.
He was only twenty at the time. Despite not making much noise in any of the Grand Slams till that part of the year, he had a good run in the tournament. The Swiss reached the semi-finals at the tournament, losing in the end to Tommy Haas of Germany.
He then had a shot at the bronze medal which he ultimately lost to the Frenchman, Arnaud Di Pasquale, and was visibly disappointed by his performance in that match. “Considering how the match was going, I should never have lost,” Federer said, hardly able to hold back the tears. “I really wanted to be standing on the podium. Now I have nothing to take home except my pride.”
His fourth round appearance in the French Open that year was his best performance in the Grand Slams throughout the year. He ended the year ranked 29th, breaking into the top 30.
The tournament proved to be fruitful for him in another aspect, though!
He met his future wife Mirka Vavrinec in the Olympic village – and the pair began dating after the tournament.
Today, they are married and parents of two pairs of twins, but it all started at the Sydney Olympics for them.