When Roger Federer treated the ball kids to a post-tournament pizza party after winning his first title in Basel

The 2006 season was one of Roger Federer's best on the ATP tour, as he won 12 titles, including three Grand Slams. But the most personally rewarding victory for the Swiss came towards the end of the year, when he won the Swiss Indoors, marking his first title in his hometown of Basel.

Seeded No. 1 in the tournament, Federer defeated Tomas Zib and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the first two rounds to set up a quarter-final meeting with fifth seed David Ferrer. The Spaniard surrendered the first set in tame fashion, but refused to budge in the second. The Swiss eventually eked out a 16-14 win in the tie-break to book his place in the semifinals.

At the penultimate hurdle, the former World No. 1 faced off against Paradorn Srichapan. Although the top seed took the first seed, Srichapan took the second to force a decider. The two matched each other shot for shot in the final set, before the 40-year-old eventually sealed it 7-5 in a tie-break.

Federer squared off against third seed Fernando Gonzalez in the final, a best-of-five affair that the Swiss scooped up in straight sets in just under two hours. The 2006 title run marked his best-ever finish in Basel at the time, improving on the runner-up results in the 2000 and 2001 editions.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who served as a ball boy in the very same tournament for two years as a kid, celebrated his maiden triumph by taking all the ball kids out for a pizza party.

Ball boy Roger Federer with Jimmy Connors at the Swiss Indoors Basel 😊 https://t.co/sZeFI5KI1f

Speaking afterwards, the 40-year-old was immensely proud of his roots and remarked that he would "always be a ball boy" at heart. As for the victory, he referred to it as a "dream come true" and said winning in front of his home fans was "one of the nicest titles" of his career.

"It’s a dream come true to finally win my home tournament. This is an exciting moment and one of the nicest titles of my career," he said. "I guess it means I am still a ball boy too because at heart, I’m always gonna be a ball boy.”

Roger Federer went on to win the Swiss Indoors 9 more times, and is a 3-time defending champion

Roger Federer is a 10-time winner at the Swiss Indoors, and the three-time defending champion

The 2006 title marked the start of Roger Federer's dominance at the Swiss Indoors as he went on to win the tournament nine more times in the next 13 years.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion won the tournament the next two years after his maiden triumph, defeating Jarkko Nieminen and David Nalbandian respectively in the final. After finishing as the runner-up in 2009 (losing to Novak Djokovic), the former World No. 1 won the title in 2010 and 2011, first avenging his loss against Djokovic and then outclassing Kei Nishikori.

The World No. 27 could only manage a runner-up result in the next two years, losing both times against Juan Martin del Potro in the final. 2014 and 2015 once again saw Federer lift the trophy, vanquishing Rafael Nadal and David Goffin in their respective finals.

99th career title ✔️

@rogerfederer defeats M. Copil 7-6, 6-4 to capture his 9th hometown 🏆 at the Swiss Indoors 🇨🇭Basel!

📸: 2018 #USOpen https://t.co/Ez2wNSxgBF

After skipping the 2016 edition with an injury, the Swiss won three championships on the trot with victories over Juan Martin del Potro, Marius Copil and Alex de Minaur in the corresponding finals. As he did after his first title, the 20-time Grand Slam champion continued the post-victory pizza party for the ball kids on each of the other nine occasions.

It takes history to create tradition.

A 10th Swiss Indoors title for @RogerFederer and it's pizza all 'round. https://t.co/nyqAto4Ves

The Swiss Indoors did not take place in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID pandemic, meaning that when the tournament resumes in Basel this year, Federer will be the three-time defending champion.