Roger Federer announced his retirement from tennis on Thursday evening. It was met with heartfelt messages from fans and other players alike. His absence on the tennis court will leave a gap too huge to be filled. The Swiss maestro has had a stellar career and his 24-year longevity is a testament to his greatness.

Federer first made headlines in 2001 when he defeated then world no.1 and four-time defending champion at Wimbledon, Pete Sampras.

The period of unparalleled competition

At the 2003 Wimbledon Championships, he got his breakthrough, as Federer achieved the first of his twenty Grand Slams. This was a start of an era where practically no one would come close to challenging Federer’s dominance. He would reign as the World no.1 for 237consecutive weeks from 2004 to 2008, win five back-to-back US Open and Wimbledon titles and eventually pass Pete Sampras as the most successful tennis player in the Open Era as per major records. Such was his dominance that from 2005 Wimbledon to the 2010 Australian Open he only missed a Grand Slam final once.

Later years of sustained dominance

At the start of the next decade, his dominance was shared with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic but even then he used to regularly make tournament finals. A knee injury in 2016sidelined him for half a year. But his comeback in 2017 will be talked about for eternity. A A36-year-old Roger was at the height of his prowess winning the 2017 Australian Open and Wimbledon. He would then defend his Melbourne in 2018 and play an epic 2019 Wimbledon final.

His last professional appearance came at SW19 last year when he was upset in the quarterfinals by Herbert Hurkaz in straight sets. Since then there has been plenty of work on his knee but it seems like a step too far.

Roger’s retirement doesn’t exactly come as a shock but for someone who had such an amazing career, it does feel bad that he won’t have a chance to step on the courts of a major tournament and bow out in a winning way.