It was the 2016 Wimbledon Championships. American player Steve Johnson had defeated Grigor Dimitrov in the third round of the tournament. Up next, he was set to face the Swiss maestro, Roger Federer. It was one of the biggest moments of Johnson’s career as he was due to play against the legend on Wimbledon’s center court.

However, his excitement was short-lived as Federer broke hardly any sweat in dispatching Johnson in straight sets. Subsequently, the former World Number 1 reached the semifinals of the tournament before losing to Canada’s Milos Raonic in a five-set thriller. Recently, Johnson opened up about his experience of playing against Federer on the center court of Wimbledon.

Steve Johnson reveals mixed emotions while playing against Roger Federer

It was Johnson’s first meeting with Federer in his career. The American opened up about the match as he said, “Got my a** kicked, it was a lot of fun. Bit of nightmare, but then a dream & then nightmare, & then dream. Then we finished & I walked back past all of his trophies, I was like, this guy knows what he’s doing.”

The Swiss Maestro has been one of the greatest players in Wimbledon’s history. His first Grand Slam title came at this very tournament in 2003. He defeated Mark Philippoussis in the summit clash of that tournament to clinch his maiden Grand Slam title. Since then, he has added seven more Wimbledon titles to take his tally to eight.

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Federer’s last appearance came at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships. He reached the quarterfinals of the tournament before losing to Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets. Subsequently, he suffered a knee injury that has kept him away from tennis since.

Stefanos Tsitsipas heaps praise on Federer

During an interview, the Greece tennis star expressed his awe for the Swiss maestro.

“I have a lot of respect for him. I enjoyed just watching him on TV. Probably hitting with him on a tennis court would have been a never-in-a-lifetime scenario. When I first faced him, I was about to serve and I was thinking, Roger is on the other side of the net.”

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After being out for more than a year, Federer will mark his return at the Laver Cup in September. Further, he’ll also participate at the Swiss Indoors in Basel.