When Roger Federer won the 2010 Australian Open Final in straight sets, he knew that he had just taken down a quality player in Andy Murray. At the same time, the Swiss genius knew his own excellence, as he would admit in the victory speech. “I always knew I had something special.” That glimpse of his greatness probably first came to light 24 years ago to the date, when the world saw him defeat seven-time Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras at SW19. And the video of that win is once again circulating, making us take a trip down memory lane.

The Tennis Letter shared a post on July 2nd, in which we see a young Roger Federer going toe-to-toe with a 29-year-old Pete Sampras in the fourth round of the tournament. The match ebbed and flowed, but eventually, it was the 19-year-old newbie who would triumph in 5 sets. And what do you know, the Swiss prodigy would end the American’s charge for his 5th straight Wimbledon title, though it would take two more years for Federer himself to win his first.

During the time of the match with Sampras, the then 19-year-old Federer had clinched just 1 title – the ATP Tour event in Milan in January 2001. He was 15th seed in the 2001 Wimbledon, while Sampras was Number 1. And yet, as the match started, soon it was evident that it was a clash of equals. As the match oscillated, Federer took the first set 7-6(9-7). Then Sampras would break back to clinch the 2nd set 7-5.

But the kid from Basel wasn’t going to be pushed around. And mesmerizing the spectators at Centre Court, Roger Federer hit back by clinching the 3rd set 6-4. The people were seeing a kid playing effortless, yet fluent and precise tennis. The stroke plays were elegant, something you can so easily fall in love with. But at the same time, the kid was producing winners on call. The Number 1 seed had to produce magical shots of himself to win the 4th set in tiebreak and take the match to the 5th set.

But after a grueling 3 hour and 41-minute battle, the kid would emerge victorious. Yes, Federer eventually bowed out in the quarterfinal, but it was his biggest win at that point in his career. How ironic it was that both the competitors were in disbelief after the match. Humility has always been a defining feature of Roger Federer. No sooner had he hit the winning forehand, the 19-year-old fell to his knees. What has he done? What an unbelievable achievement!

Federer wouldn’t know back then that he would scale that Championship summit 8 times in his storied career. In the years since, he has become the symbol of the class that Wimbledon stands for.

Roger Federer’s journey from stopping Champions to becoming the greatest

This win stopped Sampras’ 32 match winning streak at Wimbledon. After the match, talking about halting his idol’s run, a confident Federer said this as per ASAP Sports, “I went out on the court today trying to beat him. I mean, I knew it was not going to be easy. I’m very happy about my performance today … it’s just a great feeling I’ve never had before.” And he pointed out his return game to be the reason for the victory. As per ATP Tour’s match stats, Federer posted a 108 Return rating as against 91 of Sampras’.

It was the match that put Federer on the map. And slowly, the Swiss maestro would start racking up the titles. 3 in 2002 would be followed by 7 in 2003. And in 2003, Roger Federer would win his first ever Wimbledon. Beating Andy Roddick in the semi-finals and Mark Philippoussis in the final in straight sets, Roger Federer had marked his arrival.

The 20-time Grand Slam Champion won back-to-back Wimbledon till 2007, making it 5 Wimbledon Championship victories in a row. Then, he won his 6th in 2009, beating Andy Roddick. In 2012, Federer would beat Murray in 4 sets to make it 7 Wimbledon wins. And his last came in 2017 when he won in straight sets against Marin Cilic.

Today, Novac Djokovic is chasing that record of 8 Wimbledon titles. Will the Serb share the throne with the Swiss maestro at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club? Or will the Serbian be halted in matching Roger Federer’s Wimbledon glory? Stay on top of every twist and turn in the Championships with our Live Blog.