2008 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles final beginning of Federer's decline in favor of the younger Nadal, or perhaps his recovery from a six-month battle with mononucleosis was not complete. Federer regained the top ranking on three occasions, after winning the Wimbledon title in 2009 and 2012, and after winning the Australian Open in 2018. Due to the rain delays, the match ended in near darkness at 21:15 BST. It was to be the last Wimbledon final to be significantly affected by rain, as a retractable roof was being installed at Centre Court and was in place by the 2009 Wimbledon Championships. 2008 Wimbledon Championships – Men's
2001 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles 2001 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles Pete Sampras was a record seven-time (and four-time defending) champion, but he lost in the fourth round to 19-year-old Roger Federer. The Sampras-Federer match was the only time the two tennis legends ever competed against each other in any ATP event as active tour players. This was the first Grand Slam tournament at which Federer was seeded. Sampras was also attempting to equal Björn Borg's 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles. Goran Ivanišević defeated Pat Rafter in the final, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 9–7 to win the Wimbledon title. Ivanišević became the first unseeded player to