2014 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles final years prior when he had won Wimbledon in 2012. In 2013, Federer failed to reach any of the major finals for the first time since 2002, and some commentators doubted whether he would ever appear in a major final again. Federer was asked if he felt that he could still win a major, "I'm just really pleased that I'm back strong at Wimbledon. Last year I didn't even come close. I was very deflated leaving Wimbledon on that note. I'm happy I'm sort of physically back where I can put myself in contention." Upon reaching the final, Federer was bidding
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