Four Grand Slam finals, four wins for Federer, and the longest fifth set in a major final. The rackets behind the numbers.
Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick 21 times in 24 meetings. Roddick reached four Grand Slam finals against him, at Wimbledon in 2004, 2005 and 2009 and at the US Open in 2006, and lost all four. The last of them, in 2009, is remembered as one of the greatest matches in tennis history.
The Rackets
Wilson Pro Staff Tour 90 family (Federer) — in the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon finals and the 2006 US Open final, Federer was using the nCode nSix-One Tour 90, the frame he played from 2004 to 2006. By 2009 he was on the K Factor Six.One Tour 90. See Federer and Nadal for more on his frames.
Babolat Pure Drive (Roddick) — Roddick has said he started using Babolat in 1999 and never looked back. He played the Pure Drive in an extended length: as a young, smaller player he used a frame a full inch longer than standard for extra power, and later cut that back to half an inch. Babolat later made him his own Pure Drive Roddick GT Plus.
The Strings
Both men used natural gut in some form. Federer’s long-standing hybrid had gut in the mains and Luxilon in the crosses. Roddick’s was the reverse: polyester in the mains and natural gut in the crosses, at tensions he said ranged from the high 50s to the mid-60s depending on surface and weather. Gut never really left.
The Ball
All four finals were played with a yellow ball. Wimbledon had given up white in 1986. Here is the story of how white disappeared.
Four Finals
2004 Wimbledon: Federer won 4–6, 7–5, 7–6, 6–4.
2005 Wimbledon: Federer won 6–2, 7–6, 6–4.
2006 US Open: Federer won 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1, for his third consecutive US Open.
2009 Wimbledon: Federer won 5–7, 7–6, 7–6, 3–6, 16–14. It was his sixth Wimbledon and a record 15th major, breaking Pete Sampras’s record. The fifth set was the longest in a major final, and Roddick lost despite being broken only once in the whole match, in the very last game.
The Verdict
Federer leads 21–3 overall and 4–0 in Grand Slam finals. Roddick won the 2003 US Open, his only major, and the 2009 Wimbledon final was the last time an American man reached a major singles final until the 2024 US Open.
On the record: Federer, 21–3.
On Grand Slam finals: Federer, 4–0.
Want to play the game the way they saw it? Join the waiting list for The White Ball, or get the free collector’s guide to start your own racket collection.
— The Editor, Court Privée
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