The 12 men to beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon – ft. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic

Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2021

Roger Federer lost 14 matches at Wimbledon during his remarkable career, with these defeats coming against 12 different opponents.

The Swiss won eight Wimbledon titles and 105 matches at the All England Club — both of which are Open Era men’s singles records.

Here, we look at the 12 different players to defeat Federer at Wimbledon.

1. Jiri Novak d. Federer in 1999

Federer lost his first ever match at Wimbledon against Jiri Novak in 1999 when he made his tournament debut as a wildcard.

Novak, a Czech player who would reach a career-high ranking of world No 5 in 2002, edged out Federer 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, before losing to eighth seed Todd Martin in the second round.

2. Yevgeny Kafelnikov d. Federer in 2000

Two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov downed an unseeded Federer 7-5, 7-5, 7-6(6) in the opening round at the 2001 Wimbledon Championships.

The Russian, who was the No 5 seed, was beaten by unseeded Swede Thomas Johansson in the second round.

3. Tim Henman d. Federer in 2001

A 19-year-old Federer earned his first Wimbledon victories during his run to the quarter-finals in 2001, including an epic five-set win against seven-time champion and world No 1 Pete Sampras in the fourth round.

The Swiss, who was seeded 15th, was beaten 7-5, 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-6(6) by sixth seed Tim Henman in the last eight. Henman lost to eventual winner Goran Ivanisevic in the semi-finals.

4. Mario Ancic d. Federer in 2002

Federer was the No 7 seed at Wimbledon in 2002, but he suffered his third opening round loss at the event in four years at the hands of qualifier Mario Ancic, who stunned him by a 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3 scoreline.

Ancic then lost in the second round to Jan Vacek, but the Croatian would later reach the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2004 and a career-high ranking of seventh in 2006.

5. Rafael Nadal d. Federer in 2008

After the disappointment of 2002, Federer did not lose at Wimbledon for another six years as he claimed a joint-record five consecutive titles between 2003 and 2007.

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His 41-match winning streak at the grass-court Slam ended with a five-set loss to his rival Rafael Nadal in an epic 2008 Wimbledon championship match.

The Spanish No 2 seed prevailed 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7 against Federer, who was the top seed, in an all-time classic encounter.

6. Tomas Berdych d. Federer in 2010

Federer was the world No 1 and defending champion at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, where he fell 4-6, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6 to Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals.

Berdych, who was the No 12 seed, went on to reach the final, where he lost in straight sets to the second seed Nadal.

7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. Federer in 2011

At Wimbledon in 2011, Federer was the No 3 seed and he exited at the last eight stage again after surrendering a two-set lead to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who prevailed 3-6, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Tsonga, who was seeded 12th, was beaten by No 2 seed and eventual winner Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.

8. Sergiy Stakhovsky d. Federer in 2013

Federer was on the receiving end of one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history in 2013, when he was the third seed and reigning champion.

Unseeded Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky stunned the Swiss 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-5, 7-6(5) in the second round to earn his first top 1o win and the biggest victory of his career. Stakhovsky, who peaked at a ranking of 31st in the world in 2010, lost in the next round to Jurgen Melzer.

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9. Novak Djokovic d. Federer in 2014, 2015 and 2019

Novak Djokovic is the only player who beat Federer multiple times at Wimbledon, with the Serbian defeating his Swiss rival in three finals.

Federer was the fourth seed when he fell 7-6(7), 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-5, 4-6 to world No 1 Djokovic in a thrilling 2014 Wimbledon final.

In 2015, the Swiss was the No 2 seed when Djokovic — who was the top seed again — downed him 7-6(1), 6-7(10), 6-4, 6-3 in the title match.

At the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, Djokovic overcame second seed Federer 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6(4), 4-6, 13-12(3) in one of the great Grand Slam finals. The Serbian, who was the No 1 seed, saved two championship points on Federer’s serve in the fifth set.

10. Milos Raonic d. Federer in 2016

A third-seeded Federer reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2016 and was beaten 6-3, 6-7(3), 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 by Milos Raonic.

The Canadian, who was seeded sixth, lost to No 2 seed Andy Murray in straight sets in the championship match.

11. Kevin Anderson d. Federer in 2018

Federer was the top seed and defending champion at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships and his run ended with a marathon quarter-final loss to Kevin Anderson after he led 2-0 in sets.

Eighth seed Anderson triumphed 2-6, 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4, 13-11 against the Swiss and went on to reach the final, where he lost in straight sets to No 12 seed Djokovic.

12. Hubert Hurkacz d. Federer in 2021

At the age of 39, Federer made his final Wimbledon appearance at the 2021 edition of the grass-court Major, where he was seeded sixth.

The eight-time champion progressed to the quarter-finals, where he fell 3-6, 6-7(4), 0-6 to 14th seed Hubert Hurkacz in the final singles match of his career.

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