The 5 players to win a set 6-0 against Roger Federer – featuring a brutal bagel in final match
Beating Roger Federer proved to be one of the toughest tasks in tennis history, with the Swiss Maestro proving untouchable at points during a career that few can match.
Federer spent 310 weeks at No 1, won 103 career titles and 20 Grand Slam singles titles in an iconic career that will be remembered for the ages, with his rivalries with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic likely to stand the test of time.
However, the Swiss did not always get it his own; on some rare occasions, Federer failed to not only win a set but failed to win even a single game in a set against a select few opponents.
We take a look at the five men who were able to hand Federer a bagel set throughout his storied career.
Vincent Spadea – Monte Carlo, 1999
Aged only 17, junior prodigy Federer was handed a wildcard into the prestigious Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo, being drawn against Vincent Spadea in the round of 64.
The American had reached his sole Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open earlier that season and, though not known for his clay court prowess, clearly had the upper hand over the Swiss on this occasion.
Spadea, who went on to reach a high of 18th in the ATP Rankings in 2005, overcame a tough first set to prevail 7-6(3), 6-0 and reach the next round.
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Pat Rafter – Roland Garros, 1999
1999 proved to be a landmark year for Federer, as he ultimately made his debut Grand Slam appearance at Roland Garros that May.
Few would have been too aware of his potential when he stepped onto Court Suzanne Lenglen to face a tough test against Pat Rafter, at that time the world No 3 and back-to-back US Open winner.
Clay was not Rafter’s strongest surface and that perhaps showed early on as Federer took the opening set, but the Australian responded finely.
Rafter levelled the match by claiming the second set and was in fine form after that, barely dropping a game as he sealed a 5-7, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2 triumph.
Byron Black – Queens, 1999
Federer would ultimately become synonymous with grass courts throughout his career but it evidently took him some time to find his feet on the tricky surface.
Before Wimbledon, he would famously play – and usually win – in Halle, but in the early stages of his career, he made an appearance at the Queen’s Club in London, in what proved to be a rather chastening experience.
He was well and truly put to the sword by South Africa’s Byron Black, the Swiss winning just three games in a one-sided 6-3, 6-0 loss in round one.
Rafael Nadal – Roland Garros, 2008
After his match against Black, it was almost a full nine years before Federer was again bagelled, a sign of just how dominant he would be throughout the mid-2000s.
But few players caused him as many problems as Rafael Nadal during his career, and that proved to be the case in 2008 when Federer was handed one of the heaviest defeats of his career.
Federer was looking to finally break the Spaniard’s stranglehold at Roland Garros and complete the career Grand Slam, but that was not the case on this occasion.
Nadal was in rampant mood and after dominating the first two sets, did not drop a game to claim an emphatic 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 victory in the final.
Hubert Hurkacz – Wimbledon, 2021
Sadly for the 20-time major winner, the final bagel set of his career proved to be the very final competitive set of his career.
Nearing his 40th birthday and struggling physically, Federer defied the odds to reach the last eight of Wimbledon, where he was drawn against rising star Hubert Hurkacz.
Many thought that Federer’s experience may prove to be an advantage but after Hurkacz served his way to a two-set lead, it was clear that this contest was only heading one way.
And Hurkacz ultimately raced away with the match, claiming a 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-0 win in the final singles match of Federer’s historic career.
