Roger Federer’s Australian Open debut and first Grand Slam match win – 25 years on

Oli Dickson Jefford 16 Jan 2025 5:18 PM

Roger Federer after his 2018 Australian Open victory.

The 2025 Australian Open marks the 25th anniversary of Roger Federer’s debut appearance in Melbourne – and the anniversary of his first-ever Grand Slam match win.

January 18th will mark two and a half decades since the tennis icon sealed the first of 369 major match wins and, to mark the occasion, we look back on one of Federer’s landmark career moments.

Early Pro Career

A junior Wimbledon champion in 1998 and widely recognised as one of the brightest prospects in the game, Federer first attempted to qualify for a Grand Slam main draw at the 1999 Australian Open.

He was beaten by Olivier Delaître in straight sets in the first round of qualifying, though he did not have to wait too much longer to make his Grand Slam debut.

Federer was handed a main draw wildcard into the French Open that summer, pushing third seed and reigning US Open champion Pat Rafter to four sets in an opening-round defeat.

The Swiss was also handed a wildcard into Wimbledon, where he fell in five sets to Jiri Novak, though did not reach the main draw of the US Open – falling in the second round of qualifying to Ivo Heuberger.

Despite disappointment in New York, Federer finished 1999 as the world No 64, having started the season just outside the top 300.

That was more than enough for the 18-year-old to qualify automatically for the Australian Open, and reach the main draw of a major for the first time.

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Grand Slam breakthrough

Unseeded in Melbourne, Federer could have drawn top seed Andre Agassi, second seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov, or third seed Pete Sampras – though managed to avoid a seeded player.

However, that does not mean he was handed the easiest draw by any stretch of the imagination.

Federer found himself up against Michael Chang, a former world No 2, the 1989 French Open champion – and an Australian Open runner-up just four years previously.

Chang was not at the peak of his powers at this stage and ultimately Federer outclassed his American rival to win 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(5), and win a Grand Slam match for the first time.

Federer was not done there, defeating Jan Kroslak 7-6(1), 6-2, 6-3 in the second round.

While his campaign ended in a 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 loss to Arnaud Clement in the third round, the stage had been set for an epic career.

What next?

Federer’s 2000 Australian Open debut was the first of 21 consecutive showings Down Under, with the Swiss not missing the tournament until his withdrawal in 2021.

It was also the first of 65 straight Grand Slam appearances for the tennis icon, who played in every major over the next decade and a half until he withdrew from the 2016 French Open.

After reaching the third round again in 2001, Federer made the second week for the first time in 2002, again defeating Chang in round one before a five-set loss to Tommy Haas in round four.

Two years later, Federer’s rise to the top of the sport was cemented when he won the Australian Open for the first time, beating Marat Safin in the final.

The Swiss rose to world No 1 thanks to that win and did not relinquish that position for 237 weeks – the longest streak by any man or woman at the top since the rankings began.

Federer would go on to win further Australian Open titles in 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, and 2018 – his final Grand Slam victory.

He reached 11 straight semi-finals in Melbourne and won 102 matches, with his tally of match wins and titles making it his most successful Slam outside of Wimbledon.