Roger Federer elected to International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1st year of eligibility

Switzerland's Roger Federer plays a return to Sjeng Schalken, of the Netherlands, during their men's singles quarter final match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, July 3, 2003. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Well, this will come as no surprise to anyone who’s paid any attention over the past quarter-century: Roger Federer was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, the Rhode Island-based Hall announced Wednesday.

The first man to win 20 Grand Slam singles titles, and part of an era of unprecedented greatness with rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic -- during what Federer termed “a golden time for tennis” -- he was the only candidate to receive enough support in the player category for the Hall’s class of 2026.

Players can be considered after five years away from the tour and need to be selected by 75 per cent of the voting group, which includes tennis media, historians, industry leaders, members of the Hall and fans. The Hall does not reveal voting results.

TV announcer and journalist Mary Carillo, who also was a player, was elected in the contributor category. The induction ceremony is in August.

“I’ve always valued the history of tennis and the example set by those who came before me,” Federer said. “To be recognized in this way by the sport and by my peers is deeply humbling.”

He is one of eight men with a career Grand Slam, collecting eight championships at Wimbledon, six at the Australian Open, five at the U.S. Open and one at the French Open.

“I didn’t predict I was going to have this many majors,” Federer once said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I was hoping to maybe have one, to be quite honest, at the very beginning of my career.”

Federer’s first Slam title came at the All England Club in 2003, and he broke Pete Sampras’ then-record for a male of 14 major titles by winning Wimbledon in 2009, defeating Andy Roddick 16-14 in the fifth set of the final. Federer claimed his 20th at the 2018 Australian Open.

“I don’t really feel like I’m playing for the records,” Federer once told the AP. “I play this game because I love it.”

His Grand Slam count eventually was surpassed by Nadal, who got to 22 before retiring last year at age 38, and Djokovic, who has 24 and is still active at 38.

With a terrific forehand and serve, an attacking, all-court style and footwork that made everything seem so effortless, Federer won 103 tournaments and 1,251 matches in singles, totals eclipsed in the men’s game only by Jimmy Connors in the Open era, which began in 1968.

Federer finished five years at No. 1 in the ATP rankings, spent a record 237 consecutive weeks and a total of 310 in the top spot, led Switzerland to the 2014 Davis Cup title and teamed with Stan Wawrinka for a doubles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

An ambassador for the game who often answered questions in English, French and Swiss German at news conferences, Federer played his last match at Wimbledon in 2021. He was a month shy of 40 at the time.

His retirement announcement came the following year; he bid farewell by playing doubles alongside Nadal at the Laver Cup, an event Federer’s management company founded.

Along the way, Federer established himself as a model for younger athletes such as Carlos Alcaraz, 22, the current No. 1 who owns six Slam trophies.

“The elegance he has shown on court, off the court -- how he treated people, everyone; a really humble guy -- everything he does, he does with elegance,” Alcaraz said. “I appreciate that. He took the game to another level ... that’s what I admire the most.”

At the height of his powers, Federer reached a record 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals from 2005-07, winning eight. That dominance extended to appearing in 18 of 19 Slam finals; he also put together streaks of 23 semifinals and 36 quarterfinals at majors.

Djokovic has called those “results that didn’t seem human.”

According to the Hall, Carillo was the first woman to regularly commentate on tennis broadcasts and was a correspondent for HBO’s “Real Sports.” She won six Emmy Awards and three Peabody Awards and was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2018.

“I’ve been privileged to spend my career sharing the stories of this magnificent game,” Carillo said, “and if I’ve opened any doors along the way, it will make this day in August even more meaningful.”

Next year’s ballot will include holdovers Juan Martin del Potro and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the player category, while Serena Williams and Ash Barty, who both played their last matches in 2022, will be eligible for the Hall for the first time.

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Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press