Farewell to our record champion

Today Roger Federer announced his impending retirement next week in London at the Laver Cup. The bond between the ABN AMRO Open and the most iconic tennis player of all time has always been strong. Federer has provided many highlights throughout his career in the tournament, which will have its 50th edition next February. Undeniably, Roger Federer has been the most successful centre court player at Rotterdam Ahoy in that half century.

Richard Krajicek, tournament director of the ABN AMRO Open: "Roger has been hugely important to the tournament in many ways, but even more so to tennis in general. When he received his first wildcard at the age of 17, my predecessor Wim Buitendijk knew that he was a great talent. But no one could have imagined that he would grow into the icon he is today. We are immensely proud of the fact that he will remain part of our tournament forever because of the extraordinary successes he has had here.”

In 1999, during Federer's first participation in Rotterdam, the then world number 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov had to step in to stop him in the quarterfinals. It was the start of a unique bond between Federer and the ABN AMRO Open.

First doubles success

Krajicek: "Not many people remember that he had his first successes in Ahoy in doubles. He won the doubles title in both 2001 and 2002.” In 2001, he won the title together with Jonas Björkman, and reached the singles final for the first time, losing to Nicolas Escudé in the third set. In 2002, Federer captured the doubles title again, this time with Max Mirnyi by his side. They almost repeated this feat in 2003, but then the final was lost to Arthurs and Hanley. It was the last appearance in doubles in Rotterdam.

Number 1 in the world

"On my debut as tournament director, Roger provided a nice gift. Two weeks before the tournament, he became the number 1 in the ATP Rankings. Although everyone already knew it was only a matter of time at that point, it was of course great that this happened just before our tournament.” It was the start of an unique era. On February 2, 2004, Federer took the number 1 position and until 18 years later Daniil Medvedev became the number 1 in the world, no one outside the 'big four' (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray) held this spot.

First win in singles

What Tim Henman put a stop to in 2004, he achieved in 2005. Roger Federer captures his first singles title. "It was perhaps the most beautiful final in the history of the tournament. Roger was extremely dominant in the first four matches. However, Ivan Ljubicic in the final appeared to be in top form. Federer faced a set loss (5-7) for the first time in the tournament, but eventually won the next two sets 7-5, 7-6(5). It was a special moment for him as well as for the tournament. The Swiss boy had become the king of the tennis court.”

Return of a phenomenon

His tournament win had a downside. Now that Roger had finally won the title, he opted for a different build-up to the season and skipped the European indoor season. Until 2012. "Early in 2011, I got a call from his management. With the 2012 Olympic Games in London, which were held at Wimbledon, they wanted to organize the planning of the season differently. It would be very convenient for Roger to play in Rotterdam. An offer we obviously jumped upon. It turned out to be a mega success. Tickets sold out immediately. There was a small downer when Mikhail Youzhny had to withdraw for the second round. How much Roger is willing to do for his fans was revealed that evening. Despite the fact that his mother - who had come to Rotterdam for the occasion - celebrated her birthday, he played a demonstration set against Igor Sijsling, to give the fans what they hoped for. The living tennis legend in action.”

The setup of the season pleased Federer. Although the primary goal was not achieved, he had to leave the Olympic gold to Andy Murray, he became the number 1 in the world again in August. It ensured his return to Rotterdam Ahoy in 2013. His arrival was announced early on on the Wimbledon Centre Court. It was the icing on the cake in the 40th anniversary year of the ABN AMRO Open.

"Roger showed that week that it is important to do many activities 'On top of Tennis'. He posed at the huge racket on Hofplein, visited the flag parade on the Maas with Mayor Aboutaleb and opened the tournament with Esther Vergeer and myself in a ceremony. Every other player had long since dropped out, Roger added a signing session for the fans. Truly a unique phenomenon, both on and off the court.”

Record champion

In January 2018, Federer surprised friend and foe by winning the Australian Open. It put him in the unique position of becoming number 1 in the world again. He could become the oldest number one in the world by reaching the semifinals of an ATP500 tournament. "The fact that he chose Rotterdam in 2018 is the best indication of how unique the bond is between Roger and the ABN AMRO Open. He could also have made the choice to go to Dubai, for example. He chose us, which was perhaps the best compliment we could receive as an organization. It caused total madness. After his announcement on Wednesday before the tournament, the ticketsales exploeded. It brought us a visitor record of more than 122,000 visitors. When he became the new number 1 in the world on Friday evening after a great match with Robin Haase, we could be seen as a tournament in every newspaper, every website and on every TV station in the world. We even had a ceremony after that game to pay tribute to him. Unprecedented after a quarter-final.”

Federer crowned the 45th anniversary by also taking the title for the third time on Sunday. He thus became the absolute record champion of the ABN AMRO Open.

"A global legend, with a unique connection to the ABN AMRO Open."

For all the results and a clip of that magical moment when he became the oldest number 1 in the world, look here.