The Tennis Podcast

We know about the 19 Grand Slam singles titles, the 302 weeks at World No.1, the incredible comeback to win an 8th Wimbledon title at the age of nearly 36.

But where did it all start for Roger Federer? Where did he make his professional debut? What was he like as a teenager? Is it true that he had a bad temper? And were there really doubts about whether he would deliver on his talent?

In a special edition of The Tennis Podcast, The Roger Federer Story is told through the eyes of BBC 5 Live commentator and Tennis Podcast presenter David Law, who met Federer for the first time the day before his professional debut as a 16-year-old in Gstaad, Switzerland in 1998. 

In his role as Communications Manager on the ATP World Tour, Law worked behind the scenes with Federer for four years, and remembers Federer’s growing pains as he went from boy to man with the eyes of the world waiting for him to fulfil his potential.

We learn of his struggle to come to terms with the death of his first coach Peter Carter in a tragic car accident, and hear from Federer himself in a BBC 5 Live interview with Law less than an hour after his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003. The ‘Federer Years’ of domination are covered, as are the threats to his throne from Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the moments in 2013 when Law thought Federer was finished, and the comeback that made all those writing him off look stupid. Law and co-host Catherine Whitaker also delve into the debate as to whether Federer should be considered the greatest male tennis player of all time.