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Roger Federer, 19, defeated defending champion Pete Sampras in the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2001 and reached the top 10 in the world the following year.
He had not yet reached the Grand Slam final, but everything changed at Wimbledon in 2003 when Federer defeated American Andy Roddick in the semifinals.
He then beat Australian Mark Philippoussis in two sets in the final to become the first Swiss player to win the All England Club.
It was the first of eight Wimbledon titles and 20 Grand Slam crowns, at last count.
"You can not really understand when that happens," Federer told CNN's Patrick Snell the next day. "I never thought it would be like that."
Watch Federer's interview with CNN World Sport in 2003 at the top of the page.
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