LONDON - ROGER Federer joined the legion of sporting legends on Sunday, his name sitting comfortably alongside Ali, Woods, Senna, Pele, Bradman, where just one name is enough to confer instant respect.

His victory over Andy Roddick in the Wimbledon final gave him a sixth All England Club title and a record 15th major, taking him past close friend Pete Sampras's 14 which he equalled with his French Open breakthrough in June.

The 27-year-old, with 50 million dollars earned from his superlative career, has not only taken the game to a new level, but also his approach to his trade, both on and off the court.

Gracious in both victory and defeat, respectful to the game's history and immensely media-friendly with his press conferences patiently carried out in English, French and Swiss-German, all delivered pitch-perfect.

When people are lost for words, occasionally they've been forced to adopt other means of recognising the great man - after his breakthough 2003 Wimbledon triumph, the people of Gstaad honoured him by presenting him with a cow.

But when the young Federer, who announced himself as the Wimbledon junior champion in 1998 and the winner of the prestigious Orange Bowl, started out on his road to fame, he wasn't winning popularity contests.

'I used to bitch a lot at line calls. I used to carry on like an idiot,' said Federer.

Slowly, steadily he matured under the guidance of respected coaches Peter Lundgren and Australian Peter Carter, whose eventual death in a car crash hit Federer hard, altering his perspective on life and career.

In 2001, in Milan, he won the first of his 59 titles before beating seven-time Wimbledon champion Sampras at the All England Club in a stunning last 16 triumph.

But one year later, the vulnerable, undeveloped side of Federer was still there for all to see when, tipped as the tournament favourite, he suffered a humiliating first round loss on Centre Court to Mario Ancic. -- AFP

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