(REUTERS)-Roger Federer said he would retire from competitive tennis after next week’s Laver Cup in London. The following is the timeline of the 20-time Grand Slam champion reaching the top of the game:
2001: Burst on the scene, ending American Pete Sampras’ 31-match winning streak at Wimbledon in the fourth round before losing in the quarterfinals to Tim Heineman.

2002: Became the first Swiss man to finish in the top 10 and reach the ATP Finals at the end of the season as Jakob Halsek finished eighth in 1988.
2003: Achieved success at the next year’s Grand Slam at Wimbledon, defeating Mark Philippoussis in the final for the first of his eight titles at the Grasscourt Major.

2004: The Swiss flexed his muscles by winning three majors – the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, making him the first man since Mats Wilander in 1988 to do so in a single season.
He also became the first player in the Open Era to win his first of four Grand Slam finals.

2005: Defends Wimbledon and US Open titles, failing to reach finals in first two major tournaments of the year.
2006: Reached all four Grand Slam finals, winning between 12 titles and a 92–5 win-loss record at Australia, Wimbledon and the US. Topped the ATP rankings for the third year in a row.

2007: Became the first player in history to reach all four Grand Slam finals back-to-back with wins at Melbourne Park, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows.
2008: Winning the US Open crown in a season interrupted by illness and injury, extends his run of winning at least one Grand Slam title to six straight years

Won the Olympic men’s doubles gold medal with Stan Wawrinka at the Beijing Games.
2009: Receives his only French Open crown at Roland Garros after legendary rival Rafa Nadal’s 31-match winning streak ended in the fourth round. Won his 15th Major at Wimbledon, surpassing Sampras’ record tally.

2010: Started the year by winning the Australian Open for the fourth time before Leanne Spell on the big stage.
2012: Won a record-expanding 17th major at Wimbledon and also claim a silver medal at the 2012 London Games, losing to Andy Murray in men’s singles.

2013: Struggled with a back injury and failed to add to his Grand Slam tally by 2017.
2017: Coming back from injury six months to win the Australian Open, and at 35, Australia’s Ken Roswell becomes the oldest player since winning a Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park in 1972 at the age of 37.

With a victory over Marin Cilic in the final, he became the first man to win Wimbledon eight times.
2018: Won his sixth Australian Open to become the fourth player after Margaret Court, Serena Williams and Steffi Graf to win 20 or more major singles titles.

Vijay helped him equal Rod Laver’s record of claiming four majors after turning 30.
2022: After several knee surgeries in recent years, Federer announces that he will retire from competitive tennis.