Roger Federer | 1998 Wimbledon Boys' Singles Final vs Irakli Labadze | Full Match

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[@Aksriv100]

Roger Federer is once in a lifetime tennis player I consider myself blessed to have watched him play

[@stephenzanichkowsky4434]

Same here...

[@MrBjorn6]

@@stephenzanichkowsky4434 he was okay 🤣

[@MeMe-td1ye]

Look up meaning of blessed

[@Vikingnartists]

I consider myself incredibly blessed to have played him ( Orange bowl miami)

[@MeMe-td1ye]

@@Vikingnartists I'm blessed to have played as him on PlayStation

[@at716JA]

“We’ll be seeing him again.” Quite an understatement. 🐐

[@scrumpymanjack]

I would say it was right on the money: we did see him again. And again. And again.

[@geoffreypelletier8853]

Was about to say so myself... commentator doesn't have a clue 😆

[@joshuab1707]

and again and again and again...

[@tberry79]

Yeah, there’s no way the commentator at that time would have imagined that Roger would go on to break Sampras & Agassi’s records over & over. It is quite incredible.

[@davidevans1611]

@@geoffreypelletier8853 Give the guy a break. Federer was only 17 at that time and not yet on the ATP tour.

[@nacofichetti314]

Watching this in a terrible melancholic mood. Roger the greatest, will miss his tennis a lot!!

[@anlace3447]

cheer up bro, he is only some dude who hit fluffy balls across a net.... he is not dead ot anything.

[@Kidgloves1984]

It would be even sadder if Roger retired injured to the point without being able to play one more time which he's able to do and we will see him play again at the laver cup, so he can retire on court playing which is great!

[@maddie709]

@@Kidgloves1984 very true.

[@steve8803]

@Naco Fichetti He was the GOAT for a short while, but he's been overtaken by Novak imo.

[@lesa8315]

He is definitely not the greatest.

[@ahmedhegy8186]

Who would have thought that this boy will rule the tennis world ! Who else is watching Federer videos ever since he announced his retirement ? 😢

[@Siguich]

I was watching the 2019 Wimbledon final bro, that's epic 😅

[@blistering2900]

@@Siguich yeah it was epic how a 38 year old nearly won a slam.

[@andrewbrown6307]

Not me

[@epameinondastriantafyllou9152]

The way he taps the racket at the net after the end of the match.. Some things never change

[@vidyasonavane9602]

Also his shuffling of the racket before the point begins.. this shows how comfortable he is at very young age, and at the bigger stage at that age.

[@lacayoj]

I wish we could go back to this day and re live Roger's career all over again.

[@franciscorabet]

It is amazing how the serve was already well defined, while everything else was still in the making. #GOAT👑

[@hash8910]

Yes. While the forehead and the backhand have undergone changes/adjustments over the years, the serve didn't need any.

[@hehehehehahahaha2025]

@@hash8910 lol. It absolutely did undergo changes/adjustments; the way he brings back the racquet arm, the racquet lag, the amount of leaning into the court with his hips and how far "behind" him he brings the tossing arm right before launching into the serve, the rhythm of the motion (it was a quicker motion back then), the way he positions his feet (later on he would take a small step with his left foot around the time he releases the ball with his tossing arm), and so on.

[@redwoodtrees7068]

what? no sorry. His serve ahs changed drastically since 1998

[@victorbicudo1374]

dude his serve was nothing like it would be in 10 years.

[@MrRauwebonk]

@@hehehehehahahaha2025 why the “lol” ? Just make the comment without this bullshit words

[@moheganson]

This dude he’s playing is somewhere randomly telling stories way back when I played RF 🐐

[@iammituraj]

Once in a century player. Effortlessness, grace, class, elegance, genius.

[@akschd]

The most exquisite and technically the most correct player i have ever watched... i started playing tennis because of him and sampras... i always thought if there is anyone who would surpass sampras, it would be roger first... Even our coach used to tell us how one should play his forehand and single handed backhand always referring to federer... Heartbroken to the core... never thought this day would come... but it had to anyway... was just ignorant to accept the fact that everyone gets old... and even i have gotten old...

[@user-jv9qz2bu1r]

only a few amateurs and pros can hit a one handed BH with dominance - so much more stability with two hands

[@edkiely2712]

Yup! Hard to say goodbye!

[@marlo_stanfield4410]

He could make the hardest shots look easy.. His style was so elegant. His dominance between 2003 and 2009 was unbelievable. I especially remember the match against Roddick in Melbourne on the green court. He absolutely killed him. But most importantly and most impressive was his behavior in interviews and press conferences. I never met him but I'm sure he must be a very down to earth guy

[@Andres-qm1xx]

Still broke plenty of raquets. Nadal didnt

[@user-jv9qz2bu1r]

Roger could always kill short balls (landing near service line) and through most of his career Roddick shots were not penetrating and so the match-up totally favored Fed.

[@jirinykodym9794]

@@Andres-qm1xx Like 2 or 3 throughout his whole career, while Nadal has been shouting, screaming and been extremely overeacting sometimes, so as Novak. Not anything against them, they are great champions I highly admire, but Federer has always been very classy, humble, kind, polite and behaving with respect, like a true tennis gentleman and ambassador. He is just one of a kind. Not only among the all time tennis players, but athletes in general.

[@abs3704]

@@Andres-qm1xx Better than to scream and shout.

[@jeffreykaufmann2867]

@@jirinykodym9794 I never heard Nadal Scream. Just grunt

[@Guurur]

From not so many fans in the stand to packed court of fans cried with him. From a ball boy to GOAT. Yeah, it was a legendary journey for FEDEX

[@user-yz4hc7zh4e]

It’s unbelievable that it took him just 3 years from this match ie in 2001 to defeat all time grass court great Pete Sampras … Mind boggling growth !

[@saikat93ify]

He’s an all time great himself

[@theonlycity8393]

The Greatest of all Time ❤️

[@brunofernandez2906]

One of*

[@MeMe-td1ye]

@@brunofernandez2906 roger was clean

[@kevinrussell1144]

No....he is ONE of the THREE Racketeers....the three best tennis players of all time, Federer, Nadal, and Porthos (I mean Djokovic).

[@steve8803]

@TheOnlyCity Nope. Novak is 11-6 vs Fed in majors. Also Novak has more slams. So no, Fed is certainly not the goat.

[@MeMe-td1ye]

@@steve8803 roger nattie

[@deepakmahajan4978]

Fed's ability to evolve with new gen of modern baseliners shows how much talented he was.

[@hartgemini007]

Poetry in motion - an absolute genius who made tennis an art form never to be matched or replicated. So much more than just the GOAT Roger made people smile with a brand of tennis that’s never been seen before & probably never be seen again, a magician from another planet.

[@Siguich]

Nole is the GOAT. 40-15 4life

[@kvncd]

I am so grateful to be able to watch Roger play tennis at the highest level. The way he plays tennis is like he is creating a work of art, very elegant. For me, this will be the greatest longing in the history of tennis. Tennis would not be the same again without him. For me, Roger Federer is the Greatest of All Time, forever.

[@ramytoubar8254]

100%

[@capello85]

Big loss for tennis,he will be missed!I used to hate Federer when my idol Nadal joined the tour but with the years I learnt to admire him as well,Federer is a legend and a true role model

[@user-jv9qz2bu1r]

funny - a Fed fan I have learned to respect Nadal's ferocity

[@88feji]

As a Nadal fan, I used to fear Federer ... even though Nadal won a lot against Fed in the early days, Fed used to have a reputation for completely turning his deficits around to shame his opponents (Hewitt, Nalbandian) ... so I was just waiting fearfully for Fed to overcome his deficit to shame Nadal ... in the end Fed turned the table on Nadal in the end of their rival, though not completely, but that also had something to do with Nadal's foot issues...

[@ultimpower9350]

@@88feji pretty much just the transformed backhand later on (esp 2017)

[@Siguich]

I miss Federer too. I miss when he is smashed by my idol Nole 😪

[@Siguich]

@@88feji Hewitt, Blake, Davydenko, Baghdatis and Nalbandian were trash bro

[@rd2778]

He's the only one in the scene who not just taught us how to play good tennis but also how to be human first. GOAT!

[@MeMe-td1ye]

How to be a human?! oh wait I am one already..

[@xJohnDoughx]

wat?

[@lazarduke6596]

what a load of crap

[@raoulhery]

He is an icon, a great ambassador for the sport. But as far as role models go, Novak is the perfect model for me. His diet, his mental approach, his philosophy of life are real inspirations not only on court but also in life in general.

[@martindiscdrivin1412]

@@raoulhery is mentality on court too breaking racket shout to his clan perfect exemple of good human being

[@walkwithiking9210]

He is the reason why i started watching tennis, even when he is not playing. Sort of scouting his possible opponents on his next match. We may not see a tennis player like him, again.

[@JamesBermingham]

Little did the world know what was to come.. The imperious and elegant, and to be legendary, Roger Federer. Pure class.

[@blahblah6227]

Federer the greatest player of all time

[@mistysouders7823]

He's was just and still IS UNBELIEVABLE!! HE WILL be sorely missed!!

[@doceanor]

That boy from Switzerland looks promising! 😁

[@meinsouza]

people on the stand watching this didnt know at the time they were seeing the future GOAT of tennis

[@hopebgood]

Yeah, I was just thinking that too Marcelo mate.

[@hd-xc2lz]

And a guy who would amass over a billion dollars through winnings and endorsements.

[@chocosquirrel3319]

We still dont know wat u are talking about as he was never the goat

[@hd-xc2lz]

@@chocosquirrel3319 He was the GOAT at 20 Slams won until surpassed, don't be a twerp. Each one of his rivals referred to him as the GOAT, up until the day Rafa passed him. That's how it works.

[@brunofernandez2906]

@@hd-xc2lz He WAS the 🐐, not now.

[@revieboy]

The most I've heard Federer say on court but I read that he had problems with his temperament as a younger player. His service action was already up there but it took both players a while to get going in this game, looked like there were a lot of nerves with the groundstrokes. The people who were in the crowd to watch this will feel privileged to have seen Roger as his career began, they wouldn't have thought that they were witnessing a player who would become the greatest on grass. It's been a pleasure to watch Roger all these years, I remember when he played Sampras at Wimbledon and I wasn't particularly impressed at the time but he was a lot rawer then, so more fool me. We have just witnessed a golden era of tennis which will be sorely missed. Thanks Roger

[@amanjain4817]

If tomorrow is our last day on Earth, I would have no regrets cuz I lived my life as a Federer Fan

[@MeMe-td1ye]

Get out more

[@Tennis599]

Such a diamond in the rough here, showing occasional signs of brilliance; 3 years later, beats Sampras in the 4th round and the rest is history. The greatest to ever do it.

[@zelmoziggy]

The writing was already on the wall for Sampras. He hadn’t won a tournament since the preceding Wimbledon and wouldn’t win another tournament until the US Open 14 months later.

[@davidevans1611]

@@zelmoziggy And never played another match after that final. He knew when to retire.

[@zelmoziggy]

@@davidevans1611 It took him a few months to reach the decision, but I think it was the right decision.

[@federicomejia1373]

I woke up this morning, opened facebook and first post that came up was from the official Federer page. Didn’t even had to read it to know what it was about. I started watching tennis back in 2005 when I was only 7.. I would wake up at 5 am ( 2 hours before school) to watch him and Nadal play. Because of Roger and Nadal I started playing tennis and will continue to do so. Now 24, I am deeply sad about his retirement, the end of an era for sure. This video only has 8.4k views right now but I bet $100 it will have at least 500k in 6 months.

[@westonmeyer3110]

Not even 1 month. LOL

[@theaviator1152]

46:35 BRILLIANT lob from young Federer!

[@alexanderklychkov6716]

This man definetly has a lot of talent. Probably become a big player

[@tejasvaddepalli3597]

Meh probably will have a tough time on clay against topsin specialists. Maybe even a hard court specialist.

[@YourCritic]

There were many glimpses of his future brilliance on show during that match, particularly his serve which was pretty lethal even back then.

[@martinhudecek8886]

Great disguise and a dependable 2 nd serve meant he was perfect for faster courts especially

[@stevehughes1510]

Thanks for this vid a good bit of history. He turned pro after this I think and what a marvelous journey we've had with him over the last 24 years, God bless him.

[@moaningpheromones]

bless my man parts twerp

[@RealTalkWithSSG]

He's as graceful as a swan in a lake. Will miss watching him play.

[@westonmeyer3110]

I remember 1998 like it was yesterday. Where has the time gone?

[@lucasgotaa]

Watching this, I think he will be the best history tennis player. Believe me, I know about tennis.

[@chaingangsoldier3100]

For me, he is the GOAT. I will miss watching this man’s tennis so much it hurts… 🐐🎾🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

[@edisantoso6078]

The Goat is Nadal bro

[@Siguich]

He is no more the GOAT. That's the Federer's nightmare, the 40 - 15

[@julioivansalazar9853]

Hhaahhahaha@@edisantoso6078

[@gastheweebs]

​@@Siguich😴😴😴

[@annewalden3795]

​@@SiguichTo the Federer fans he will always be the G O AT .

[@dondgamer]

It's amazing that Federer is getting angry for every unforced error he makes in this match, his temperament here to what is typically was later on is the polar opposite.

[@jolimia1182]

My king, I love Federal, Bangladesh.

[@aroraakshaj70]

It's funny to see that 2 young boys, both at a calibre about similar to each other, had such wildly different careers. One made history, broke records, was at atp 1 for a record time and had a career that spanned almost 25 years, while the other had a career that spanned only half of the other's, and had a highest ranking of number 42

[@youuuuuuuuuuutube]

I think it shows that one of them decided to work very hard every day on his tennis. The inner talent was about the same, so the difference comes down to hard work, and it paid off, big time.

[@abcxyz123]

@@youuuuuuuuuuutube not the same talent at all, but yes fed did do more hard work

[@cascadesequence7307]

@@youuuuuuuuuuutube That's a bit presumptuous. For all we know, Labadze worked harder than anyone to maximise his lesser natural talent and make a career of it. Hell, even becoming a tour player is a monumental achievement. Comparing him to arguably the greatest player of all-time is unfair, to say the least.

[@BassByTheBay]

I _love_ the pace of gameplay and the minimal spectator applause here.

[@shivanirajvansi2385]

A memorable match of Wimbledon.Roger federer sir looking so young and grace full.

[@julianrangel5881]

Esas personas quizás nunca se imaginaron el valor que tendría ese autógrafo de un joven promesa lleno de ilusiones por convertirse en el mejor como sus héroes (Sampras,Edberg,Becker) y que terminó siendo leyenda no solo del tenis, sino del deporte en general, para mí el mejor de todos, gracias Roger Federer te extrañaremos mucho campeón 🥺😢😭

[@astonm.8173]

I really couldn't tell he had all the talent in the world back then but I have to keep in mind he was only 16 back then, winning the 18U category pretty easily

[@djc728]

Little did we know that we were watching GREATNESS in the making. Class act his whole career. Federer was an absolute joy to watch and it's sad that he's retiring.

[@kewsiyehboah6058]

Iraki Best Slam Performance Wimbledon 2004 Reached 4th Round.. Career Record ( 50 - 83 ).. Highest Ranking ( 42 ).. Retired ( 2010 ) Won No ATP Titles..

[@jerrywald6481]

Nice to see this and to see how his game evolved - his serve is pretty damn dominate in this match too when he pumps it up

[@marcosdoyter7460]

At that time, Pete Sampras was a great role model for tennis players. Federer is using the Pro Staff 6.0, the racquet that Sampras immortalized. It is interesting how he mimics the mechanics of Sampras (the volleys and the backhand).

[@martinhudecek8886]

Sampras backhand was good at times but never one for all surfaces consistently. Federer had different sting technology to help him out but he didn’t need his backhand when he could get to the forehand inside out so often. Sampras used the running forehand as his deadly counter

[@cactus-wren]

All the people on that court, they just witness a great chapter of Tennis history...

[@morrismarshall1575]

Roger Federer before he was infallible. Interesting to hear him make comments while playing. As always, a great player filled with tons of talent

[@amarbyrd2520]

Love that we're all watching this now -- and there was almost nobody there live at the match

[@quentincrisp6933]

Amazing how his mechanics and technique noticeably changed on the FH & serve over the years yet still being beautiful, fluid & graceful! Art!

[@carlosalcaraz3667]

One of the GREATEST OF ALL TIME ❤️💚

[@omar.ovi.m]

el sponsor de IBM jaja. Y hablando de Federer, es impresionante el salto del Junior al Profesionalismo. No solo mejoro completamente su juego, sino su Revés sobre todo.

[@vasileiosevangelopoulos8600]

The speaker asked at the end: "do we see him again?" yeah, couple of times hehe

[@oooodaxteroooo]

to think that those few words, today have such a deep double meaning. triple meaning for the agnostics even haha

[@shanerg77]

Pretty sure that was the great commentator John Barrett, a great voice of tennis for many years. He didn’t ask a question but rather made the statement “we’ll be seeing him again”.

[@Patrick-iq6jk]

I think this Federer guy is gonna be good one day

[@mso8261]

The journey:-from empty chairs to teared eyes....GOAT FEDERER ❤️

[@vlesmeries]

Wow totally different Federer than today. This one is bratty with not-so-smooth strokes. Glad that he became GOAT eventually.

[@chocosquirrel3319]

Goat 😆

[@brunofernandez2906]

Not anymore

[@vlesmeries]

@@brunofernandez2906 Yup, it'll be Djoker when all the Big 3 have retired. Most weeks at #1, will eventually get most Slams, most Masters etc.

[@sicboi]

Seeing the base mechanics in his serve is awesome

[@JB-qc5er]

I think that young man has a bright future

[@queent3343]

He's 17 here. Already has the serve, forehand, and backhand.

[@Josh-mu7qy]

He had a lot of it but didn't quite have the backhand yet. The topspin backhand was hit much flatter than he would eventually get it and the slice was really not good.

[@schmidty4885]

Was still 16 for a few more weeks, no? Born Aug 1981 and wimby is june/july

[@MrBjorn6]

I believe he was 18 here

[@Josh-mu7qy]

@@MrBjorn6 nah he was 16 and turning 17 in a few weeks.

[@Andres-qm1xx]

He was 18 and absolutely terrible here. Alcaraz would beat him 60 60 Both patzers missing every shot. The slice is just hideous and disgraceful. Roger improved luckily

[@jinglevillaroel8046]

I've been looking for this!

[@pranaypradhan4245]

Thanks for the upload

[@milan6439]

I know that Federer said for himself that when he was younger he was very nervous and full of anger in his game. At one point, that changed and then it had a positive effect on his game, as we can witness for ourselves. A unique player and for me the best ever.

[@martinkennedy2400]

...and little did they know fabulous upload big thanks

[@robertomoraga9535]

gracias por subir!!!

[@tottiubi]

Those spectators had no idea that they had in front of them the greatest talent in the history of tennis.

[@federicomejia1373]

I wonder how many of them people that attended this game are still alive and how many of them have heard the news of Roger’s retirement.. 24 years ago is a long long time

[@ohreally8929]

Yeah, 24 years is a really long time. Highly unlikely if more than a handful are still alive today.

[@iamshiyas]

The man who made me fall in love with Tennis 💔💔💙

[@EmilGhiurau]

Roger is amazing! Never heard of his opponent.

[@simonturner3910]

Wow he improved a lot! 🥂

[@patbeardmore]

watching the boys at Wimbledon is great, legends of the future, and cheap tickets 🙂

[@themasspoint8483]

❤️❤️ Being generous with his fans since then ❤️❤️

[@tatsustimulus9671]

Young Fed seems to have struggled on the backhand return. Thinking about the improvements he had made towards turning pro and achieving those incredible victories, it is unbelievable.

[@user-nx3by5gy1n]

Wimbledon back then was really fast. Now it's slower than Roland Garros

[@mardigonzalez3106]

Todo lo mantuvo y perfeccionó, su actitud en cancha, ademanes, tiros, expresiones todo... Un grande desde que era junior👍🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿 LEYENDA DE ESTE DEPORTE.

[@dondgamer]

Ah man, that beep sound when someone faults is nostalgic as it gets, reminds me of watching Slams in the 90's.

[@YourYugiohTrades]

This is incredible!

[@Alessio669]

39:44 Roger's touch.

[@HopeEsleim1101]

So interesting to compare his game then vs more recent years. His serve motion is even faster then than now

[@robjames1037]

Fed had some serious pop on his serve even back then in in his youth. That ball just rocketed off his racket.

[@fosho8214]

The heir to the throne while Pete Sampras was winning his 5th wimbledon on center court beating goran ivanisevic. Amazing video. thanks

[@andreslopez_cabo]

siempre quise ver este partido!

[@willkittwk]

Who would have known Fed go on to be greatest of all time. GOAT 🐐

[@fabiorodriguez7529]

I am grateful to see Roger at the age of a teenager ☺️🙈

[@LiamApilado]

The 85 sq inch racket must have helped Federer to have such good hand eye coordination.

[@Aero_090]

One of the best tennis player in history of Tennis.... GOAT 👑🎾

[@Siguich]

Djokovic is better

[@jatojo]

Irakli Labadze reached no. 42 in the world ranking. He must have been hoping for more.

[@vedicastrologyteacher]

It is interesting to see his younger self and his "crankiness" on the court. All of his acting out, breaking rackets and stuff that he did when he was younger (and even a young pro) was due to HIS mistakes. I imagine that in his mind, even at this time, he knew he was capable to play the flawless tennis that he would eventually embody. And thus, in his formative years his frustrations would boil over when he was not playing up to that level of talent. It was not yet harnessed. I say this in contrast to players who act out of the court, against their opponents and things like that. Young Roger, seen here, chastising HIMSELF for not playing up to what he knows is his capability was eventually a very positive thing that compelled him to get better. As he played up to his potential, all of that acting out went away. It was all personal, never directed at his opponent or done as poor sportsmanship, etc.

[@martinhudecek8886]

But the press conferences are also where issues show.. calling Djokovic and nadal basic players and nalbandian lucky says a lot. But he does behave remarkably well and doesn’t do anything unpleasant in terms of tennis rules compared to the other big names. The endless wait as he gets his expensive racquet out in recent years always annoyed me but that’s just subjeftive

[@johnp515]

@@martinhudecek8886 What does it say?

[@ivoplsek]

shows also how amazingly competitive and difficult this sport really is. There's a boy who was a Federer's competitor in juniors at Wimbledon...we have never heard from him since. There are so many amazing players who eventually never make it. The more special is Federer for this reason.

[@miga777]

he was actually in top 50

[@davidevans1611]

@@miga777 True, but he spent most of his career outside of the top 100.

[@westonmeyer3110]

Federer was nowhere near his best here while this is about as good as his opponent ever got.

[@GA001]

Labadze is my favourite player!

[@Gisgb55]

Awwww 🥰 my beloved king 👑 🐐 🙌🏼 ❤️ 🙏 🔥 🎾

[@momonso0821]

Masterpiece of tennis💎

[@johnnyvee3339]

They sure played fast back then!

[@toribartlett9334]

The opponent of Roger in this match at the time would never imagine who Roger would become!

[@donpatrese]

he's going to be a great one!!

[@ricardoramos3754]

Never hear of Irakli Labadze, i guess after 24 year he finally got famous, and it was for this video playing the now leyend Federer.

[@billyablett]

Great to see so many labadze fan me here

[@FrxBass]

He always had that finesse and elegance in his game

[@olegarioaboytes2491]

Irakli Labadze Irakli Labadze...mmmm... No, no me suena... Roger Federer... mmm ¡¡a ese sí lo conozco!! Me gustaría escuchar lo que tenga que decir de aquella ocación ese rival que se perdió en las nubes del tiempo para nunca más volver a aparecer...