Federer-Lopez at 2003 Wimbledon helped turn Federer's career around

Roger Federer will face Feliciano Lopez in the round of 16 at the US Open on Monday, which brings back memories of another Grand Slam Round of 16 match between the two at Wimbledon in 2003. The match, which Federer nearly lost by a retirement, proved to be a career-altering victory for the Swiss as he was able to survive the encounter and go on to win his first Grand Slam title.
After years of Grand Slam failures, frustrations and unrealized potential, Federer finally broke through to win the first major title that many expected him to win. The following is a short excerpt from THE ROGER FEDERER STORY, QUEST FOR PERFECTION by Rene Stauffer (www.rogerfedererbook.com ) that explains the circumstances of the match at Wimbledon in 2003 on the eve of their match at the 2007 US Open.
Federer fought his way into the round of 16 with the loss of only one set to American Mardy Fish in the third round. In the traditional Monday playing of the round of 16 matches at Wimbledon, Federer faced Spaniard Feliciano Lopez on the cramped and notorious Court No. 2—dubbed the “Graveyard of Champions” due to its turbulent history of many of the all-time greats losing matches to unheralded challengers. The Spanish left-hander was ranked No. 52 in the world and certainly did not enjoy the fame of Sampras, whom Federer defeated two years ago in the same round.
The Swiss player took it easy on the weekend prior to his round of 16 match. He trained for just an hour and felt rested and in top form. Then, suddenly, in the warm-up of his match with Lopez, he felt a stabbing pain in his lower back after hitting a practice serve. “I thought, my God, what’s this? I couldn’t move anymore. Everything had seized up,” he explained later. He began his match with Lopez without his usual dynamic. After the second game of the match, he sat down in his chair, even though it was not a changeover, and called for the trainer.
Anxious minutes ticked away. While he was being treated with a heat cream by the trainer during his injury timeout, he lay on the grass turf and looked up at the sky in desperation. “I thought about giving up,” he said. “But then I hoped for a miracle or that the next black cloud would bring rain again.” His wish for rain did not come true, but a minor miracle did happen. Federer was able to continue play and went on to win a hard-fought, but straight-set 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4 victory. He had no idea how he did it and couldn’t believe his luck. “Lopez had plenty of opportunities to beat me in three sets or drag out the match,” he said. Federer said he began to feel better as time passed—and thanks to the pain killers as well as the increasing temperatures that loosened the muscles in his back. “It also helped that we were playing on a grass court and that Lopez was constantly looking to win the quick point,” Federer said. He also admitted later that the pain was so strong that it not only adversely affected his serve and return but he could hardly sit during changeovers.
Federer went on to win his breakthrough first Grand Slam title three matches later, defeating Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, Andy Roddick in the semifinals and Mark Philippoussis in the final.