We pointed out a few weeks ago that Roger Federer was coming full circle, back to the event where his professional career began — the Swiss Open.
He played the event every year from 1998 to 2004, and was even given a cow in the last of those appearances. He is back this year for the first time since 2004, and once again received a cow as a gift.
Federer's very first professional match was a 6-4, 6-4 loss to the immortal Lucas Arnold Ker of Argentina at the 1998 event. His paycheck for the effort was $5,250. Since then, he is a mere 908-206 on tour with 77 titles and $71,440,304 in additional prize money.
To commemorate his return to his roots, Nike Tennis tweeted out a photo of Federer from his early days. We're not sure exactly when it was taken, but here's what it looked like:
Back where it all began. @RogerFederer returns to Gstaad, the site of his first professional tournament 15 years ago. pic.twitter.com/AjagWcIgOO
— Nike Tennis (@niketennis) July 25, 2013
Neither the cow, his new racket nor the photo tweet brought him a darn bit of luck in Gstaad. He lost in the second round Thursday to Daniel Brands.
There are other photos out there from that era of Federer's career. He is winning the Wimbledon juniors title just weeks before the first Gstaad tourney, as a 16-year-old:
(Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
