Roger, from Mr Angry to Mr Perfect

LONDON: From racquet-smashing enfant terrible with a bad attitude and ill-advised ponytail to universally respected sporting role model and modern icon, Roger Federer has come a long, long way.

Fourteen years after winning his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, Federer clinched an historic eighth All England Club trophy and 19th major on Sunday.

Many other things have changed for Federer since that Centre Court triumph over Mark Philippoussis in 2003.On court, his successes have brought him more than $100 million in prize money and now 93 career titles.

Off it, he is the father of two sets of twins, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva and Leo and Lenny with wife Mirka, a former player he met at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.But his career and life wasn’t always so settled.

As a talented young player, Federer’s on-court tantrums and hair-trigger temper once threatened to stunt his progress.Federer famously defeated Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 2001 but was knocked out in the first round the following year.

It took a personal tragedy for Federer to press the reset the button.Just when he turned 21, his coach and close friend from his formative years Peter Carter was killed in a car crash in South Africa.