Roger Federer: Life in the courts. Dozens of successes in tournaments around the world and thousands of kilometers in his track record. Kalamata was one of the sports stations in his career. The tennis superstar played in Messinia in 1998 and really lost.

The diary is written on March 23, 1998. Life in Kalamata began to take on its normal rhythm after the devastating earthquake of 1986. Part of this return to… normality is the organization of tennis matches (Futures) by the local club. In fact, this event coincided with the celebrations on the occasion of the liberation of the city from the Ottoman yoke.

From 23 to 29 March, the courts of the Messinian city of Tenda were filled with dozens of tennis players and sports fans. Among the young athletes was Roger Federer. The future “prince” of world tennis was 17 years old, and the Kalamata $10,000 Futures tournament was one of the first professional tournaments of his career. It was at 11ⁱⁿ position on the board and his first match was a success. He defeated Britain’s Neil Yates 6-1, 7-6, but was defeated in the next round by Sweden’s Johan Landsberg 7-6, 6-1 and was eliminated from the competition.

However, Roger Federer’s tennis relationship with Greece began two years earlier. In 1996 at San Miniato, the later “superstar” was defeated by Greek Sergios Papadopoulos 2–6, 5–7.