Challenger

Witnessing Federer's Wimbledon farewell to living his dream: Meet Gueymard Wayenburg

Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg is living his dream as a professional tennis player. The 21-year-old, who captured his first ATP Challenger Tour title two weeks ago in Quimper, has always had one goal: “to be number one in the world”.

Among his most treasured memories is watching his idol, Roger Federer, play his final match at Wimbledon in 2021.

The Swiss icon, a record eight-time champion at the All England Club, reached the quarter-finals that year and in 2022 announced his retirement. Only a fortunate few were in the stands to witness Federer’s last match at the grass-court major — and Gueymard Wayenburg was in attendance.

“It was amazing. I made the [junior] semi-finals so I had time to see him,” Gueymard Wayenburg told ATPTour.com. “I saw that match with [Hubert] Hurkacz.”

Growing up, Gueymard Wayenburg and his brother Lucas shared a spirited sibling rivalry whenever Federer and Rafael Nadal clashed. Lucas was a Nadal fan.

“When they played each other, we were fighting in the house,” Gueymard Wayenburg said with a laugh. “It was funny.”

The Spaniard tallied a 24-16 Lexus ATP Head2Head series record against Federer in one of the fiercest rivalries in the sport. Their first meeting came when Gueymard Wayenburg was just seven months old.

What drew the Aix-en-Provence native to Federer?

“All his aura,” Gueymard Wayenburg said. “The tennis, the gesture. When I saw him play, it was just a magic moment.”

Gueymard Wayenburg recently enjoyed a different kind of magical moment. As a qualifier at the Quimper Challenger ranked No. 470 in the PIF ATP Rankings, the Frenchman went all the way to the title.

“To be honest, just before the tournament with my family we said, ‘Okay, let’s go, just one match. Just to start the season, I want to win one match,’” Gueymard Wayenburg said. “Then after I said, ‘Okay, why not one more?’ And I felt so good and one more and one more. I said, ‘Let’s just have fun and see what happens after every match.’”

^{Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg celebrates winning the Quimper Challenger. Credit: Nicolas Averty}

In his first-round match of the main draw, Gueymard Wayenburg was bagelled in the opening set. The Frenchman rebounded, however, and would need a deciding set in four of his five main-draw matches. When he clinched the championship with a booming forehand winner against defending titlist Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Gueymard Wayenburg fell on his back in relief.

“I will remember that last shot. It was the moment I felt all the tension get out of my body,” Gueymard Wayenburg said. “It was unbelievable. Everything stopped.”

Gueymard Wayenburg began the tournament competing in the first match on Quimper’s stadium court in qualifying. After seven matches in as many days, he closed the event on that very court. What was the key? Perhaps a bit of superstition.

“I ate at the same table, the same steak [after each match],” said Gueymard Wayenburg, who soared 217 spots to a career-high No. 253 in the PIF ATP Rankings following his triumph.