The eight-time champion returns: Roger Federer makes special Wimbledon appearance in the Royal Box

Throughout this Wimbledon tournament, there has been a number of special guests making the trip to SW19 to watch some world class tennis. However, not many of them can live up to the hype of Roger Federer who has come back to the event he once dominated, but this time as a spectator.

His playing days are long over following a glorious career at the top of the sport which saw him win 20 Grand Slam titles, eight of which being collected at Wimbledon which was his favourite hunting ground for a large period of time.

He has a strong reputation among tennis fans, labelled as the greatest by many with other regularly marvelling at his brilliance. Since retiring, he has still seen a lot of support as fans reminisce to the past with his achievements still being fondly remembered.

The Swiss is the latest of a handful of special guests to make the trip to this prestigious tournament, set to spend his day sitting in the Royal Box on Centre Court to watch the matches taking place. It is a very strong lineup with the likes of Jasmine Paolini, Alexandra Eala, Grigor Dimitrov and Alexander Zverev featuring.

The most successful men's player to compete at Wimbledon, just pipped by Martina Navratilova with nine triumphs, Federer was one of the most iconic grass players to grace the court.

It was the scene of his first ever Grand Slam title, defeating Mark Philippoussis to seal what would start up a truly glorious legacy. He won four consecutive Wimbledon titles following that, defeating Andy Roddick twice before a glistening rivalry with Rafael Nadal blossomed for the world to see.

Federer won the 2006 and 2007 finals, but he would be on the wrong end of a tight and tense battle in 2008, recognised as one of the greatest major finals ever played out. It was Federer's first loss at Wimbledon since 2002, but he got back on routine a year later by defeating Roddick again.

He was not so dominant from this point on, but still a force to be reckoned with. He defeated home favourite Andy Murray in 2012 before collecting his eighth and final Wimbledon title in 2017 against Marin Cilic, rolling back the years.

He was again in the record books following another classic Wimbledon final. He lost an absolute thriller against Novak Djokovic, lasting four hours and 57 minutes. A heartbreaking loss which turned out to be the longest Wimbledon final ever. His last match came in 2021 when he lost in straight sets to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals, bowing out as a legend.

Still he is not far away from the grounds, regularly attending to watch the tennis on the grounds he once was the master of. He has recently seen his win record fall to the hands of Djokovic, but his eight titles still trumps his seven, keeping him on top for the time being.