Federer edges Murray as ITF Fantasy Champion of Champions

After 35 match-ups and thousands of votes cast, the fans have spoken: Roger Federer has been crowned the ITF Fantasy Champion of Champions – but only just.

Federer, the 20-time Grand Slam champion and five times a winner of the ITF World Champion title, edged out 2016 World Champion Andy Murray by the narrowest of margins in the final, claiming the decisive poll on the ITF Twitter page by 51% to 49%.

The result brought the social media-driven contest to a close after two weeks of fan votes featuring all 36 men’s and women’s singles ITF World Champions since the award was introduced in 1978.

To see the results of the draw, click on the bracket below:

With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing tennis to a halt, the ITF Fantasy Champion of Champions was conceived to celebrate the very best the sport has had to offer for the past four decades while asking fans to vote with their hearts when champions of different eras and tours collide.

Murray’s run to the final was a case in point. In the first round, the three-time Grand Slam champion saw his way past his former coach Ivan Lendl, before facing a player he knows far more about as an opponent, current men's singles ITF World Champion Rafael Nadal, in the second round. Having seen off the Spaniard, Murray went on to win votes against American legends Chris Evert and Serena Williams – his mixed doubles partner at Wimbledon in 2019 – to emerge from the top half of the draw.

Federer’s quarter of the draw had a distinctly grass-court feel to it: of the nine former ITF World Champions in his section, eight had won Wimbledon at least once, with only 1992 finalist Monica Seles missing out. Federer eased past Lleyton Hewitt, Petra Kvitova, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf to reach the final, before claiming overall victory in razor-thin fashion, with 956 votes cast to decide the winner.

To all those who voted, whatever the rationale behind picking your favourites – thank you, and we hope you enjoyed it. And to fans of five-time ITF World Champion Roger Federer: he’s done it again…

Every year, the ITF honours the players who have made the biggest impact on the tennis world that season, naming ITF World Champions in in all disciplines across professional, junior and wheelchair competition. To learn more about the ITF World Champions, including the 2019 winners, click here.