By John Skilbeck, PA International

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Roger Federer, the man who dethroned Wimbledon's king of champions Pete Sampras and put an end to the great American's dominance of SW19's lush lawns, has begun what may be his own period of regal dominance at the All-England Club.

It has been two years since Federer, then aged just 19, guaranteed himself an entry in the Wimbledon history books by stunning Sampras in a fourth-round thriller.

Now he has a chapter to himself after a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 7-6 (7-3) victory over big-serving Australian Mark Philippoussis.

The wonder is that is has taken the Swiss player so long to make an impact at a Grand Slam event, given what an immense force he is on the ATP Tour where there is no more dominant a player.

Before this year's Wimbledon, the fastest rising star of the men's game had eight tour titles to his name, and almost £3million in the bank from prize money but so little of his earnings had come from the US, Australian and French Opens, or from Wimbledon.

He had ventured as far as the quarter-finals, but never gone beyond.

Now that psychological barrier has been broken, expect many more forays deep into the second week of the biggest tournaments.

There can be so many comparisons made with Sampras and Federer.

Like the seven-time champion, Federer lost in the first round on his first two visits to the Championships as he struggled to make the transition from juniors to the senior tour.

And like Sampras, the youngster from Basle took a while to develop a game for grass - only to eventually find the perfect formula.

Sampras was 21 in 1993 when he began his dynasty, the same age Federer is now; in fact their birthdays are a mere four days apart in August.

And although he remains one of the lesser-known players in the men's game, even perhaps one of the less convivial, no-one questions Federer's vast talent.

His victim in the quarter-finals, Sjeng Schalken, was ultimately proved right in believing he exited to the eventual champion.

"I think so, and I hope so for Roger," said Schalken.

"I like him as a person, and I like him as a sportsman. So he deserves it. I think he's the best player around at the last four, and for sure he has the most talent."

Federer proved himself in a superior class to his semi-final opponent, the big-hitting American Andy Roddick, who the bookies had made a clear title favourite after fastening on to a bandwagon which began rolling at Queen's Club.

Roddick was champion there, but Federer was simultaneously, and just as impressively, securing the grass-court title at Halle in Germany.

Their semi-final began as a close-fought affair, but Federer stepped up a gear after winning the first set tie-break and was increasingly dominant as the match ran on.

BBC commentator Boris Becker, a Wimbledon champion himself, sees in Federer an ability to equal his achievements.

"He plays tennis like they used to play, like Ilie Nastase," said three-time champion Becker, praising Federer for his use of drop-shots, volleys and willingness to take on an angle.

"He plays all the shots of tennis and that's something we don't really see any more."

Switzerland can hardly have expected to have a second grand slam champion so soon after Martina Hingis' feats in the late 1990s.

Speaking earlier in the week about the prospect of reaching the final, Federer admitted the attention from his homeland would become "something very special".

It has been suggested that just like George Best's swaggering genius went to waste in the Northern Ireland football team, so Federer might consider himself unfortunate, from a tennis perspective, that he was born Swiss.

His Davis Cup record is impeccable, the match of any player in the world, and yet he carries the team almost single-handedly.

Fortunately, he can play doubles as well as both singles rubbers, so the Swiss always have a chance in best-of-five matches, and they have miraculously qualified for this year's semi-finals.

Federer can expect to face Philippoussis when the Swiss take on Australia in Melbourne during September, so the Wimbledon final also offered the chance to get ahead in the mental warfare which Davis Cup competition so often calls for.

While this July may have given Federer cause for celebration, a year ago his life was turned upside down by the death of his first coach, the Australian Peter Carter, who was killed in a car crash in South Africa.

It was a death which Federer admits was shattering, and his results consequently tailed off from then until October, losing four straight in a run which caused his ranking to fall from fourth to 11th.

They soon picked up again, and he soared back to number five this year, and though the rankings may not show it, he must feel as though he is on top of the world right now.