Sunday, February 2, 2014
To mark the ten-year anniversary of Roger Federer’s
ascension to the No. 1 ranking, we culled together a few of
his more impressive stats.
Photo Source: Corleve
Nobody in men’s tennis has held the No. 1 ranking for
more weeks, or with more dominance (or for that matter,
elegance), than Roger Federer has.
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On Sunday, Federer and his legion of die-hard fans celebrated
the anniversary of the Swiss maestro’s first day as the World
No. 1, which came way back on February, 2, 2004, just after
Federer had won his first Australian Open title.
Who knew back then that Federer would embark on a ten-year
journey that would see him break tennis’ all-time Grand Slam
titles record as well as reach 302 weeks at No. 1?
Even those that were charmed by the mystique of Federer’s
regal, resplendent game surely couldn’t have predicted such
mind-boggling success.
To mark the anniversary, let’s look at a few of
Federer’s accomplishments since he first claimed the No. 1
ranking:Weeks at No. 1:
302 During Federer’s third stint at No. 1, which lasted from
July 9, 2012 to November 4, 2012, Federer passed Pete Sampras
for most weeks at No. 1 all-time, then became the first male
player to crack the 300 weeks at No. 1 mark.
Grand Slam Titles:
Federer’s first two Grand Slam titles came before he achieved
the No. 1 ranking. Since then 11 of Federer’s next 15 came
while he held the No. 1 ranking.
Here are the Grand Slams that Federer has won while not ranked
No. 1:
2003 Wimbledon, 5
2004 Australian Open, 2
2008 US Open, 2
2009 French Open, 2
2009 Wimbledon, 2
2012 Wimbledon, 2
Federer holds a remarkable 135-12 record while playing Grand
Slams at No. 1. When he isn’t ranked No. 1 his record is still
remarkable, but a little more human at 130-30.
Federer has achieved five year-end No. 1 rankings during the
time since his first No. 1 ranking, and he has been ranked No.
1 in eight different seasons.
According to the ATP, Federer’s
winning percentage while ranked No. 1 (421-53, .888) is greater
than Rafael Nadal’s (161-26, .861) and
Novak Djokovic’s (125-21, .856).
Federer’s longest streak at No. 1, 237 weeks, is 77 weeks
longer than the next best streak, which was Jimmy
Connors’ 160. 77 weeks? That’s a year and a half.
A pretty impressive round of achievements for Federer, and
certainly worthy of celebration on this the ten year
anniversary of Roger’s original coronation.