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October 27, 2006
Top 20 facts about Roger Federer
By Matt Wilansky and Keith Hawkins, ESPN
With
his 6-2, 6-0 win Thursday at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors, No. 1 Roger
Federer won his 21st straight match and appears to be on his way to
winning his 11th title of the season. (On Friday, Federer extended his
win streak to 22 with a win over David Ferrer.)
The 2006 season has been dominated by Federer. Even his
nemesis, Rafael Nadal, is a very distant second to the world's top
player. Why has Federer dominated the men's tour for the better part of
the last four seasons? Here are 20 facts about him that might help
explain why. 20 Five win streaks of at least 20 matches
Since his second-round loss to Andy Murray at Cincinnati in August,
Federer has won 21 straight matches, the fifth time in his career he's
won at least 20 in a row. Since 1990, only two other players have won
20 consecutive matches multiple times: Pete Sampras (three times) and
Stefan Edberg (twice). Federer's longest winning streak came last year
after Rafael Nadal defeated him in the semifinals of the French Open.
After that loss, Federer won 35 straight, a streak that lasted from
June 6 to Nov. 20. 19 Age at time of first career title
In 2001, at 19, Federer won his first career title. It came in Milan,
Italy, where he defeated well-established players Goran Ivanisevic and
Yevgeny Kafelnikov before knocking off Julien Boutter in the final.
That was his only title of the season, but it was a sign of things to
come. 18 Age at time of first Grand Slam match win
In 2000, the 62nd-ranked Swiss upset Michael Chang in the first round
of the Australian Open. Just 18 years old at the time, Federer won his
second-round match before losing to Arnaud Clement.
17 Losses in 2003 (last year he wasn't ranked No. 1)
Federer
finished the 2003 season ranked No. 2 in the world, going 78-17. How
dominant has he been since? In the last three seasons, he has lost a
total of 15 matches. The only player he has lost to more than once in
that period is Rafael Nadal.
16Wins against Andy Roddick and James Blake
Federer
has been dominant against the top two Americans, going a combined 16-1
against Blake and Roddick. His only blemish came against Roddick in
Montreal three years ago. Federer -- who beat both players en route to
winning this year's U.S. Open -- is 11-1 vs. A-Rod and 5-0 against
Blake. In 2006, Federer is 6-0 against all American opponents. 15 Different countries in which he has won a title
Last week, Federer reached his first ATP final on Spanish soil. By
winning the Madrid Masters, he claimed a title in his 15th different
country. Two weeks before that, Federer won his first career tournament
in Japan. Overall, he has played in 23 countries in his career. China,
Russia and Sweden are just a few of the countries in which he is
titleless.
14 Finals reached this season
Federer
has made a tournament final 56 times in his career, including 14 times
in 2006. To put that in perspective, the next best total this year is
seven by Blake. Only once this season has Federer failed to reach the
final round and that came in Cincinnati, where he lost in the second
round to Andy Murray. 13 Finals lost in his career
Every once in a while, Federer shows the rest of the world he's human.
Thirteen times he has lost in a tournament final. In fact, four times
this season he has finished runner-up -- each time to his nemesis,
Nadal.
12 Masters Series titles
The
world No. 1 has won 12 Masters Series titles, second only to Andre
Agassi's 17. During his career, Federer has won six of the nine
different Masters Series events. The only three he has failed to win
are Monte Carlo, Rome and Paris. Next week in Paris, he will have an
opportunity to become the first player ever to reach the final of all
nine Masters Series events.
11 Consecutive games won to close out last week's Madrid final
It's not surprising Federer won the final of the Madrid Masters over
Fernando Gonzalez, but he did so in dominating fashion (7-5, 6-1, 6-0).
After shaking off an injury scare late in the first set, Federer
recovered and won the last 11 games of the match. His latest Masters
Series crown came with very little trouble as he failed to drop a
single set in the tournament. 10 Titles this season
After winning the Madrid Masters, Federer became the first player in
the Open era to win 10 or more ATP titles three years in a row (he won
11 titles in 2004 and 2005). His total of 43 crowns puts him 12th on
the all-time Open era list, and he is only one title away from tying
Thomas Muster for 11th on the career list.
9 Career Grand Slam titles
His
total of nine places him sixth on the all-time list. That's more than
Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe. With one
more, Federer will tie Bill Tilden for fifth on the career list. At
just 25 years old, the only question remaining: Will he will pass Pete
Sampras' record of 14 majors?
8 Grand Slam titles won since 2004
In
the last three seasons, Federer has won eight of the 12 Grand Slam
events. This includes three titles at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
After winning this year's U.S. Open, Federer became the first player in
the Open era to win three Grand Slam titles in a season twice. 7 Active players who have been ranked No. 1
Federer became the seventh active player to achieve the No. 1 ranking
early in 2004. Lleyton Hewitt ended 2001 and 2002 as the top player on
tour, and his total of 80 weeks at No. 1 is second only to Federer's
143 weeks at the top among players still competing. The others: Andy
Roddick, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Gustavo Kuerten, Marat Safin and Carlos
Moya. 6 Million dollars in prize money won in 2006
Technically, Federer has earned $6,681,885 in 2006. That's the
highest-total ever for a player in a single season. In 1997, Pete
Sampras took home nearly $6.5 million, which had been the record. Last
season, Federer won more than $6.3 million, making him the first player
to earn at least $6 million twice. In all, the Swiss has pocketed
$26,904,158. Only Sampras and Agassi have won more prize money. 5 All-time rank in weeks at No. 1 (143)
On Feb. 2, 2004, Federer took the No. 1 ranking away from Andy Roddick.
Since then, 143 weeks have passed and no player has challenged him for
the top spot since. His total atop the rankings is the fifth longest
since the inception of the rankings system in 1973. Only Sampras,
Lendl, Connors and McEnroe have been there longer.
4 ATP Masters Series titles in 2006
In
Madrid last week, Federer won a record-equaling fourth Masters Series
title -- the second straight year he won four Masters Series events. In
doing so, he became the first player since the Masters Series
tournaments started in 1990 to win four shields in back-to-back
seasons. Earlier this year, Federer became the first player to win at
Indian Wells and Miami in successive seasons. 3 Number of wins (and losses) in doubles this season
Did you ever think the names Mertinak or Levinsky would be ranked ahead
of Roger Federer? Well, they are -- in doubles. Currently, the world's
top singles player is ranked No. 369 in doubles with a record of 3-3.
His partner for all six matches has been his compatriot, Yves Allegro. 2 Consecutive years winning at least 80 matches
Last week, Federer went over the 80-win mark for the second straight
year. He is the first player to accomplish this feat since Lendl in
1981-82. The Swiss is attempting to become the first player to reach 90
wins since Lendl went 106-9 in 1982. 1 Only player to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open consecutively three straight years
Federer is the only player in history to win Wimbledon and the U.S.
Open consecutively for three straight years. Before Federer, Bill
Tilden (1920-21) and Don Budge (1937-38) were the only players to win
Wimbeldon and the U.S. Open back-to-back in two consecutive years.
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