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November 26, 2007
Federer Celebrates 200 Consecutive Weeks at No. 1
By ATP
Roger Federer celebrates 200 consecutive weeks as No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings on Monday.
The
Swiss reached the summit of the men’s game on February 2, 2004,
following his second Grand Slam success at the Australian Open (d.
Safin).
And Federer shows no signs of relinquishing his
position. Earlier this month he won his fourth Tennis Masters Cup crown
in Shanghai.
During his tenure as ATP World No. 1,
Federer has captured 41 titles from 65 tournaments, including 10 major
championships. He has compiled a match record of 308-24 (.928) with
only Rafael Nadal, David Nalbandian and Guillermo Canas beating him
more than once.
Lleyton Hewitt, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Andy
Roddick and Nadal have all attempted to break his stranglehold on the
coveted No. 1 ranking, but none have succeeded. Nadal has now been
chasing Federer at No. 2 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings for
123 consecutive weeks (since July 25, 2005).
At 26 years
of age, Federer is considered to be starting his peak years as a tennis
player. He has already broken a number of records, but now has his
sights on three players: Pete Sampras (286 weeks), Ivan Lendl (270) and
Jimmy Connors (268), who are the only players to have each spent more
than 200 weeks at the top of the ATP ladder.
Earlier
this year, on February 26, Federer broke Connors’ long-standing mark of
160 consecutive weeks (July 29, 1974 to August 22, 1977) at No. 1.
The
biggest lead Federer has held was a 3,900-point advantage on Nov. 20,
2006 (for six weeks) and the smallest lead was 350 points on May 10,
2004.
With a substantial lead in the South African
Airways ATP Rankings and 12 Grand Slam titles already to his name,
Federer has an opportunity to create more history in 2008.
ATPtennis.com takes an in-depth look at the Swiss superstar's time at No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings:
| The No. 1 Reign of Federer - 200 Weeks (1,400 Days) and Counting |
| - |
Before No. 1 (1998-Jan. 2004) |
As No. 1 (Feb. 2, 2004-current) |
| Tournaments Played |
115 |
65 |
| W-L Match Record |
243-110 (.688) |
308-24 (.928) |
| W-L Grand Slam Record |
46-17 (.730) |
92-5 (.948) |
| W-L in Finals |
12-8 (.600) |
41-9 (.820) |
| Pct. of Finals Reached |
17% (20 of 115) |
77% (50 of 65) |
| W-L in Grand Slams Finals |
2-0 (1.000) |
10-2 (.833) |
| W-L vs. Top 10 Opponents |
30-28 (.517) |
67-10 (.870) |
| Miscellaneous Tidbits |
| Most Consecutive Finals |
3 |
17 |
| Most Consecutive Finals Won |
3 (Twice) |
24 |
| Most Tournaments Played |
| Without Reaching a Final |
20 |
2 (Three times) |
| Without Winning a Title |
47 |
4 |
WEEKS AS WORLD NO. 2 - Four
players have attempted to break Federer's stranglehold on the top spot.
During Federer's reign Ferrero was No. 2 in the South African Airways
ATP Rankings for eight weeks. Australian Hewitt was placed second for
25 weeks and American Roddick for 44 weeks. Currently Nadal has been
World No. 2 for an ATP record 123 consecutive weeks.
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