By Chris Oddo
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Photo Credit: Reuters
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(June 14, 2012)—Roger Federer is already the all-time leader in grass-court titles, but this year the 30-year-old world No. 3 will be setting his sights on a slice of history that has eluded him for the last two grass-court seasons.
With six Wimbledon titles under his belt, Federer will enter Wimbledon with another chance to tie Pete Sampras for the most titles all time at The Championships. If he can do it, Federer will also join Rafael Nadal and Pete Sampras as the only players to have won any Grand Slam seven times in the Open Era.
Let's have a look at some of the milestones that Federer is poised to break this grass-court season.
1. Grass-Court Wins, All-Time and Active
Federer won his 103rd career match on grass today against Florian Mayer in Halle. That places him just two wins behind Lleyton Hewitt for the active lead in Grass Court wins. Additionally, Federer could move from eleventh to sixth in grass wins all-time if he makes the final at Halle and Wimbledon.
Grass Court Wins, All-Time
|
Player
|
Record
|
Pct.
|
Titles
|
|
Jimmy Connors
|
169-34
|
.833
|
9
|
|
John McEnroe
|
119-20
|
.856
|
8
|
|
Boris Becker
|
116-25
|
.804
|
7
|
|
John Newcombe
|
116-33
|
.779
|
5
|
|
Roscoe Tanner
|
115-40
|
.742
|
3
|
|
Stan Smith
|
111-41
|
.730
|
4
|
|
Ken Rosewall
|
108-31
|
.777
|
5
|
|
Tony Roche
|
107-34
|
.759
|
4
|
|
Lleyton Hewitt
|
105-29
|
.784
|
7
|
|
Pat Cash
|
104-37
|
.738
|
3
|
|
Roger Federer
|
103-15
|
.873
|
11
|
2. Federer is the grass-court king if you look at winning percentage.
While Federer's numbers on grass might not be quite as obscene as Nadal's .930 winning percentage on clay, the Swiss Maestro has no equal when it comes to winning matches on grass. Here is a look at the top five grass-court winning percentages all-time, and the top four active.
Grass Court Winning Percentage, All-Time
|
Player
|
Win Pct
|
Record on Grass
|
Wimbledon Titles
|
|
Roger Federer
|
.873
|
103-15
|
6
|
|
John McEnroe
|
.856
|
119-20
|
3
|
|
Bjorn Borg
|
.847
|
61-11
|
5
|
|
Pete Sampras
|
.835
|
101-20
|
7
|
|
Jimmy Connors
|
.833
|
169-34
|
2
|
|
*Rafael Nadal
|
.830
|
49-10
|
2
|
|
*Andy Roddick
|
.804
|
78-19
|
0
|
*Active players.
Nadal is seventh all-time, behind Laver; Roddick is 9th all-time, behind Becker ; Murray is 10th.
3. Grass Court Titles
Federer already holds the all-time lead for most grass-court titles. Here's how he stacks up against those below him on the list:
Grass Court Titles, all-time
|
Player
|
Grass Titles
|
Grass Record
|
Wimbledon Titles
|
Wimbledon Record
|
|
Federer
|
11
|
103-15
|
6
|
59-7
|
|
Sampras
|
10
|
101-20
|
7
|
63-7
|
|
Connors
|
9
|
169-34
|
2
|
84-18
|
|
McEnroe
|
8
|
119-20
|
3
|
59-11
|
|
*Becker
|
7
|
116-25
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3
|
71-12
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*Hewitt also has seven grass titles.
4. The Big Three on Grass
Finally, let's take a look at the big three on grass and at Wimbledon.
|
Player
|
Grass Record
|
Pct.
|
Wimbledon Record
|
Wimbledon Titles
|
|
Federer
|
103-15
|
.873
|
59-7
|
6
|
|
Nadal
|
49-10
|
.830
|
35-5
|
2
|
|
Dkokovic
|
38-11
|
.776
|
27-6
|
1
|