By Chris Oddo | 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.