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There is no finish line...

78K views 418 replies 58 participants last post by  Apophis 
#1 · (Edited)
Throughout his career Federer has attained numerous records – some of which are very well documented and publicised, others which perhaps are not. But often the question is asked: what more is there left to achieve? For sure there are many tennis records out there, a good number of them would be almost impossible for Federer to beat. But there are also numerous records that can still be equalled and/or broken.

So in this thread – which happens to be my first ;) – I have listed in no particular order, some of the records he has yet to achieve but may yet plausibly attain. They all refer to achievements in singles during the Open Era unless specified otherwise. Of course I have also included what he needs to do to achieve them and will try to update this on a regular basis (your help would be much appreciated with this too).

Note that there are numerous records which Federer has equalled but has not yet surpassed. Depending upon the response I get from this thread, I might include these in the post as well.

I’d just like to add that if Federer does not achieve many (or indeed any) of the records listed below, that does not in any way detract from his achievements thus far. For me at least, his place in tennis history is already sealed, although new chapters of this history are being added as time passes and that perhaps one day it is only reasonable to imagine that a number of Federer’s own records may be caught up to. But for now let us look forward to what there is still to aim for because as Roger states himself:



Update in progress... (stats to be correct correct to Monday 22nd June 2015, week prior to the start of Wimbledon)
Click for selected achievements since the previous update


PS: I am aware that there are more potential records which he can target, which I will add on in due course. In the meantime please let me know if there is anything I have missed out or if there are any important ones which you think should be included here.
Please also let be know if you spot any errors. Thanks :)
 
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#2 ·
Excellent thread, thanks for your contribution :hatoff:

I’d just like to add that if Federer does not achieve many (or indeed any) of the records listed below, that does not in any way detract from his achievements thus far. For me at least, his place in tennis history is already sealed, although new chapters of this history are being added as time passes and that perhaps one day it is only reasonable to imagine that a number of Federer’s own records may be caught up to.
Well said :yeah:

It's incredible what Roger has achieved in his career and we all can consider ourself lucky that we can witness him playing tennis. His amazing playing style is what got us attracted to him and it is an extra bonus that he has achieved so much in the past years.

As Pete Sampras has said records are there to be broken.
 
#4 ·
Don't let SetSampras, froghop et al. see this thread. :p

(Joking. Great thread! :yeah:)
 
#5 ·
Repped. A few I was already aware, and I few that I wasn't.

He's only got a few 'consecutive' records left to chase. Consecutive weeks in the top 2 (which he's pretty close to), consecutive slams attended, consecutive 3Rs at the slams, (chasing Lendl) consecutive Finals at the USO, (chasing Lendl). Consecutive finals at the Australian.

All the rest are 'career'. That's an important sign.
 
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#6 · (Edited)
Thanks for the positive responses everyone!

I'll try to add those in JediFed - and yes, if Federer plays every slam up to US Open 2013 then he will match Wayne Ferreira's record of participating in 56 consecutive slams. I think there were a couple of other ones I missed out as well like overtaking Borg and Sampras for the most consecutive years having won a grand slam. Then there's also the fact that if Federer can do the impossible and win the French Open this year, then he will be the only person to have defended all slams (he already has the record for the most individual number of slams defended, at 9. Moreover, even though Laver was the only man to win the Calendar Year Grand Slam in the Open Era, Federer holds the record for winning the most Grand Slam matches in a year as he won 27 in 2006 while Laver won 26 in 1969 as he only had to play 5 matches in the Australian Open.

Does anyone have data on consecutive weeks in the top 2 other than the ATP webiste?



Also, doing this thread has made me think that in the Open Era, Federer can lay claim to being the greatest player at the Australian Open. While he's not far off earning the same distinction at Wimbledon and the US Open, I don't think he's quite matched Sampras at Wimbledon or Connors at the US Open. For me one more victory in each would seal the deal.
 
#7 ·
Hence the sig. Lord of the AO. :D

The only major Australian record he doesn't own is the streak (Agassi), but that comes with a caveat because he took a year off. Lendl is one ahead of him, after the SF loss to the Djoker. Lendl also still owns the consecutive finals (3), which Roger only needs one more next year to tie.

The only other major 'consecutive' record that he doesn't own is a big one. Consecutive slams entered owning at least one. He's 2 shy of Sampras, and can tie the record at Wimbledon this year.

WIM 1993, 1994, 1995, USO 1995, 1996, WIM 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001. Federer ended this streak of slam ownership by defeating him in WIM 2001.

So in all the streak is 33 slams.

Federer has:

WIM 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, USO 2007, 2008, FO 2009, AO 2010, AO 2011 currently.

31 slams.
 
#10 ·
I hope some of the dust has now settled after the commotion of two consecutive quarterfinal exits. During this period Federer had a chance to make significant strides in a number of the records I listed in the first post, which unfortunately he must now wait to obtain.

I notice that many journalists have started writing his tennis playing obituary already. I am not so sure - during Wimbledon 2003 to Australian Open 2010 Federer was a model of consistency, and his results from February this year are somewhat of an abberation. While it is true that at nearly 29 time is not on his side, I still believe he has a good shot at some of the records above. What is more, at some point (most likely between July and September 2011) I do believe that he will be able to regain his world no. 1 ranking; which would thus mean overtaking Sampras' total weeks at the top of the ATP rankings.
 
#13 ·
wow never noticed this thread... nice list...! maybe it should be stickied... and we can slowly strike off the records when roger breaks them... and add in new ones should there be any records that he could have a chance to break... and then we can see how many more records he can still potentially break before retirement... :worship:


regards,
wacky
 
#14 ·
Good idea to make this thread! There are tons of significant records that Federer could relatively easily beat by simply playing at a solid level for another few years, building upon his past achiements. Which is nice for us fans, even if he performs below his peak standard there will still be new records to enjoy.

Some additions that I didn't see yet in the previous posts (sorry if I missed one):

Consecutive Slam 4th rounds (25 now, Lendl has 28)
Consecutive seasons with 20+ Slam match wins (6 now, Lendl has 7) [needs USO 2010 SF]
1 Olympic Gold Medal (0 now, 13 players have 1) + Career Golden Slam (Agassi has this)

Most Slam semifinals (25 now, Connors has 31, Lendl 28, Agassi 26)

Most consecutive quarterfinals at Australian Open (7 now, Edberg has 10, Lendl 7)
Most runner-ups at French Open (3 now, alltime [since 1925] record is 3 shared by 8 players) [a bit questionable if this should be included]
Most consecutive quarterfinals at French Open (6 now, Connors has 7, Vilas, Lendl 6)
Most consecutive quarterfinals at Wimbledon (8 now, Connors has 11, Sampras 9, Becker 8)
Most consecutive finals at US Open (6 now, Lendl has 8)

Most consecutive seasons reaching a Slam final (8 now, Lendl, Sampras have 11, Borg 8)

Most match wins at YEC (29 now, Lendl has 39, Becker 36, Sampras 35)
Most match wins at Masters 1000 events (209 now, tying Agassi for the record) He should take this record this summer.

Total weeks in the top 2 (don't know precise current number, Sampras has 376 weeks)
 
#16 ·
Matches won in all Grand Slams

This is the information just prior to FO 2010. Federer stands at number 5 in the Open Era list

Code:
[u]Open era rank[/u]	[u]Player[/u]		[u]Grand Slam match wins [/u]
[B]1		Connors		233[/B]
2		Agassi		224
3		Lendl		222
4		Sampras		203
=4		Federer		203
This I find an interesting record. It amazes me how Connors got to 233 given his absences from Australian Open (only 11 wins) and French (though still 40 wins). At the USO only he has an incredible 98 wins, something only 22 players have for all 4 slams combined (not including Safin, Ferrero, Krajicek for instance). At Wimbledon and USO combined he has 182 wins, more than all but 4 players (Agassi, Lendl, Sampras, Federer) have at all slams. Would be great if Federer takes this, say, at the Australian Open 2012. :)
 
#24 ·
Thread updated to be correct at the start of the US Open. Sorry not to have been able to update earlier as promised.

Good to see him making improvements towards some of the records in addition to keeping some of his consecutive record pursuits still going, but there is much to play for in the next two days.

Thanks everyone for the contributions :)
 
#26 ·
Now I'm a big Federer fan, but I have to say the crowning achievement has to be the Calendar Slam . Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Rod Laver the only one to have won all the grand slams in the year successively? I know this isn't a 'Is Roger the GOAT?' thread but since we're on the topic of records/achievements etc I'm just saying this has to be the toughest task in the modern era and Roger hasn't been able to do it. Speaking for myself, Roger will become the GOAT only if he makes a Calendar Slam. I know Rod Laver had only 10-11 slam titles but the magnitude of completing the calendar slam is such that it overshadows everything else. (olympics, career slam etc, and yes even 16 grand slam titles)
 
#33 ·
But during Rod Laver's time, 3 slams were played on grass. So, for me, it's not much of a big deal.

I have more respect for Agassi, Federer and Nadal who all won the Career Slams in different surfaces.
 
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