4 records that Roger Federer holds at Indian Wells
Roger Federer is one of the most successful players in men's tennis. The 38-year-old's 20 Grand Slam titles and 362 Grand Slam match wins are the most by any player in the game.
With 28 Masters 1000 titles, the Swiss star trails only Rafael Nadal (35) and Novak Djokovic (34) in this category. Federer last held or shared the title lead in the tournament category following his 21st Masters 1000 title won at 2012 Cincinnati.
One of only 3 players in Masters 1000 history to play 50 finals, the others being his Big-3 peers Nadal and Djokovic, Federer registered his 28th Masters 1000 triumph following a win over John Isner in his 50th Masters 1000 final at 2019 in Miami.
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The Swiss maestro held the record for most Masters 1000 match wins (379) till 2019 Coupe Rogers where Nadal surpassed him by reaching the semi-finals. Nadal has since moved to 384 wins by clinching 3 matches at the Paris-Bercy Masters prior to withdrawing before his semi-final while Federer's Masters 1000 match wins tally stands at 380 following a third-round defeat to Andrey Rublev in Cincinnati.
Ahead of the 2020 Masters 1000 season which opens at Indian Wells in a week's time, let us have a look at Federer's 5 records at the first Masters 1000 stop on the tennis calendar.
#1 Most titles at Indian Wells
Five years after winning his 4th title at the tournament in 2012, and enduring subsequent final losses to Novak Djokovic in 2014 and 2015, Federer moved level with the Serb for most titles at the tournament by beating his compatriot and good friend Stanislas Wawrinka in the 2017 Indian Wells final. The triumph made the then 18-time Grand Slam champion the oldest player to win at Indian Wells.
Federer won his first three Indian Wells titles in consecutive years between 2004 and 2006 and added a fourth in 2012 before Djokovic surpassed the Swiss maestro in 2016 by winning his fifth title at the tournament.
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#2 Most finals appeared at Indian Wells
By reaching the 2017 Indian Wells final, Federer broke a tie with Djokovic (6) to move into a record 7th title match at the tournament. Following that title run, Federer has made the Indian Wells final in both of his next two appearances at the tournament, squandering 3 match points on serve before going down to Juan Martin del Potro in 2018 and losing 5-7 in the third set to Dominic Thiem in 2019. Federer has a 5-4 record in Indian Wells finals.
#3 Most consecutive finals at Indian Wells
In 2019, following a walkover against his good friend and arch nemesis Nadal in the semifinals, Federer reached his 9th final and 5th consecutive Indian Wells final. It is a record for most consecutive finals at Indian Wells, the next best being Federer himself (2004 to 2006) and Djokovic (2014-16). Defeat to Thiem in the 2019 final meant that for the second consecutive year, Federer failed to break a tie with Djokovic (5) for most Indian Wells titles.
#4 Most match wins at Indian Wells
Federer beat the young Pole Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets in the 2019 Indian Wells quarter-finals to record his 66th match win at the tournament. It is the most match wins at Indian Wells by any player, the next best being Djokovic's tally of 50. The 38-year old's 66 match wins at Indian Wells is the most wins by any player at a Masters 1000 tournament behind Nadal's 71 match wins in Monte Carlo.
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