5 little-known tennis facts about Roger Federer
Roger Federer has had an illustrious 22-year career on the ATP tour. Only two players in the top 100 of the current rankings - Feliciano Lopez and Ivo Karlovic - have been on the tour for a longer duration than the Swiss maestro.
Federer has been the epitome of sustained excellence and longevity, as evidenced by records like most Grand Slam appearances (78), most Grand Slam titles (20), most ATP Finals titles (6), most weeks at No. 1 (310) and most consecutive weeks at No. 1 (237).
The oldest player to win a Masters 1000 title (2019 Miami) and the only player to win 10 titles at a tournament on two different surfaces (Halle - grass and Basel - hardcourt), Federer has been ranked in the top 10 of the ATP rankings for a record 892 weeks (as on 25 November 2019).
The 38-year-old's 24 consecutive wins in tournament finals (2003-05), eight Wimbledon titles, five consecutive US Open titles and the Wimbledon-US Open double in four consecutive years are feats unrivaled in the Open Era.
Federer is also the only player to win his first seven Grand Slam finals and reach all four Grand Slam finals in the same season on three separate occasions (2006-07, 09).
While those are some of Federer's most memorable records, here we take a look at five lesser-known facts about the Swiss' stellar tennis career:
#1 Federer has the most wins in best-of-5 set matches
Federer holds the record for most wins (412) in best-of-5 set matches. The tally includes a record 357 wins in Grand Slams, 40 wins in the Davis Cup, 7 in Masters 1000 finals, 4 in ATP Finals title matches, 2 in ATP 250 finals, 2 in ATP 500 finals and 1 in the Olympics final (2012).
The Swiss maestro recorded his 400th victory in a best-of-5 set match with a straight-sets win over Casper Ruud in the third round of the 2019 French Open, en route to his first semifinal at the claycourt Major in seven years (Iost to Rafael Nadal).
Also read: 5 records that might always elude Roger Federer