5 Roger Federer records you were probably unaware of
As the Swiss Maestro Roger Federer continues his quest to win Grand Slams even at the ripe age of 37, we take a look at 5 of his records that most people may not be aware of. The 20-time Grand Slam champion has many firsts to his name and many of those records seem unlikely to ever be broken.
Since winning his first Grand Slam title at the hallowed lawns of Centre Court, Wimbledon a decade and a half back, Federer has re-defined greatness and his rivalry with fellow contemporary greats Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have defined an entire era.
#1 All 4 Grand Slam finals in a single season thrice
During the years 2004-2007, the Swiss maestro was at his ruthless best winning a whopping 11 Grand Slam titles. It marked his rise to greatness and made him a crowd favorite. In the years 2006 and 2007, Federer featured in 8 consecutive Grand Slam finals beginning at the 2006 Australian Open.
In the year 2009, he would repeat this feat of reaching all 4 Grand Slam finals.
#2 Ranked in the top-3 for most number of weeks
The Swiss legend who has defined a benchmark for longevity in a physically grueling sport continues to push boundaries by defying time and age by picking and selecting his tournaments wisely.
A fact which lay credence to his extraordinary longevity in sport is the fact that he has been ranked inside the top-3 for a mammoth 689 weeks beginning way back in July 2003.
#3 Most Olympic match wins - 13
Although the great Roger Federer hasn't won an Olympic Gold in singles till date, he holds the unique record of taking part in 13 Olympic singles matches - the most by any player in the sport's history.
At Sydney 2000, he made the semi-finals and lost to German Tommy Haas. In the ensuing bronze medal match, he lost to Frenchman Arnaud di Pasquale. At Athens 2004, he was the top-seed and brimming with confidence having won the Australian Open and Wimbledon that year. But it proved to be a tournament to forget for the Swiss as he lost to Czech Tomas Berdych.
2008 proved to be a disappointing year for Federer as he relinquished his Australian Open as well as Wimbledon titles. Heading into Beijing, Federer was looking to make amends. But luck was not on his side as he lost in the quarter-finals to American James Blake. His only consolation was winning the doubles Gold with Stanislas Wawrinka.
At London 2012, fresh from winning Wimbledon for a record 7th time and having regained the No.1 ranking, Federer featured in the longest match in Olympics history when he beat Juan Martin Del Potro in 4 hours and 26 minutes. The grueling contest took the steam out of Federer's game in the Gold medal match as he lost to Andy Murray and had to settle for Silver.
After taking a tumble in the 5th set of his Wimbledon semi-finals match against Milos Raonic, the signs were ominous for the Swiss and he called time on his season to recuperate and missed the Rio Olympic Games 2016.
#4 Most tie-breaks won in career
Another stat which exemplifies his longevity at the highest level, R-Fed has played 664 tie-breaks (accurate as on September 22nd 2018) and won 432 of them (65.1% success-rate). His tally of 664 tie-breaks since 1998 till date is also the highest among all. This truly goes to show that the Swiss great surely is also the tie-break king!
#5 10+ titles on 3 different surfaces
No man in history barring Roger Federer has won 10 or more titles on 3 different surfaces. Roger has won an astounding 67 titles on hard courts (the most among all players), 18 grass court titles (again the most among all players) and 11 clay court titles. Federer has also won more indoor titles (24) than any other individual.
