Cincinnati Masters 2019: A look at Roger Federer's journey through the years
Roger Federer, the winner of 28 Masters 1000 titles, is behind only Rafael Nadal (35) and Novak Djokovic (33) in the all-time list for most Masters 1000 triumphs.
One of only two players, along with Nadal, to play a staggering 50 Masters 1000 finals, Federer is also one of only 3 players (Nadal and Djokovic being the others) to play the title match at each of the 9 Masters 1000 tournaments in the season.
Federer has played at least 5 finals at 5 different tournaments at this level (Indian Wells-9, Miami-5, Madrid-5. Coupe Rogers-6 and Cincinnati-8). Federer also played 5 finals in Hamburg which ceased to be a Masters 1000 tournament from the 2009 season.
Cincinnati is Federer's happiest Masters 1000 stop on the calendar where the Swiss has triumphed more times than at any other tournament.
Federer has the most titles (7), most finals (8) and most match wins (46) at Cincinnati. He has been the top seed at the tournament for a record 7 times. His 2019 campaign would break a tie with Michael Chang (16) for most appearances in Cincinnati.
The Swiss enjoyed a perfect record in Cincinnati finals till the 2018 title match when Djokovic foiled the Swiss' perfect finals record at the tournament. As Federer strives to become the oldest champion at Cincinnati, here's a flashback of the Swiss' triumphs at the event.
#1 First Title (2005)
In a dominant 2005 season, the top-ranked player in the world beat Andy Roddick 6-3, 7-5 for his first Cincinnati title, 4th Masters 1000 title of the year, 8th career Masters 1000 title, 9th title of the year and 31st singles title of his career.
Having started his Cincinnati career with an underwhelming 1-4 match win record, the Swiss won his first title at the tournament in his 5th appearance.
Federer dropped his only sets of the tournament in the second round against Nicolas Kiefer and in the semifinal against American Robby Ginepri before beating another American, Andy Roddick, in straight sets in the title match.
The Cincinnati triumph was Federer's 4th at a hardcourt Masters 1000 and came amidst the Swiss' record streak of 49 consecutive match wins on American soil (2004 - 2006).