Roger Federer is a Swiss-born player who is arguably the best player to ever grace a tennis court. The word grace is important here because a big part of Federer’s claim to be the best player of all time is the beauty of which his game was played. Unlike the grinding style of Rafael Nadal or the ruthless efficiency of Novak Djokovic, Federer has the most beautiful game of his rivals.
Federer makes the game look easy with sublime touch and deft brilliance when it comes to his point construction. He is similar to Michael Jordan in that, statistics aside, when you watch him play, the beauty of his game is an argument that statistics cannot quantify.
Let’s take a closer look at his career and analyze why he would’ve been the wisest bet at any top-rated sportsbook.
Career Stats
Federer has plenty of statistics to back up his claim for best player ever. He was ranked number one in the world for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks. Federer finished as number one in the world at year’s end five times. He won 103 ATP titles, which is the second most of all time, and 20 Majors men’s titles.
Federer won Wimbledon 8 times, the US Open five times, and won the year-end ATP finals six times.
Rising to the Top
After a successful juniors career, he made his ATP debut in 1998 in his home country of Switzerland. He finished that season ranked number 301 in the world. In August of 1999, Federer won his first professional title, winning a Challenger Tournament in Segovia in the doubles event. He followed that up with his first singles title winning a challenger in Brest.
In 2002, Federer won his first Master’s title in Hamburg, which put him in the top 10 for the first time in his career. That was a tough year for Federer as he lost his coach and mentor, Peter Carter, who died in a car crash. In honor of the memory of his coach, Federer rededicated himself to the sport of tennis and put even more hours into training and improving.
The hard work paid off as in 2003 Federer won Wimbledon for his first Grand Slam singles title. He became only the fourth person to win both junior and senior Wimbledon titles. This year was also the first year he won the year end ATP finals when he defeated Andre Agassi.
In 2004, Federer became the best player in the world by winning three of the four Grand Slams, the first men’s player to do that since 1988. That year the only major title he failed to win was the French Open. He finished the year with 11 singles titles and a record of 74-6, the best singles record since Ivan Lendl in 1986.
Continued Success Amidst New Challenges
In 2005, Federer started slow but rebounded to win his third Wimbledon title and his second US Open title and recorded four Masters wins that year. In 2005 Federer won 11 singles titles again and also had 81 match victories. He finished 81-4 with a 95.2% winning percentage. Only John McEnroe in 1984 and Jimmy Connors in 1974 have posted better winning percentages over a single season.
In 2006 Federer continued his dominance with 12 singles titles, 92 wins, and three Grand Slam titles. His loss at the French Open would become significant as he fell to his greatest rival, Rafael Nadal. This was their first meeting in a Grand Slam final.
It was still a fantastic year for Federer, however, as he was the first man to reach all four finals in a calendar year since Rod Laver in 1969. Federer was able to avenge his French Open loss to Nadal by defeating him in the Wimbledon finals this year. At this point, Federer was clearly the best player in the world, in a class of his own. That would soon change with the emergence of two young rivals.
Nadal and Djokovic
In 2007 Federer reached all four grand slam finals again and won three of them again. At the Australian Open in 2007 he became the first man since Bjorn Borg to win a Grand Slam title without losing a set.
However, a new rival appeared for him this year as Federer lost the Canada Masters title to Novak Djokovic. This would mark the emergence of the third player of the vaunted “Big 3”. They would dominate tennis for the next 15 years to come. This was Federer’s fourth season in a row finishing as the year-end number-one
Federer had a rough 2008 because he was suffering from illness during the first half of the year with a long bout of mononucleosis. However, he was able to rehabilitate his health at the end of the year and lift another US Open trophy. His rivalry with Nadal was beginning to become more even because Nadal defeated him in the French Open and Wimbledon final. Federer was able to win the Gold Medal in the doubles at the Olympics when he teamed with Stan Wawrinka.
Intense Rivalries
Federer won his first French Open title in 2009. This was a nice turn of events as Federer had fallen in the Australian Open final to Nadal but then turned around and beat him on his best surface. This rivalry was cooking now and was the hottest thing in the sport of tennis. It was arguably the best rivalry since Sampras/Agassi and was as good as the great rivalry between McEnroe and Borg.
In 2010, Federer’s unchallenged reign as the best player in the world began to slip. From 2005 to 2010 Federer made 18 out of the 19 finals in Grand Slam tournaments. Now with the emergence of Nadal, Djokovic, and British upstart Andy Murray, Federer would begin to be challenged and would no longer win almost every event he entered. However, these rivalries allowed him to sharpen his skills and provided us with many memorable matches.
The Fall from Number One
In 2011 Federer’s streak as the number one player in the world ended as he finished the season at number 3, even though he did win the year-end ATP finals.
In 2012 he was able to recapture the number one ranking in the world, won the Wimbledon title, and scored a Silver Medal in the Olympics.
111 titles
20 Grand Slams wins
2 Olympic medalsHappy Birthday to tennis legend @rogerfederer 🇨🇭🎾pic.twitter.com/sD60xnEe34
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 8, 2022
2013 was another year that Federer’s play was hampered by injuries as a back injury kept him from playing at his top level. This is the first season since 2005 when Federer was not able to make a Grand Slam final.
The Comeback
In 2015 Federer claimed his 1,000th singles victory and was able to make the finals at the US Open and Wimbledon, however, it was another year without a win at a major. Injury struck again as the long time at the top had worn down the graceful player and in 2016 he had knee surgery, a back injury, and a long time of recovery. It was feared that this might be the end of his time at the top.
However, in 2017 he was able to prove that he still belonged as a threat to be the best player in the world by winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon. While injuries were a concern to end his career, Federer fought back and was able to prove that he still belonged at the top.
In 2018 Federer won his 20th major title by winning the Australian Open.
The End of an Era
Federer was able to play until 2022 but was never was not able to win another major title. However, he was still a serious threat and gave us some memorable matches, including his final against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2019. Health problems and the decline of age led to Federer’s retirement in 2022 as arguably the greatest player to ever play.
Some players might have more impressive statistics and more Grand Slam victories, yet Roger Federer’s grace and class were unparalleled in the tennis world. He was definitely the most fun to watch of the players of his era, and his beauty and brilliant ball-striking will always be remembered.
Because of that, many people will regard him as the greatest player ever, regardless of statistics and achievements. Federer’s contribution to the sport of tennis goes beyond the court and the way he comports himself with honor and class off the court is an inspiration for us all. The tennis world is better for having Roger Federer.
