At the age of 38, Roger Federer is still one of the best players in the world, standing strong against much younger opponents and still fighting for big titles and records. The Swiss veteran is spending the record-breaking 750th week in the top-3, becoming the first player to achieve that since the start of the ATP ranking in 1973, miles in front of Rafael Nadal, Jimmy Connors and Novak Djokovic.
In the last 12 months, Roger was the semi-finalist at Roland Garros and finalist at Wimbledon, squandering two match points against Novak Djokovic to stay on 20 Major titles. Federer was the semi-finalist at the Australian Open a couple of weeks ago, suffering another loss to Novak Djokovic but staying in the top-3 ahead of Dominic Thiem who finished runner-up behind the Serb.
Struggling with a knee injury, Roger had to undergo surgery ten days ago, skipping Dubai and all the tournaments until Halle in June, including Indian Wells, Miami and Roland Garros. Claiming the 100th ATP title in Dubai last year, Roger will lose 500 points on Monday, allowing Dominic Thiem to crack the top-3 for the first time and exit the elite group after mind-blowing 750 weeks there, setting the record that will take some beating in the future.
Roger had found himself in the top-3 for the first time after lifting the first Major title at Wimbledon almost 17 years ago, staying the dominant figure in men’s tennis until the summer of 2008 and remaining in the mentioned group for ten years and skipping only a couple of weeks during that period.
Playing in the final at Wimbledon 2014, Roger kicked off another streak of more than two years in the top-3 to add more weeks to his tally before that knee injury that kept him away from the court in the second part of 2016, returning where he belongs after Wimbledon 2017 and battling with much younger opponents to stand behind Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic since May last year.
The future of the Swiss star is uncertain following that nasty injury that will keep him off the court for four months, eager to return at his best and chase big points in Halle and Wimbledon, still having enough points to remain in the top-10.
Players with most week in the top-3 :
750 — Roger Federer
602 — Rafael Nadal
591 — Jimmy Connors
571 — Novak Djokovic
499 — Ivan LendI
Why Roger Federer will be remembered as GOAT if Nadal and Djokovic beat his slam record?
Will Roger Federer be remembered as the GOAT if Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic should beat his slam record? Talking about records, Federer holds many, of which can hardly be surpassed by his two rivals in the future. Even if Federer will retire at 40 years-old and Nadal and Djokovic were to play at least another three years, many more Federer’s records would not be broken.
So everything boils down to the Slams? Not really, although obviously Slams are the most important part for of the season (and of the career) of a tennis player. So, speaking of Roger Federer we should not focus only on the Majors, but on all the great records that he achieved during his career.
We could talk about head-to-head. Federer is at a disadvantage with both Nadal and Djokovic. However, the trend in his matches against Rafa is now favorable to the Swiss Maestro (in the last 10 matches played, Roger won 7, including the Australian Open 2017).
With Djokovic opposite trend: Federer lost 7 of the last confrontations with the Serb. Not only that, because the Swiss does not win a challenge in a Slam against Nole from the Wimbledon 2012 semifinal. However, it is true that between the two there is also an age difference (6 years): Djokovic is winning many more matches against the Swiss of how much he didn’t care when Roger was still under-30. Age is therefore a very important factor in the challenges between the two, even if Nole has now managed to enter Federer’s mind, becoming a real nightmare for him.
There is also a final analysis to be done. Federer is perhaps the most loved sportsman (not just about tennis) of all time. His class, his elegance, his victories, his charisma, his human and fragile side, his records and that aura of great charm made him one of the most popular sportsmen of all time, adored by fans, by the organizers of tournaments and brands.
Roger Federer is a true icon, an ambassador of sport in time and space, able to make tennis special. Then there are the numbers. If Nadal and Djokovic were to break Roger Federer’s Slam record (and this is likely) there will be many other evaluations and considerations to make.
