Federer has not yet received the honorary knighthood, but according to me he surely does deserve one. Last month in a marathon fifth set, Federer won his sixth Wimbledon and in the process eclipsed Pete Sampras record of 14 grand slam titles.
After losing to Nadal during last year’s Wimbledon finals, there were wide speculations that Federer’s dominance in professional tennis was coming to an end. Federer silenced his critics by winning his first ever French Open, and became only the sixth person ever to get a career grand slam. Some killjoys will undermine Federer’s last two grand slam victories, as he did not defeat Nadal. This eventually leads us to the ever green question “Is he the greatest ever”.
A glance at his immaculate career will answer the above question. Roger Federer is the only player ever to have
- 237 consecutive weeks as Rank 1
- Won 15 singles grand slams (In 6 years)
- Played 20 grand slam finals
- Played 10 consecutive grand slam finals
- Played 21 consecutive grand slam semi finals
- 4 consecutive years winning at least 2 grand slams
- 5 years winning at least 2 grand slams
- 3 years winning at least 2 grand slams
- 36 consecutive grand slam sets won
- Won 7 initial grand slam finals
Grand Slam | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
Australian Open | 4R | Won | SF | Won | Won | SF | F |
French Open | 1R | 3R | SF | F | F | F | Won |
Wimbledon | Won | Won | Won | Won | Won | F | Won |
US Open | 4R | Won | Won | Won | Won | Won | — |
Some people would suggest that the sport has evolved so much that it is irrelevant to compare players of different eras. I certainly do agree, but apart from Federer no player has ever dominated the game to this extent. The debate on greatest ever might seem endless, but everyone would agree that he is certainly the greatest player of this era.
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