Another record for Roger
Roger Federer may have dropped his first set of 2007, but he extended his winning streak to 37 matches with a win over Kristian Pless on Monday at the Dubai Championships.
On Monday, the improbable occurred at the Dubai Championships. Roger Federer actually dropped the second set to Denmark's Kristian Pless. The Swiss champion rallied, of course, to win his career-best 37th consecutive match, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3.
Federer was to be forgiven; he hadn't played in nearly a month since winning the Australian Open. These days, near-misses are what pass for news with the 25-year-old Federer. After all, he has been ranked No. 1 in men's tennis for more than three years now.
When the ATP rankings came out on Monday, Federer was No. 1 for the 161st consecutive week, breaking Jimmy Connors' 160-week record of nearly 30 years (July 1974-August 1977).
"For me, it's a great record to break," Federer said on a conference call after his match. "He's had it for so long. Hopefully, it will take some time for somebody to beat it."
If anyone ever does.
Federer's dominance in tennis is becoming so routine, so numbingly predictable, that sometimes his greatness is taken for granted. After winning the 2004 Australian Open, he vaulted over Andy Roddick into the No. 1 spot on Feb. 2. He's been there ever since, winning 10 of 15 Grand Slam singles titles and six of the last seven.
In the 49 tournaments he has played as the No. 1-ranked player, Federer has won 34 and compiled a record of 247-15 (.943).
Consider the ATP point system used to rank its players. With 8,120 points on the rankings ladder, Federer leads No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal, who has 4,705 points. They are followed by No. 3 Roddick (2,830), No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko (2,825) and No. 5 Fernando Gonzalez (2,685). Really, it's not even close.
Federer has escaped major injury -- a sprained ankle forced him to miss three tournaments at the end of the 2005 season -- and no one has truly threatened his ranking. Federer pointed to the 2004 Wimbledon final, when he won a third-set tiebreaker over Roddick and escaped with a four-set victory, as his only real scare.
"That was a huge moment for me," Federer said. "It was between the two of us for the No. 1 spot. If he had won that, he might have gotten it back. Looking back, maybe that was the most important match for staying at No. 1.
"It's one of the moments where really I could raise my game at the right time. I think that's why I stayed No. 1 for so long."
The only short-term drama left in men's tennis is the 2007 French Open. Roland Garros is the one Grand Slam title that has eluded Federer -- the one that has cost him the celebrated four-major Grand Slam twice, in 2004 and again last year. After dropping the first set 6-1, Nadal came back to win three straight sets to claim the 2006 final.
Federer currently holds the Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open titles. Is this the year Federer finally breaks through at the French?
Ranked No. 1 |
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|---|---|---|
| Player |
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| Roger Federer |
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| Jimmy Connors |
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| Ivan Lendl |
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| Pete Sampras |
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"Well, we had this conversation one year ago," Federer said. "Now it's coming along again. I'm in exactly the same situation: If I win the French Open, I've won four in a row, which is very unique. The focus is so big on the French Open that I cannot think beyond that because I've never won it.
"I really hope I can do it."
Federer, encouraged by his progress at Roland Garros -- he was eliminated in the first round in 2003 and has advanced further each year since -- says he will stick with the same schedule plan he has used in recent years, which includes Monte Carlo, Rome and Hamburg. He and Nadal, who beat Federer in the Monte Carlo and Rome finals a year ago, withdrew from Hamburg to recover for the French Open.
Nadal, who has a career record of 6-3 versus Federer, also beat the Swiss player in the Dubai final a year ago. Seeded first and second, they would meet in the final again this year. Federer noted that Nadal has a tough draw, which begins with Tuesday's first-round match against Marcos Baghdatis.
"I'd love to play him here again, that's for sure," Federer said.
To put Federer's 161 straight weeks on top in context, consider that John McEnroe only spent a total of 170 weeks at No. 1 during his career. Andre Agassi (101 weeks), Lleyton Hewitt (80) and Jim Courier (58) were ranked No. 1 for far shorter periods.
While Federer acknowledges that it feels strange to be talked of as a legend while he's still playing, every year he plays more records fall.
He needs only 10 more consecutive match wins -- considering how fast the Dubai courts are playing this week he could be nearly halfway there in a week's time -- to break the record of 46 consecutive victories, set by Guillermo Vilas in 1977.
Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
