287 Weeks Notice: Federer Achieves No. 1 Record

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287 Weeks Notice: Federer Achieves No. 1 Record

By Erik Gudris

Photo Credit: Nike Advertising

(July 16, 2012) June 7th, 2010. That was the day Roger Federer was forced to surrender his No.1 ranking after losing in the quarterfinals of the French Open. Though at the time, many thought Federer would reclaim the top spot soon enough, his subsequent losses at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the same year followed by the continued dominance of Rafael Nadal and then the unexpected but near-perfect 2011 season of Novak Djokovic pushed Federer farther and farther back.

What seemed inevitable now looked impossible for the grand master of tennis as the pundits began to sigh at the cruel irony of Federer being two weeks away only just a few years ago from having surpassed Pete Sampras and his mark of 286 weeks at No. 1.

But with help from his record seventh Wimbledon title two weeks ago, Federer has now finally been able to check off that item on his to-do-list to becoming the greatest tennis player of all time. This week Federer has now spent 287 weeks at No. 1 - the most ever for any player on the ATP Tour. And with Federer about to enter into the summer hardcourt season, he has an excellent chance of extending that streak even further and thus making sure that no one else will ever touch that record.

For a man who has achieved everything in the sport (well, except for an Olympic Gold Medal in singles, but he’s working on that) it begs asking the question posed by Federer’s classy Rolex television ad listing all of his achievements – “What’s next?” Sure Federer could possibly overtake Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, the most for any player man or woman (Federer has 17 now), if he buckles down and wins two Majors a season for the next few years. But if he’s really ambitious, he could go after Jimmy Connors’s record of the most singles titles won by any man – 109. Federer just has a mere 75 to his name, and is lagging in fourth place behind John McEnroe (77) and Ivan Lendl (94). Or maybe he’ll go after Steffi Graf’s record for being the player to have spent the most weeks ever at No. 1 – 377. That would only take another two years right? No problem.

Still, there’s also a view that maybe Federer should just say “Goodbye” in the many languages he speaks and let his aura of perfection remain with him through the ages. Doesn’t Federer deserve to end his career clutching the Wimbledon trophy in one hand while pointing his index finger to the sky with the other while standing on the roof of ATP headquarters in London, yelling out at the top of his lungs, “I’m king of the world!” Sampras walked away from it all after winning the U.S. Open in 2002 and as we know Federer often tries to emulate his idol in many ways, but there’s a sense that Federer is quite ready to leave the tour, with all its glory and its grind just yet.

Unlike Sampras who was basically worn out and even Bjorn Borg, the man considered during his time to be the best ever, who walked away from being burned out, Federer doesn’t look to be either. He may have his aches and pains now and then as evidenced by seeing him wear a black compression shirt (likely sewn with silk naturally) during the Championships under his white polo, but if Federer remains healthy and hungry for more, there’s no telling how long he will stay in the sport.

When and if Federer decides it’s time to bid adieu, it’s very likely he will give the world more than two weeks notice because he’s just that kind of guy. But as we wait to see what indeed Federer does next, for now all we can say is congratulations to the man, the player, and some would now call the legend who has given us 287 weeks of what can only be called “peRFection.”