5 little-known tennis facts about Roger Federer

Roger Federer has had an illustrious 22-year career on the ATP tour. Only two players in the top 100 of the current rankings - Feliciano Lopez and Ivo Karlovic - have been on the tour for a longer duration than the Swiss maestro.

Federer has been the epitome of sustained excellence and longevity, as evidenced by records like most Grand Slam appearances (78), most Grand Slam titles (20), most ATP Finals titles (6), most weeks at No. 1 (310) and most consecutive weeks at No. 1 (237).

The oldest player to win a Masters 1000 title (2019 Miami) and the only player to win 10 titles at a tournament on two different surfaces (Halle - grass and Basel - hardcourt), Federer has been ranked in the top 10 of the ATP rankings for a record 892 weeks (as on 25 November 2019).

The 38-year-old's 24 consecutive wins in tournament finals (2003-05), eight Wimbledon titles, five consecutive US Open titles and the Wimbledon-US Open double in four consecutive years are feats unrivaled in the Open Era.

Federer is also the only player to win his first seven Grand Slam finals and reach all four Grand Slam finals in the same season on three separate occasions (2006-07, 09).

While those are some of Federer's most memorable records, here we take a look at five lesser-known facts about the Swiss' stellar tennis career:

#1 Federer has the most wins in best-of-5 set matches

Federer holds the record for most wins (412) in best-of-5 set matches. The tally includes a record 357 wins in Grand Slams, 40 wins in the Davis Cup, 7 in Masters 1000 finals, 4 in ATP Finals title matches, 2 in ATP 250 finals, 2 in ATP 500 finals and 1 in the Olympics final (2012).

The Swiss maestro recorded his 400th victory in a best-of-5 set match with a straight-sets win over Casper Ruud in the third round of the 2019 French Open, en route to his first semifinal at the claycourt Major in seven years (Iost to Rafael Nadal).

#2 Federer has wins over players ranked at each of the top 100 ranking positions

Federer's 1237 career singles wins comprises victories over opponents ranked at each of the top-100 ranking positions. All but two wins (unranked opposition: 2002 Halle R32 vs Hendrik Dreekman, and 2002 s'Hertogenbosch R32 vs Richard Krajicek) have come against opponents occupying 197 different ranking positions.

The Swiss maestro's 224 wins wins over top 10 opposition is the most by any player in the Open Era, followed by second-placed Novak Djokovic with 205 wins. Federer achieved his 200th top 10 win with a five-set win over Kei Nishikori in the 2017 Australian Open quarterfinal.

The bulk of Federer's wins have come against top 100 opposition (1080), with his remaining wins coming against opponents ranked outside the top 100 (157) and two unranked opposition. Federer's 30 wins over players ranked No. 6 is the highest by opponents ranked at a particular position.

#3 Three-quarters of Federer's career match wins have come as a top 3 player

This is perhaps not a very surprising stat, as Federer has been ranked in the top 10 for a record 892 weeks (as on the week starting 25 November 2019).

Most of Federer's wins have come when he has been the world's top-ranked player (430), with 251 wins coming when he has been ranked No. 2 and 229 when the Swiss maestro has occupied the No. 3 position in the ATP rankings.

910 wins as a top 3 ranked player comprises 74% of Federer's total win tally of 1237 wins.

#4 Federer's highest number of losses have come against No. 1 ranked opposition

Federer has endured 270 defeats during his illustrious singles career. The Swiss maestro's losses have come against opponents at 83 different ranking positions. However, only 15 of those losses have come against a player ranked outside the top 100.

The 20-time Grand Slam's champion's last defeat against an opponent ranked outside the top 100 came in the second round at Miami in 2018 when he fell in a third-set tiebreak to 175th-ranked Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Federer's worst defeat by opponent ranking came way back in 1999, when the then 104th-ranked Swiss lost in straight sets to 407th-ranked Bjorn Phau in the opening round at Washington DC.

Federer's 20 defeats against the No. 1 ranked player is the highest he has endured in terms of defeats by opponent ranking. The most recent such instance happened in the 2019 Wimbledon final where Federer squandered multiple championship points on serve before going down in a fifth-set tiebreak to then No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

#5 Federer's highest number of losses have come while he has been ranked No. 1

This is perhaps one of the least known facts about Federer's tennis career. Of Federer's 270 career losses, the highest have come when the Swiss has been ranked the numero uno player in the world.

Federer holds some of the most prominent records associated with the ATP No. 1 ranking. The Swiss maestro's 310 weeks and 237 consecutive wins at No. 1 are both Open Era records.

The record 20-time Grand Slam champion has had tremendous success as the world's top-ranked player. Federer's 11 (of 20) Grand Slam titles, 15 (of 28) Masters 1000 titles, 3 (of 6) ATP Finals titles amidst 46 (of 103 career singles titles) have come when he has occupied the No. 1 position in the world rankings.

Among 122 losses endured by the Swiss maestro as a top 10 player, his 56 defeats as World No. 1 is the highest he has suffered at any single ranking position. Federer's last defeat as World No. 1 came in a three-set reverse against Borna Coric in the 2018 Halle final.