Roger Federer's 5 unique records at the Australian Open

During the course of a stellar 22-year professional career, Roger Federer has been the epitome of sustained excellence and longevity. The wielder of a picturesque one-handed backhand - a rarity in the modern game - Federer has impressively stood his ground against some of the best players to have graced the sport.

Federer's 310 weeks overall and 237 consecutive weeks at no. 1, 20 Grand Slam titles, 357 Grand Slam match wins and 6 ATP Finals titles are some of his most prominent records in the game.

The 38-year-old is also the first player to win 10 titles at a tournament on two different surfaces (Halle-grass, Basel-hardcourt), the oldest winner of a Masters 1000 title, and the first player to register 100 match wins at a Grand Slam, or for that matter at any tournament (Wimbledon 2019).

Federer narrowly failed to become the oldest Grand Slam winner in the Open Era when the Swiss failed to convert two championship points on serve in the fifth set of an epic 2019 final. Novak Djokovic went on to win the first-ever Wimbledon match to feature a 5th set tiebreak, in the process becoming the first Wimbledon champion in 71 years to have triumphed after saving multiple championship points.

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At the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season, Federer's 6 titles at the tournament are only behind Djokovic's Open Era record tally of 7. On that note, let us view 5 of Federer's unique records or milestones at the Australian Open.

#1 First player to reach 7 Australian Open finals

Federer hoists aloft his 20th Grand Slam title at the 2018 Australian Open

Making his 19th consecutive appearance at the tournament in 2018, defending champion Federer beat first-time Slam semi-finalist Hyeon Chung to reach a record 7th Australian Open final, the first since 2007 without dropping a set.

In the title match against 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic, Federer looked on course to lift a third Grand Slam title without dropping a set when the Swiss led by a set and moved within two points of a two set lead. But Cilic had other ideas.

The Croat made it a set apiece and then fought back from a break down in the fourth to force a decider, before Federer re-asserted his dominance to successfully defend a Grand Slam title for the first time since the 2008 US Open.

In the process, Federer tied Djokovic's record of most titles at the tournament (6). A year later though, Djokovic would claim the outright record for most titles by lifting his 7th Australian Open title.

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#2 Most match wins at the Australian Open

Federer at the 2019 Australian Open

At the 2019 Australian Open, two-time defending champion Federer beat Denis Istomin, Daniel Evans, and Taylor Fritz in straight sets to book a first-time meeting with young Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The third round win over Fritz extended Federer's record tally of match wins at the Australian Open to 97. The next best tally belongs to 7-time champion Djokovic (68), who is some distance away from catching up with the Swiss maestro.

Federer went down to Tsitsipas in four sets to make his earliest exit at the tournament in four years (2015 3R: lost to Andreas Seppi) and his first fourth round ouster at the Australian Open since losing to David Nalbandian in 2003.

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#3 Federer has never lost in the first two rounds at the Australian Open

Federer in his maiden appearance at the Australian Open in 2000

An 18-year old Federer made his third Grand Slam main draw appearance - and first at the Australian Open - in 2000.

Following opening round exits to Pat Rafter (1999 French Open), and Jiri Novak (1999 Wimbledon), Federer beat Michael Chang in straight sets to register the 1st of his record tally of 357 Grand Slam match wins. The Swiss beat Czech Jan Kroslak, also in straight sets, in the second round before being stopped by Frenchman Arnaud Clement in the third round.

Federer endured another third round exit to Clement at the 2001 Australian Open, before reaching the second week of the Major in each of his next two appearances (2002 4R: lost to Tommy Haas, 2003 4R: lost to David Nalbandian). At the 2004 Australian Open, Federer became the 22nd different Open Era champion at the tournament.

In 2005, Federer squandered match points in the semifinal to eventual champion Marat Safin, before lifting his second and third titles at the tournament in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

The Swiss would make at least the semifinals in each of his next 7 Australian Opens, capturing the title in 2010 and losing in the final the previous year before suffering his first 3rd round exit in 15 years when he went down to Andreas Seppi in 2015.

Federer lost to Djokovic in the 2016 semifinals before winning his 5th and 6th titles in 2017-18 to join the Serb atop the tournament title leaderboard. In his latest appearance at the tournament in 2019, Federer lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round.

The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam, apart from the US Open, where Federer has never lost before the third round (Australian Open: 3 third round losses, US Open: 1 third round loss).

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#4 Federer has more straight-set wins at the Australian Open than the next best tally of match wins at the tournament by a player

Federer recorded his 75th straight set victory at the 2019 Australian Open

Federer (97) has the most match wins at the Australian Open, which is 28 clear of the next best tally of wins by a player the tournament (Djokovic-68).

What is more impressive is the fact that 75 of the Swiss maestro's match wins at the Australian Open have come in straight sets - a standalone tally which exceeds Djokovic's tally of 68 wins.

Federer registered his 75th and most recent straight-sets win at the tournament in the third round of the 2019 edition of the tournament. Only at Wimbledon (77) has Federer recorded more straight set wins at a Major.

#5 Federer is the only player after Ken Rosewall to win the Australian Open without dropping a set

Federer won his 3rd Australian Open title in 2007

Federer beat first-time Slam finalist Fernando Gonzalez in straight sets in the 2007 final to win his third title at the tournament.

In the process, Federer emulated Ken Rosewall (1971) as the only players in the Open Era to win the Australian Open title without dropping a set. Rosewall is in fact the first player in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam tournament without dropping a set - a feat that has been emulated or surpassed by only 3 other players, which includes Federer.

To put the achievement in perspective, out of 207 Grand Slam tournaments in the Open Era (52 each at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open; 51 at the Australian Open), there have only been 9 instances of a player going all the way without dropping a set.

Bjorn Borg (3 - twice at the French Open, once at Wimbledon), Rafael Nadal (3 - 2008, 2010, 2017 French Open), and Roger Federer (2 - 2007 Australian Open, 2017 Wimbledon) are the only players other than Rosewall to win a Slam in the Open Era without conceding a set in the tournament.