300 : The Coronation is done

by bogbrush Thu 13 Sep 2012, 6:59 am

First topic message reminder :

Not the prequel to Gerald Butler and his gang of CGI-enhanced six-pack mates, but the run to the extraordinary achievement of spending 300 weeks as the #1 ranked tennis player.

It's certain that Federer will reach 299, and supporters of the Swiss maestro will be wary having seen him stall unexpectedly one week short of Pete Sampras's record in 2010, but he needs only a modest showing to secure 300 even assuming Djokovic cleans up China and Shanghai.

300 would matter because it would put clear water between his record and those of Connors, Lendl and Sampras. If we don't recognise the symbolic effect of these milestones then a lot of cricket folklore ceases to exist, and for Federer to become the first to raise his bat for a triple century is every bit as big as reaching similar uncharted territory in that sport.

It's especially impressive given he came back, at 31, in the face of the peaks of Nadal, Djokovic and Murray and proved over a rolling year to be the best out there. It's helped cement his legacy as the GOAT by dismissing the arguments that his reputation was built on weaker rivals; quite obviously were he at his physical peak he'd be an even greater threat today and would reasonably be expected to dominate.

So, without taking it for granted, I'm going to keep a close eye on the countdown to this historic record as he pushes the limits of tennis achievement even further out of the stratosphere. This is more than his supporters could have hoped, to be honest, but he seems to have believed he would do it. I wonder what else he has in mind?

by lydian Wed 10 Oct 2012, 6:18 pm

lol...yes 3 times out of 28!

Around 10% chance then...

by **laverfan** Wed 10 Oct 2012, 8:26 pm

lydian wrote:Around 10% chance then...

Yes.

Let us see what these three can do against Federer and Djokovic?

by barrystar Thu 11 Oct 2012, 1:40 pm

Stan is serving for the 1st set at 5-4 so he's not exactly lying down and taking it.

by barrystar Thu 11 Oct 2012, 1:45 pm

Stan takes the 1st set 6-4, he got to 40-0 on serve and finally took his 3rd set point with an Ace.

Fed's got to do something if he's going to keep 300 in his own hands.

by barrystar Thu 11 Oct 2012, 1:59 pm

Ah - Fed 3-1 with a break in the 2nd.

by luciusmann Thu 11 Oct 2012, 3:08 pm

300 weeks confirmed! Yippie....!

by Josiah Maiestas Thu 11 Oct 2012, 3:52 pm

Spoiler:

by reckoner Thu 11 Oct 2012, 4:01 pm

300 glorious weeks! What an incredible achievement!!

Congratulations Roger!

by lags72 Thu 11 Oct 2012, 4:05 pm

Wiki already updated both in tabular form and caption to photo. Remarkably swift Shocked

by barrystar Thu 11 Oct 2012, 4:12 pm

What an achievement. One is tempted to say that this will surely last for ages, but the longest any previous #1 record has lasted is 12 years anyway so who knows?

Fed will be #1 for at least 2 more weeks, and he's earned this stay of execution on his own racquet rather than waiting for someone to beat Djoko.

Mission accomplished - he's going to have to look hard for motivation.

by bogbrush Thu 11 Oct 2012, 4:16 pm

Great achievement, it may only be one more week than 299 but its an incredible milestone.

Surely this will stand at least 10 years; none of the current top players can challenge it so someone has to do 6 years to get it, and get past this lot to begin.

by lags72 Thu 11 Oct 2012, 4:22 pm

Trivia fact of the day :

The man from Basel has now racked up the exact same number of weeks at the No.1 spot as the combined total spent there by .......
Johnny Mac (170), Bjorn Borg (109), Boris Becker (12), and Marat Safin (9)

by time please Thu 11 Oct 2012, 4:22 pm

Brilliant achievement - well done The Fed!

forgot to link the wikipedia page of world No 1s, but if ranked by countries it is amazing to note that USA is at the top with a total of 896 weeks courtesy of Connors, McEnroe, Courier, Sampras, Agassi and Roddick and Switzerland is in second place with one player and 300 weeks. Honorable mention should be made to No 3, Czechoslovakia (that was) on 270 with just one player - take a bow Mr Lendl, ahead of 4th place Sweden on 201 weeks from Borg, Wilander and Edberg.

by Josiah Maiestas Thu 11 Oct 2012, 4:53 pm

Haas can do Fed a favour and hurl out the overrated Djokofake.The pressure will be Exhilarating

by bogbrush Thu 11 Oct 2012, 5:44 pm

As I suggested a few weeks ago, this really mattered to Fed;

"I never thought of something like this when I was a little kid, that's for sure,” said Federer. “I was just hoping one day my dream was going to come true to play on the regular tour, play Wimbledon, maybe become World No. 1 at some stage. So here I am at 300 weeks. It's pretty incredible. Probably one of my biggest accomplishments. I'm very proud of that record, no doubt about it.”

by Henman Bill Thu 11 Oct 2012, 8:27 pm

BB Federer agrees with you highlighting this achievement. Really interesting comment from a player who often says he doesn't play for records.

by **laverfan** Thu 11 Oct 2012, 8:30 pm

BB got to it earlier than I could. Cool

.

Congrats to Federer for achieving a stellar career milestone. clap

by lydian Thu 11 Oct 2012, 8:44 pm

Federer, like famous Spartan warriors, stands at 300 strong - you've got to hand it to the guy, that is a LONG time at the top

by bogbrush Thu 11 Oct 2012, 8:49 pm

After this I think he must only have one, perhaps two, serious targets left apart from just playing on and winning more;

* 8 Wimbledons, to beat Pete (poor Pete!). Possible.
* 20 Slams (very unlikely IMO)

I can't see any more milestones he could realistically plan for (sure, a 2nd French for 2 career Slams would be nice but its extremely unlikely).

by Henman Bill Thu 11 Oct 2012, 8:54 pm

In my opinion his most important targets would be:

Another year end number one (important for comparison vs the greats of other eras)
8 Wimbledons
French Open (2 of each slam)
Beating Murray and Djokovic in slam finals
Beating Nadal in a French Open final

I think the latter would be the best, but perhaps the least likely.

by lydian Thu 11 Oct 2012, 9:02 pm

...or HB, beating Nadal in any slam final Wink

I just think Nadal has had his number for a very long time now.

Agree about 8 Wimbs, also winning DC for Switzerland, 2nd French yes.
6 Year Ends would have been good too...dont forget that is a Herculean achievement still.

by bogbrush Thu 11 Oct 2012, 9:08 pm

Yeah, I just think 8Ws is the most likely / most record book worthy one left.

I think it's very unlikely he and Rafa will meet in a Slam final again. Just maybe in the French, if Rafa hasn't got back into the top 2 and goes into Djokovic's half in 2013. Story of Feds life there, another big appointment with Nadal on clay Crying or Very sad

by lydian Thu 11 Oct 2012, 9:14 pm

Yep, its more unlikely over time...after all they havent met in a slam final off clay since AO09. Of course they almost met, should have met, at USO11. But they did meet this year at AO12 of course. Nadal has always been a thorn in his side at slams, I think we pretty much all know that. But you know, I dont think Rafa fears Djokovic the same anymore - indeed almost relishes meeting him you feel. But this is all conjecture...Rafa may return a shadow of the player he was.

You know I always felt Roger was chasing records, he always seemed very aware of the numbers he was amassing and what was next. Its a different time now...back 10-15-20 years ago the guys didnt focus on this as much. Agassi and Sampras didnt enter AO much when they were younger, Borg never bothered with AO either. Its very much a modern/recent phenomena to focus on the metrics.

by Henman Bill Thu 11 Oct 2012, 9:16 pm

lydian wrote:...or HB, beating Nadal in any slam final
I just think Nadal has had his number for a very long time now.

Agree about 8 Wimbs, also winning DC for Switzerland, 2nd French yes.
6 Year Ends would have been good too...dont forget that is a Herculean achievement still.

I agree Lydian, should have added any slam final beating Nadal. I thought about coming back and editing this actually, so I agree with you. Nadal has won most of the slam finals and you could argue that Fed's wins were when he was at his peak on his best surface (at that time) against a young not fully forged Nadal.

by Henman Bill Thu 11 Oct 2012, 9:16 pm

Yeah, in the Borg era locker room number one was what mattered to him. As soon as he lost that he quit.

by User 774433 Thu 11 Oct 2012, 9:20 pm

Henman Bill wrote:
lydian wrote:...or HB, beating Nadal in any slam final
I just think Nadal has had his number for a very long time now.

Agree about 8 Wimbs, also winning DC for Switzerland, 2nd French yes.
6 Year Ends would have been good too...dont forget that is a Herculean achievement still.

I agree Lydian, should have added any slam final beating Nadal. I thought about coming back and editing this actually, so I agree with you. Nadal has won most of the slam finals and you could argue that Fed's wins were when he was at his peak on his best surface (at that time) against a young not fully forged Nadal.

Yes.

by Josiah Maiestas Thu 11 Oct 2012, 9:54 pm

He will win 1 more slam, which I hope is the AO. Imagine having won 3 different slams 5 times + each. French Open is a slam for pvssies who rely on errors for points. 2009 will forever be the most credible French Open championship. Tiriac needs to have a word with the surface engineers.

by **laverfan** Thu 11 Oct 2012, 10:03 pm

Josiah Maiestas wrote:He will win 1 more slam, which I hope is the AO. Imagine having won 3 different slams 5 times + each. French Open is a slam for pvssies who rely on errors for points.

... like the Federer-Wawrinka Shanghai 2012 third set or was it the second set tie-breaker. Wink

Josiah Maiestas wrote:2009 will forever be the most credible French Open championship.

Sad that Federer's other RG finals are being ignored.

Josiah Maiestas wrote:Tiriac needs to have a word with the surface engineers.

... and ask for forgiveness later?

by lydian Thu 11 Oct 2012, 10:12 pm

Agree HB, Borg just wanted to be the best, regardless of slam count.

JM, you do come out with some tripe at times. So using your own logic...if 2009 carried the most credibility and had Federer as champion then Nadal beating him in 3 finals must elevate those RG wins to INcredibility...

by User 774433 Thu 11 Oct 2012, 10:15 pm

Josiah Maiestas wrote:He will win 1 more slam, which I hope is the AO. Imagine having won 3 different slams 5 times + each. French Open is a slam for pvssies who rely on errors for points. 2009 will forever be the most credible French Open championship. Tiriac needs to have a word with the surface engineers.

by LuvSports! Thu 11 Oct 2012, 10:49 pm

josiah you really do give us federer fans a bad name with drivel like that. please stop!

by hawkeye Fri 12 Oct 2012, 12:11 am

Stan is naughty! Just look at this picture he re tweeted.

http://twitpic.com/b317uz

I found it on his twitter account.

https://twitter.com/stanwawrinka

by sirfredperry Fri 12 Oct 2012, 7:24 am

Followıng the Fed-Stan match sketchıly from onlıne scores. Fed was awfully close to defeat at tımes before runnıng away wıth ıt. It ıs a tremendous achıevement - the 300 - and no doubt Fed has savoured these weeks at number one sınce July as much as any of the many weeks he has had at the top.
I thought that when Rafa fırst went to numero uno at a faırly young age that he mıght well challenge the 237 and also the 286-week records. But ıt was not to be. Thought Djoko would do more consecutıve weeks than he dıd, as well, although he may stıll put ın a good run at the top.
Can anyone else reach 300? You should never say never, but ıt's a bıg ask. Incıdentally I thınk I am rıght to say that the Stan wın takes Fed level wıth Agassı at 870 career vıctorıes wıth the Johnny Mac total of 875 lıkely to be passed soon. The records stack up.

by The Special Juan Fri 12 Oct 2012, 8:13 am

@PseudoFed (before the match): "Playing Stanford in a bit. Have already bought him his plane ticket home #economyclass #yourewelcome"

by Josiah Maiestas Fri 12 Oct 2012, 10:20 am

Pseudo is a horrible parody. If I was in charge of Twitter i'd have his account closed down.

by lydian Fri 12 Oct 2012, 10:30 am

The PseudoFed blog I think is actually pretty funny.

This was put out yesterday after RealFed got the 300 weeks.

Federer said that he still played for the love of the game and not just for all the success that comes his way. "Sometimes you're just happy playing. Some people, some media unfortunately don't understand that it's okay just to play tennis and enjoy it. They always think you have to win everything, it always needs to be a success story, and if it's not obviously what is the point. Maybe you have to go back and think, Why have I started playing tennis? Because I just like it. It's actually sort of a dream hobby that became somewhat of a job. Some people just don't get that ever.”

He's living the dream!

by bogbrush Fri 12 Oct 2012, 11:23 am

Fred, it's not an easy record to see toppled because;

(i) I can't see Djokovic, Murray or Nadal doing it, but I also can't see anyone else getting started until those guys are disposed of. That's going to take a while.
(ii) It will take 300+ weeks to beat the record (!!!!!) and that's quite a long time itself. And every week Roger hangs around makes it harder; I think he'll lose it shortly BUT I can see him recapturing it after the Australian Open, given the points he and Djokovic are defending.

by bogbrush Fri 12 Oct 2012, 11:24 am

lydian wrote:The PseudoFed blog I think is actually pretty funny.

This was put out yesterday after RealFed got the 300 weeks.

Federer said that he still played for the love of the game and not just for all the success that comes his way. "Sometimes you're just happy playing. Some people, some media unfortunately don't understand that it's okay just to play tennis and enjoy it. They always think you have to win everything, it always needs to be a success story, and if it's not obviously what is the point. Maybe you have to go back and think, Why have I started playing tennis? Because I just like it. It's actually sort of a dream hobby that became somewhat of a job. Some people just don't get that ever.”

He's living the dream!

The guy has his head seriously well screwed on. He could go on a long time with that attitude.

by lydian Fri 12 Oct 2012, 11:54 am

Yes you just get the feeling its his fundamental love of the game that now keeps him going...and thats the best reason to continue.
So what if he gets beaten more than he wins in 2 years time...if he loves the game let him do that, he's proved all he needs to prove.

by zaron Fri 12 Oct 2012, 2:08 pm

Some more records Federer can aim for in 2013:

250 match wins at slams (currently on 247) -- should happen at AO
most match wins at the FO (currently on 54, record is 58 Vilas)
42 slam QFs (currently on 38, record is 41 Connors) -- could tie at W, break at USO
slam QF streak (currently on 34, the next best is Djokovic and Lendl on 14)
slam appearance streak (currently on 52, record is 56) -- could tie at USO

Any slam win would mean a new record. Obviously extending record for most slams (17). Also outright record for slam wins (in open era) at AO(4), W(7), USO(5).

Longer term could Federer be aiming for 1000 match wins? He is currently on 870, so it would be doable in 2 years. But the record (1271, Connors) is way out of sight.

Or how about 100 singles titles? Currently on 76. This would most likely require at least 4 more years, but if he wants to play at Rio 2016, it might be possible.

by bogbrush Fri 12 Oct 2012, 2:33 pm

How about the record for most records?

by lags72 Fri 12 Oct 2012, 2:43 pm

Zaron - no way could I see 100 titles, even if he does decide to continue on the tour for a good while yet. Personally I'm of the view that 2014 might well be his last 'full' year, I just think a settled family life will become more and more of a priority. But only he knows, and things can sometimes change quickly, despite best-laid plans ....

The days of playing and winning titles into mid/late thirties, as per the likes of Connors, Laver, Rosewall are long gone I say. Different world.

(Agassi appeared in 21 consecutive US Opens : can't imagine anyone breaking that one any time soon....!! Erm

)

by zaron Fri 12 Oct 2012, 2:49 pm

I agree 100 titles is a long shot. But who knows what Federer's goals are now?
It would require lots of 250 and 500 level tournaments.

by bogbrush Fri 12 Oct 2012, 3:22 pm

100 titles sounds boring to me.

Being #1; being acknowledged as the best player in the World, and being in that position for a greater time than any player before, and breaking a milestone like 300 weeks, now that means something big.

It's the same with winning another Wimbledon and having more even than Renshaw and Sampras.

And if he somehow got to 20 Slams, that's another.

100 titles or 1000 wins are, imho, footnotes.

by hawkeye Fri 12 Oct 2012, 3:29 pm

lydian

What a great quote from Federer. It is fun hitting tennis balls. Great to know he still enjoys it at that basic level. I remember when Roddick retired he said he would still continue to have fun hitting tennis balls it was the other stuff that he would no longer do.

bogbrush

There is one player that has all the credentials to match Federer's 300 or 300+ and Federer's 17 or 17+ but where Federer has been blessed with his physical health the other player has been less fortunate.

by **JuliusHMarx** Fri 12 Oct 2012, 3:38 pm

hawkeye wrote:lydian

What a great quote from Federer. It is fun hitting tennis balls. Great to know he still enjoys it at that basic level. I remember when Roddick retired he said he would still continue to have fun hitting tennis balls it was the other stuff that he would no longer do.

bogbrush

There is one player that has all the credentials to match Federer's 300 or 300+ and Federer's 17 or 17+ but where Federer has been blessed with his physical health the other player has been less fortunate.

You mean he made an error in judgement by developing a style of play his body could not sustain long enough to match Federer? Wink

Still at least he was more fortunate than Federer in developing enough physically to win slams at a very young age.

by hawkeye Fri 12 Oct 2012, 4:02 pm

JuliusHMarx wrote:
hawkeye wrote:lydian

What a great quote from Federer. It is fun hitting tennis balls. Great to know he still enjoys it at that basic level. I remember when Roddick retired he said he would still continue to have fun hitting tennis balls it was the other stuff that he would no longer do.

bogbrush

There is one player that has all the credentials to match Federer's 300 or 300+ and Federer's 17 or 17+ but where Federer has been blessed with his physical health the other player has been less fortunate.

You mean he made an error in judgement by developing a style of play his body could not sustain long enough to match Federer? Still at least he was more fortunate than Federer in developing enough physically to win slams at a very young age.

Julius. No I don't mean that.

by **JuliusHMarx** Fri 12 Oct 2012, 4:07 pm

Oh, you meant John McEnroe.

by reckoner Fri 12 Oct 2012, 4:21 pm

Murray, surely.

by hawkeye Fri 12 Oct 2012, 4:22 pm

Ha ha! No and I don't mean any other retired players. It would be asking quite a bit for them to overcome age and retirement to break Federer's records. You know exactly who I mean. You perhaps just don't agree with me about his talent.

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