Federer, History and a Pen

Roger Federer has written many records into the tennis record books.  A lot has been made of his 16 Grand Slam singles titles, his 10 and 8 consecutive Grand Slam final appearances, his 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinal appearances, his 30 and counting consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances and his 237 consecutive weeks as the top ranked player in the world.  Here is one record I want to talk about:

Matches Won in Grand Slam Events Per Year 

In 2003 Roger Federer won Wimbledon and posted a 13-3 mark in grand slam play.   Obviously, that was a good record, but the consistency in Grand Slams from 2004-present is an indelible testament to the standard Roger has brought to tennis for the better part of a decade.

2004 Grand Slam Record 23-1 

2005 Grand Slam Record 24-2

2006 Grand Slam Record 27-1

2007 Grand Slam Record 27-1

2008 Grand Slam Record 24-3

2009 Grand Slam Record 26-2

2010 Grand Slam Record 20-3

2011 Grand Slam Record 20-3*

Overall Grand Slam Record 2004-2011

191-16*,** (Updated Below)

Winning Percentage: 92.27 

Winning at least 20 matches in Grand Slam play for 8 consecutive years speaks for itself.  The debate about the GOAT is likely to never be fully settled, but the debate for most consistent player of all time already is.

* – Still active

** – I realize that Federer received 2 walkovers in this time period so one could argue that he is only 189-16 in the past 8 years of Grand Slam play.  That is still ridiculously excellent play for a long period of time.

Update

Federer’s loss to Djokovic leaves his 2011 Grand Slam Record as 20-4 and Grand Slam record since 2004 at 191-17 or 189-17 depending on how one views the walkovers.