Print

Mail

wiki links

Federer rewrites record books after 161 weeks as No.1

Roger Federer set a new record for men's tennis dominance yesterday, when he celebrated his 161st consecutive week as world No. 1.

The Swiss eclipsed Jimmy Connors's 30-year-old milestone after extending a streak that began on Feb. 2, 2004.

"I've been looking forward to this day to come and I'm very excited. That is definitely one of the biggest records I've broken so far in my career," Federer told reporters in Dubai.

American Connors enjoyed 160 weeks as the world's top-ranked player between July 1974 and August 1977.

He won eight Grand Slam titles in his career, which lasted more than 20 years. Although he also only failed to win the French Open, Connors did win the 1976 US Open on clay.

"Jimmy is one of the all-time great players," Federer said. "He stayed so fit and played for such a long time, which allowed him to win so many titles."

Connors won 109 titles in his career. Federer has won 47 so far.

The Swiss ace is guaranteed to leave that benchmark far behind as his closest rival, Spain's Rafael Nadal, trails the 25-year-old by 3,415 points in the ATP entry system.

When the ATP updated the rankings yesterday, they showed Federer atop with 8,120 points and Nadal on 4,705.

The rest lag far behind with Andy Roddick of the US in third place on 2,830.

"I am profoundly proud of not only being able to compete with my opponents today, but also with history," Federer told his official Web site. "One hundred and sixty one weeks is a long time and being able to lead this statistic from now on is a terrific feeling. As you can imagine it has taken a lot to come this far."

Such is Federer's dominance in the sport, the Swiss made sure he would overtake Connors by winning the season-ending Masters Cup in November.

The only tournament he has played since was last month's Australian Open, where he became the first man in 27 years to win a grand slam title without dropping a set.

"I guess I'm the best tennis player in the world. If I were another player, I would be amazed a little bit to see always the same guy winning," Federer said in Melbourne.

Federer's triumph at Melbourne Park gave him a 10th grand slam title. He returns to action in Dubai this week.
This story has been viewed 2546 times.