At the ATP World Finals, Roger Federer is now ranked 1 in the sport for the 5th time. He's one away from tying Pete Sampras' record of 6 number one spots. He won that trophy at the ATP World Tour Finals in London at the O2 Arena on Wednesday, but was eliminated later in the semifinals. Federer is a 15-time Grand Slam Champion and now it's conceivable that he'll at least tie Pete Sampras' 6-time number 1 spot at some point in the near future.
Federer had ended 5 seasons in a row in the number one spot until last year when Rafael Nadal knocked him out of the top rank. This year, Nadal could have taken the top spot again, at least statistically, but lost his opening match and made it impossible. Federer, on the other hand, won both of his opening matches and secured the top spot.
Last year was a rough year for Federer overall, not just in losing the top spot to Nadal. But this year he rallied with 4 Grand Slam finals and 2 titles. He became the 6th man to manage a career Grand Slam when he won the French Open, and then he beat Andy Roddick in the 4th set at Wimbledon with 16-14 and took that title. It's worth noting that here he did beat a Pete Sampras record. His 15th major title put him past Sampras' record of 14.
Reclaiming tennis' top spot is also a record, considering he's only the second player ever to hold the top spot, lose it and then reclaim it. The only other player to rank at 1 again after losing the title to another was Ivan Lendi. He was the #1 player from 1985 through 1987, and then lost the spot only to reclaim it a year later in 1989.
Federer's next goal is to take #1 again next year to match Sampras' record, which he'll then undoubtedly aim to beat. Right now, at 5 number one rankings, he's matched Jimmy Connors' record of 5 top spots.
It seemed uncertain that he'd even advance in the ATP World Tour Finals because he came out shaky against both Verdasco and Murray. He lost the first set against both men, but then hit his stride and ending up defeating them both.
But the winner of the ATP World Tour Finals was Nikolay Davydenko, who had a red letter day. He won the first big tournament of his career, and beat top-ranked Roger Federer.
Nikolay Davydenko, who eliminated Federer in the semifinals, was thrilled to win his first major tournament on Sunday by defeating Juan Martin del Potro. Davydenko came to the finals ranked at #7, and won after defeating top-ranked Federer and then del Potro. He finished with 15 unforced errors and 25 winners.
Federer and Davydenko met 12 times before Davydenko eliminated him and squashed his chances of winning the ATP Championship. Davydenko's elimination was the 13th match they'd played and only the first time Federer didn't emerge victorious.
Photo Credits: underdogpiano@btinternet.com
Related Posts -
Wimbledon Wrap Up Day 6 By the middle of the day on Sunday, the Wimbledon practice courts were already alive with an intense amount of effort. There were dozens of players on the courts during this time wearing casual and colorful clothing that normally would have them booted out of the match since the dress...... -
Nadal Back to Number 2 with Madrid Masters Win Rafael Nadal, previously ranked 3rd in the world, has now earned the number 2 spot by defeating the number 1 player in the world and winning the Madrid Masters for the second time. Nadal beat Roger Federer on Sunday, 6-4, 7-6 (5) and took home 18th Masters win, breaking Andre...... -
Jeremy Chardy Wins Mercedes Cup Between the 13th of July and the 19th of July, the Mercedes Cup was held. This ATP World Tour event was held in Stuttgart Germany on a clay surface. Here are the results for Sunday, the 19th of July, 2009: Singles Final Results: J Chardy of FRA defeated V Hnescu...... -
Del Potro Tops Roddick in the US Open Series World No. 5 Andy Roddick went up against World No. 6 Juan Martin Del Potro and the two men really slugged it out during the final tournament for the Legg Mason Classic which was held on Sunday. The results were Juan Martin Del Potro winning with 3 - 6, 7...... -
Tennis Preview of Stockholm Open This year the Stockholm Open is going to be led by the two-time finalist and top Swede, Robin Soderling, who just recently broken into the top 10 ATP Rankings for the 2009 South African Airways for the very first time this week. Soderling, who happened to be a runner up......
Related Websites -
Kim Wins Houston Open Anthony Kim won the Houston Open on Sunday, marking his third PGA win. The tournament went into a playoff, matching Kim against Vaughn Taylor who, thanks to this loss, will miss out on the Masters this year. The regular tournament play ended with both men at 12-under 276. Kim...... -
Ernie Els Wins Doral Ernie Els, commonly known as the Big Easy, took the CA Championship on Sunday at Doral, Florida. Els hasn't won a tournament in two years, but he came out victorious, ending with 6-under 66 and a 4-shot lead against player #2 in the tournament, Charl Schwartzel, his protégée and houseguest....... -
Golf Tournament Recap: US Tour Championship Phil Mickelson takes US Tour Championship Win, Tiger Woods Walks Away With $10 Million Dollars. Phil Mickelson managed to ge the best of Tiger Woods during the US Tour Championship, but he still saw the World no. 1 player take the larger pay check, to the tune of a $10...... -
PGA Championship at Hazeltine: Top 10 Contenders The PGA Championships is returning to Hazeltine, located in Chaska in MN, which is where the 2002 PGA Championships were held. Here are the top ten contenders who are going to wipe up this tournament. 1 - Tiger Woods - He finished in second place here during 2002, and the...... -
The World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational Preview The World Golf Championships, known as the WGC, is a lengthy series of high profile golf tournaments using international fields. This championship series is perceived to be one of the most vital tournaments to the sport outside of the Player's Championship and the four Majors. In the run up to......
- Yamaha Portable Grand, Baby Grand Piano Acoustic Musical Instruments
- 1980-Last Year Calendars Paper Collectibles
- Packard Baby Grand, Baby Grand Piano Acoustic Musical Instruments
- Greenville Ri Grand, Baby Grand Piano Acoustic Musical Instruments
- Shells Grand, Baby Grand Piano Acoustic Musical Instruments
Categories:
News, Tennis, Tournaments and Championships
Tags:
0 comments ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment