To the casual tennis fan, the ABN AMRO World Tournament probably doesn’t mean much. Few eyes were focused on the events in Rotterdam this past week, but the results were more than enough to shake the tennis world. While certainly not one of the most exciting or important tournaments on the tennis calendar, this year’s event proved to be quite special, especially for the legendary Roger Federer. By the end of the day Sunday, he would make sure everyone was talking.
Federer defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-2 in the finals to win his No. 97 career championship, adding yet again to his already impressive resume. Federer is second all-time in men’s singles championship, sitting behind only Jimmy Connors, who won 109 titles during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.
Before the championship match, Federer had already claimed another accolade. By simply reaching the final round, he was able to overtake Rafael Nadal for the top seed on the ATP men’s rankings. It’s the first time in over five years that he’s reached the No. 1 ranking, though he has floated around the top of the list for much of that time.
Once the ranking was made official on Monday, Federer became the oldest player to ever secure the No. 1position. Now 36 years old, Federer first began his career in 1998. He won his first ATP title at the 2001 Milan Indoor tournament, and has continued to dominate ever since. While many players may have lost a step or fallen off by this stage in their career, Federer shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
For a player who has been so dominant for two decades, it might be hard to continue finding motivation. However, the Swiss-born superstar has said he still has more to accomplish. He has already won 20 Grand Slam championships and is one of five players to ever win a title at each of the four Grand Slam tournaments. His next goal is to win 100 championships, and, at this rate, it doesn’t seem as though that will take too long.
Rog has often been considered one of the greatest men’s tennis players of all-time. He certainly has the resume to support that. He first achieved the world No. 1 ranking in 2004, when he was just 22 years old. He also holds the record for most weeks ranked at No. 1, having a combined 303 weeks in the top spot. This includes a stretch where he held the ranking for 237 consecutive weeks, from 2004 to 2008.
What Federer achieved this past weekend was no small feat. It may not have been as glamorous as winning a Grand Slam championship, but it still marks another incredible achievement on top of what he’s already accomplished. While there weren’t many people focused on the tournament in The Netherlands this past week, it is further proof of the greatness of Roger Federer. The longer he continues to play and succeed at this level, the more difficult it becomes to argue against his status as possibly the greatest men’s tennis player ever.