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by Brian Halton
Image Size 22in x 16in
Roger Federer held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks and 285 weeks overall. As of 14 November 2011, he is ranked world no. 4 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Federer has won a men’s record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. He is one of seven male players to capture the career Grand Slam and one of three (with Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal) to do so on three different surfaces (clay, grass, and hard courts). He is the only male player in tennis history to have reached the title match of each Grand Slam tournament at least five times and also the final at each of the nine ATP Masters 1000 Tournaments. Many sports analysts, tennis critics, and former and current players consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time.
Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 23 career Grand Slam finals, of which 10 were consecutive appearances, and appeared in 18 of 19 finals over the four and a half years from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open, the lone exception being the 2008 Australian Open. He holds the record of reaching the semifinals or better of 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments over five and a half years from the 2004 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open. At the 2011 US Open, he reached a record 30th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Federer has won a record five ATP World Tour Finals (shared with Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras) and 18 ATP Masters Series tournaments (second all-time). He also won the Olympic gold medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. He spent eight years (2003-2010) continuously in the top 2 in the year-end rankings. His rivalry with Rafael Nadal is considered one of the greatest of all time in the sport. In 2011, he was voted the second most trusted and respected human in the world, second only to Nelson Mandela.
