#181 - RF

I think I have mentioned a few times that I LOVE TENNIS!  Well, I do.  I know not everyone understands my love of this sport.  It is slow...yes.  It involves sitting in the hot sun to watch it...yes.  You have to turn your head back and forth and back and forth and back and forth...yes.  I mean really...what's not to like?

Anyway, one of my favorite players is #181.  When he first came on the men's tour, all of the announcers would rant and rave about him.  Even if he lost the match, they would always say...this kid has got the goods and he is going somewhere.  Fast forward ten years or so and #181 is now arguable called the GOAT or Greatest of All Time in the tennis circles.  Here are some of his accomplishments.

Federer has won 16 Grand Slam titles, breaking the previous all-time male record of 14 by Pete Sampras. Federer won 16 majors in a span of 27 majors (2003 Wimbledon - 2010 Australian Open), while Sampras won 14 in 49 majors (1990 US Open - 2002 US Open).

Federer won five consecutive men's titles at Wimbledon from 2003–07, matching a feat achieved only by Björn Borg in the open era.

Federer holds the open era record for most consecutive US Open titles at five (2004–08).

Federer is the only male player in tennis history to win at least five consecutive titles at two different Grand Slam tournaments (2003–07 Wimbledon, 2004–08 US Open).

Federer is the only male player in tennis history to win three Grand Slam tournaments in a calendar year three different times in his career (2004, 2006, 2007).

From 2003-08, Federer won an all-time record 65 consecutive matches on grass courts before losing to Rafael Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon final.

From 2005-06, Federer won a record 56 consecutive matches on hard courts before losing to Nadal in the 2006 Dubai final.

I'll stop here because my non-tennis readers are sleeping, and my fellow tennis fans are interested enough to see the entire list of his career accomplishments here.

But...like most of my favorite pro athletes, I don't just love him for what he does on the tennis court.  If you ever watch an interview with #181 he is well spoken, humble, articulate, and you can just tell - a really nice guy.  Last year he became a father to twins.  Last week, he was being interviewed about some on court hostility between Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras at a charity event and in true RF style refused to take sides, but instead gave this quote:

“I thought maybe we have to give both guys like a timeout or something,” Federer added with a smile. “We didn’t have to go that far.

Definitely a class act that I will always enjoy watching play tennis. 

(If anyone wants to read morea bout the fun Agassi/Sampras banter...click here.)