Our #2 Athlete of the Decade is the most accomplished tennis player in history. This quiet Swiss ace was a man who had never advanced past the 4th round of a major from 2000-2002. Then, he broke onto the scene in 2003 with a win at Wimbledon. After that first Grand Slam title, he went on a nice little run of winning at least 2 Grand Slams in 6 of the next 7 years and would become one of the most dominant athletes of all-time. Our Silver Medal Athlete is Roger Federer.
Resume
-15 Grand Slam Singles Titles, #1 in tennis history
21 Grand Slam Finals, reached SF stage in 22 straight majors
-237 Consecutive Weeks at #1 from '04-'08
-2008 Olympic Doubles Champion
Facts
-Won Wimbledon and US Open every year from '04-'07
-Holds record winning streaks on grass and hard-court in Open Era
-One of 6 players to win Career Grand Slam.
-And to get the broad scope of the records that Federer has held and set, here's a link to his career achievements page on Wikipedia, it's pretty long.
Why He's Here
-Well, Federer is on this list because he is the greatest tennis player of all-time. Being at the top for so long in an individual sport is a testament of greatness. If you are or aren't a tennis fan, you've seen Federer play in a Grand Slam final. Remember his epic win over Andy Roddick? Sure, a lot of folks in the States were rooting for Roddick, but after the game the respect shown to Federer was surreal. "Yea, Roddick played great, but you knew Federer would win." "Wow, Roddick played the match of his life, and still lost to Federer." That's not normal in sports to see that kind of respect for an athlete. He surpasses the rest of the athletes on our list because in truth there are only two men in contention for #1, and Federer is one of them. He comes up just short in the countdown, but only because of the awesomeness of our #1 Athlete. Here are some highlights from the '09 Wimby Final
Lasting Impact
It's hard to know just what lasting impact Federer will have. He's been so good this decade that perhaps he's under-appreciated, and will probably continue to be under-appreciated when the history books look back on his career. Federer's legacy has taken a slight hit recently with the rise of Rafa Nadal and his loss in the '09 US Open final against an underdog in Juan Martin Del Potro. However, being able to consistently contend and win majors in his late 20's might mean Federer will extend his record and could possibly win up to 20 majors in his career, demolishing Pete Sampras' old record.
What we'll remember about Federer is that he was perhaps the most dominant athlete in any sport in his prime. He won every Wimbledon and US Open for 4 years in a row! That likely will never be seen again. But, moreso than the numbers, is the grace and sheer technical ability that Federer has shown over the years. He is the Tiger Woods of tennis (cough, hint, cough) and has shown some transcendent ability into the mainstream world. He has that European dry wit and smoothness about him which might not hit home with middle America, but gives him a certain aura of brilliance on and off the court.
Join us next time as we reveal the #1 Athlete of the Decade. I'll give you one hint, it's not Kwame Brown.
3 comments:
I feel that we are lucky to be witnessing such sporting greatness in our time on this plant.
We see Federer come into his prime and cement his legacy. We see Spitz record get broken at the Olympiad. We see Tiger Woods ascend to greatness. The era of Manning/Brady. Tebow as the greatest college player of all-time (possibly). What an age of sport to grow up in.
- Brother Y
Yeah, love Federer!
But one mistake on his resume. He's the 2008 Olympic Doubles Champion, not Single.
Thanks for the help anonymous, with all of Federer's singles accomplishments that was a Freudian error. Of course, Federer is so good that he probably could have won the doubles title by himself. (Hopefully his partner Stanislas Wawrinka doesn't take that personally!)
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