Some records are short-lived, some stand the test of time.

Roger Federer has repeatedly taken tennis to new heights during his 25-year career on the ATP Tour. As he prepares for the final tour-level event of his career at this weekend’s Laver Cup, ATPTour.com looks at some of the achievements that appear most likely to keep Federer’s name in the record books for some time to come.

237 Consecutive Weeks At No. 1
Federer’s total of 310 weeks spent at the top of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings may have been passed by Novak Djokovic in March 2021, but the Swiss’ record of 237 consecutive weeks in top spot is one that even the Serbian maestro has not yet been able to top.

The longest No. 1 reign in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history began on 2 February 2004, when Federer dethroned Andy Roddick from top spot with his triumph at the Australian Open. He then embarked on an unprecedented period of dominance on the ATP Tour, remaining at No. 1 until 17 August 2008, when he was usurped by Rafael Nadal.

Federer’s 2003-2005 stint at the top of the game is not his only No. 1-related record. The Swiss remains the oldest World No. 1 in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history after reclaiming the position aged 36 in 2018.

Won 24 Consecutive Tour-Level Finals
Reaching a final is usually a sign that things are going well on court, but something extra is required to keep cool and maintain your level in the pressure cooker environment of a championship match. Whatever that ‘something’ is, Federer had plenty of it between 2003 and 2005, when he won an incredible 24 consecutive tour-level singles finals in which he appeared.

A triumph against Carlos Moya in Vienna in October 2003 proved the starting point for Federer’s historic run, which only came to an end in the most dramatic of circumstances at the 2005 Nitto ATP Finals (then known as the Tennis Masters Cup) in Shanghai. Despite playing with an ankle issue, Federer carved out a two-sets-to-love lead in the championship match before David Nalbandian produced a stunning comeback to take the title at the season finale.

^{_{Federer defeats Carlos Moya in Vienna in 2003. Photo Credit: JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images}}

Reached 23 Consecutive Grand Slam Semi-Finals
Even the best in the world have their off days, but those were few and far between for Federer at the Grand Slams between 2004 and 2010, when the Swiss produced an extraordinary display of consistency on the big stage to yet again etch his name in the record books.

Federer reached at least the semi-finals for 23 consecutive majors from Wimbledon 2004 to the Australian Open in 2010. He fell to Robin Soderling at the quarter-final stage at Roland Garros that year as his streak came to an end, but another one continued — his 36 consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final runs between Wimbledon 2004 and Roland Garros 2013 is also an ATP record.

Won Two Different Slams, Five Consecutive Times
Federer was a consistent title threat at all four majors, but he enjoyed unprecedented periods of dominance at two in particular. He won five straight Wimbledon titles from 2003 to 2007, and replicated that streak at the US Open between 2004 and 2008. Federer’s victory against Andy Murray in the 2008 final in New York made him the first ATP player to win two different Grand Slams in five consecutive years. And he nearly made it six in a row! At the end of his five-year streaks, he lost a five-set Wimbledon final to Rafael Nadal and a five-set US Open final to Juan Martin del Potro.

It was a feat that not even Bjorn Borg, Federer’s captain on Team Europe at this weekend’s Laver Cup, had achieved. The legendary Swede came close, however, winning five consecutive Wimbledon titles (1976-1980) and four consecutive Roland Garros crowns (1978-1981).

65 Straight Wins On Grass
Federer’s elegance as he glided around a grass court was one of the traits that made the Swiss so popular with tennis fans the world over. As well as his record eight Wimbledon trophies, Federer was a 10-time champion on the surface in Halle and also triumphed on the lawns of Stuttgart in 2018.

Federer exerted his grass-court dominance early in his storied career. From 2003 to 2008, the Swiss went unbeaten on the surface for 65 consecutive matches, starting with his opening win at the 2003 event in Halle. As with so many of Federer’s records, it took an almighty effort from an opponent to snap his winning streak, but Rafael Nadal was the man to do it with his epic five-set triumph against the Swiss in a match widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time — the 2008 Wimbledon final.

_{^{Federer in action in Halle in 2006. Photo Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images}}

Won At Least One Set In 194 Consecutive Matches
Even if he did not ultimately get the result he wanted, Federer rarely went down without a fight.

From June 2004 through August 2006, the Swiss won at least one set in 194 consecutive matches. Not that there was much losing involved in that run, however. Federer went 184-10 overall during that streak, claiming 25 titles from 35 events played that included triumphs at the Australian Open (2006), Wimbledon (2004, 2005) and the US Open (2004, 2005).

1526 Matches, No Retirements
A knee issue may have eventually forced Federer to call time on his career, but the Swiss’ body nonetheless served him well across 25 years on the ATP Tour.

With this weekend’s Laver Cup in London set to be his final tour-level event, Federer has so far played 1,526 singles and 223 doubles matches on Tour without retiring once. The statistic reflects Federer’s reputation as one of the most hard-working and rigorous professionals on the circuit, attributes which worked in tandem with his special talent to produce one of the most consistent and committed performers in ATP history.

In 2001, Roger Federer won the only ATP Tour meeting with Pete Sampras, needing five sets to defeat the American in the fourth round of Wimbledon. When Federer claimed the title at the All England Club in 2009, Sampras was in attendance to watch the Swiss surpass his then-record 14 Grand Slam titles.

Now, as Federer bids farewell to his illustrious career at the Laver Cup Friday, Sampras shared a video tribute, weighing in on what the 20-time major champion has meant to him, on- and off-court.

“Not really sure where to begin,” Sampras said. “I’ll just start from the very beginning, when I first played you. You were 19-years-old, an up and coming player, people were talking about you and we had a great battle on the Centre Court of Wimbledon and you took me down, tough five-setter. I just remember walking off the court feeling like I met my match, truly a special player. Little did I know 20 years later that you would have 20 majors, be No. 1 for years, dominate our sport, basically do it all.

Roger Federer (left) and Pete Sampras embrace at the net following their match at Wimbledon in 2001. Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

“I know through those 20 years that you sacrificed, dedicated yourself, you got your body right. I don’t think people saw that side of you because you made the game look so easy. But I know that you’re the ultimate professional when it comes to preparing, pretty extraordinary what you’ve done.

“I’ve admired the way you’ve handled it all, from the very beginning to the very end. You’re always gracious in your defeats, gracious in your wins. I’ve sat back and watched 20 years of brilliance, heartache, triumph, and throughout the whole span of your career, you’ve never really changed. You’re true to yourself and where you came from. You should look back on your career and feel really proud of what you’ve been able to accomplish.

“On a personal note, I’ll never forget the week in Asia we had, messing around, playing some exhibitions, that’s when I got to know you pretty well. We’ve developed a pretty good friendship since then, just staying in touch and checking in each other’s families. We’re all going to be sad to see you go but I know this is part of sports.

“I just want to shout out to you and tell you that you’re going to be missed in our game, but you left the game in good hands. I just want to wish you a great retirement, I hope I get to see you at some point down the road and catch up.”

From one legend of the game to another 🤝 @rogerfederer | #RForever pic.twitter.com/j36ugRxF2x

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 22, 2022

Second seed Hubert Hurkacz stepped up his title defence at the Moselle Open with a dominant quarter-final win on Friday.

After dropping seven games in his opening match against Dominic Thiem, the Pole was even more efficient in a 6-3, 6-2 victory against France’s Arthur Rinderknech in the Metz quarter-finals. The defending champion needed just over an hour to secure victory, saving the only break point against him at 1-2 in the second set before he won the final five games of the match, including the last 14 points in a row.

Hurkacz has dropped one place to No. 11 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this week, but can move ahead of Jannik Sinner and back into the Top 10 by reaching the Metz final. He can also overtake Alexander Zverev for eighth place in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin by retaining his title.

Hurkacz will face Lorenzo Sonego in Saturday’s semi-finals. The Italian has won all six sets he’s played this week, including his 6-4, 6-4 victory against Sebastian Korda on Friday.

In the evening, Stan Wawrinka advanced the the semis with his third three-set win of the week. After downing top seed Daniil Medvedev in three on Thursday, the Swiss earned a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5) victory against Sweden’s Mikael Ymer. Wawrinka surrendered an early break in the final set but regrouped to claim the tie-break, taking its final two points from 5/5.

He will next face seventh seed Alexander Bublik, who closed Friday’s play with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 win against fourth seed Holger Rune. Bublik lost the second set after leading 5-3, then saved a break point early in the third before claiming the decisive break to lead 3-2. Attempting to serve out the match for the second time, he battled through deuce to claim victory on his second match point.

Casper Ruud ensured Team Europe made a winning start at the Laver Cup on Friday afternoon, when he edged Team World’s Jack Sock 6-4, 5-7, 10-7 in the first match of the three-day event.

The Norwegian, who won his only clash at the tournament last year, quickly found his range on the hard courts at The O2 in London. The 23-year-old struck his groundstrokes with consistency during the first set as he outlasted the American in the longer exchanges. He then recovered from a dip in the late stages of the second set, holding his nerve in the Match Tie-break to triumph after one hour and 49 minutes in their first ATP Head2Head meeting.

View Laver Cup Schedule

The World No. 2 has now won eight of his past nine matches after advancing to his second Grand Slam final at the US Open earlier this month.

Captain Bjorn Borg is aiming to guide Team Europe to its fifth consecutive Laver Cup title against Team World’s John McEnroe side this week in the UK capital. Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas will look to extend Team Europe’s lead when he faces Argentine Diego Schwartzman in the second match of the day session.

Later, Roger Federer will play his final tour-level match when he takes to court with Spaniard Rafael Nadal in doubles. The Swiss-Spaniard tandem will face Team World’s Sock and Frances Tiafoe following the conclusion of Andy Murray’s match against Alex de Minaur, which will start at 7 p.m. local time.

Roger Federer will bring the curtain down on his historic career when he competes for the final time at the Laver Cup on Friday evening in London.

The Swiss star will team with longtime rival Rafael Nadal in a doubles match for Team Europe against Team World pair Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe.

With the world set to watch on TV, 17,000 lucky fans will experience the momentous occasion live inside The O2. Ahead of the clash, ATPTour.con spoke to supporters who have travelled from all corners of the globe to witness the action inside the arena.

Gabriel Blum and son Enrique have flown from Brazil to attend the event. Donned in Federer and Nadal gear, both beamed as they spoke about their excitement of watching the Swiss maestro for the final time.

“We have come all the way from Brazil to watch him. I am a big Roger fan and my son is a big Nadal fan,” Gabriel said [below left]. “I remember watching him play against [Pete] Sampras and beating Pete at Wimbledon in 2001 and I thought, this is someone special. I then followed him closely from 2006. From 2016 I kept telling my wife, we need to go to his matches as he won’t play much longer and now here we are in 2022 and he is finishing. I am very excited to watch him one last time.”

“I am super excited to watch Nadal and Federer,” son Enrique enthusiastically added [below right].

Gabriel and Enrique put on their Federer and Bjorn Borg face masks.
After a stressful 24 hours online, superfan Arslan Bhattie finally secured tickets for himself, his wife Ifrah and his children

“I got tickets in April for session five only because I thought I could see Team Europe win the trophy,” Arslan said [below centre left]. “Then Federer announced his retirement and I went mad. I got tickets for sessions three and four, but I didn’t know he would say his last match would be Friday. Since Thursday I have pressed refresh 5000 times and I finally got the ticket. I am super excited. Ending with Nadal is the best way to say goodbye because Nadal has been such a phenomenal player. You can’t write the script better.”

Joanna Haener and Rolf Haener live in Munchenstein, the town where Roger Federer spent his childhood. They are excited to watch their home star in action one final time.

“We come from the suburb where Roger grew up. It is called Munchenstein. Today I am sad but grateful to see him,” Joanna said [below left]. “We have followed him lots. We were here in London for the [Nitto] ATP Finals, at Davis Cup.”

“We went to Laver Cup in Prague and Swiss indoors in Basel,” Rolf added [below right]. “The Nadal match in the Finals in 2011 stands out.”

For many fans inside the O2, the historic clash will provide an opportunity to say one final thank you to Federer. Marsha Procopio and Athos Rassias have travelled from the United States for the occasion and are excited to watch him finish his career.

“We came to London just for this. We have had these tickets since March, before Roger announced his retirement,” Marsha said [below left]. “We have been Roger fans since the early 2000s, since the beginning. We are so excited to be here. We feel very privileged to be here from this amazing event.”

“There are so many standout matches, the ones he played against Nadal,” Athos said [below right]. “One that sticks out in my mind was in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros [2009] against Tommy Haas. He was two sets down and he managed to come back and beat Tommy.”

For Michael Ferguson and his friends, the occasion will be special.

“We flew over especially for today,” Michael said [below far right]. “We got our tickets in February as we thought the retirement may be coming. I am so excited and super sad at the same time. He has given us so much pleasure over the years. He is a genius. We are all lucky that we have been able to watch him quite a bit at Wimbledon or Laver Cup.”

Doris Loeffel has frequently attended Federer’s matches during his career. She is grateful to have the chance to watch him play for the last time.

“I watched him train [on Thursday] and it was great,” said Doris Loeffel [below], who has travelled from Switzerland to watch the match. “Federer feels good now and that is the main thing. I am just pleased I can be there. I always wanted to be at his last match and here I am in London. Even though it is sad, it is also a pleasure. The very first time I saw him play was in 2001 at Roland Garros. I followed him ever since he won boy’s Wimbledon in 1998.”

Photo Credits: Sam Jacot/ATP Tour

The big focus of this year’s Laver Cup has been the impending retirement of all-time great Roger Federer. But that has not has been the only noteworthy happening in London.

It has also been a reunion for the ‘Big Four’ of Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. The four superstars have become one of the most iconic quartets in any sport, and they took to the court for a practice session on Thursday at The O2.

^{Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images for Laver Cup}
Federer will play his final ATP Tour match on Friday evening alongside friend and rival Nadal, with whom he also played at the Laver Cup in 2017. That year they defeated Team World’s Sam Querrey and Jack Sock. This edition, they will play Sock and Frances Tiafoe.

^{Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images}
There were smiles all around as the Big Four enjoyed each other’s company the night before the action begins. Besides catching up, they posed for photos on the River Thames. Entering the Laver Cup, the stars have combined for 4,043 tour-level wins.

^{Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images}
Not only have the Big Four done a lot of winning, they have done so on the biggest stages in tennis. Nadal (22), Djokovic (21), Federer (20) and Murray (3) have lifted 66 Grand Slam trophies and 329 tour-level crowns. Although they will not add to that tally this weekend, the friends and rivals will try to send Federer out on a high with a Laver Cup triumph.

^{Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup}