The Master: Roger Federer At The ATP Masters 1000s

Between 2002 and 2019, Roger Federer won 28 ATP Masters 1000 titles, lifting the singles trophy at eight different events. His 28 triumphs trail only Big Three rivals Novak Djokovic (38) and Rafael Nadal (36) on the all-time list.

Federer won 20 Masters 1000 titles on outdoor hard courts — including his last eight— as well as six on outdoor clay and two on indoor hard courts. He completed the Sunshine Double with back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami on three occasions (2005-06, 2017) and won at least one title at the prestigious level in 13 individual years, compiling a 381-108 match record.

The Swiss won four Masters 1000 titles in both 2005 and 2006, capping off his stellar ’06 campaign with another crown at the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in addition to three Grand Slams. Federer’s happiest hunting ground was Cincinnati, where he won seven titles.

ATPTour.com looks back at Federer’s sterling record across the Masters 1000s.

Indian Wells (5 Titles: 2004-06, 2012, 2017)

Roger Federer lifts the 2017 Indian Wells title. Photo Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Federer frequently enjoyed a strong start to the ATP Masters 1000 season with high-class performances at the BNP Paribas Open. His five titles in the California desert are his second-most at any Masters 1000 event.

The Swiss won three titles in a row from 2004-06 — winning finals against Tim Henman, Lleyton Hewitt and James Blake without the loss of a set — before striking again in 2012 (def. John Isner) and 2017 (def. Stan Wawrinka) with two more straight-sets final victories. He did not drop a set in his six 2017 matches as he won the title as the tournament’s ninth seed, including a dominant victory against Nadal in the Round of 16.

From 2014-19, Federer reached the final in five straight appearances (not including the 2016 event, which he missed with injury). He held match points against Juan Martin del Potro in the 2018 final but fell just short of his sixth title with a 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-6(2) defeat.

His 66 match wins in Indian Wells are his most at any Masters 1000 event; he finished with a 66-13 record, an 83.5 per cent win rate. Federer’s 18 Indian Wells appearances are his joint-most at the level, tied with Miami.

Miami (4 Titles: 2005-06, 2017, 2019)

Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal in the 2005 Miami final. Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

After a four-set loss to Andre Agassi in the 2004 Miami final, Federer earned his first title in southern Florida with a five-set comeback against Nadal in the 2005 championship match. The Swiss had avenged his previous year’s defeat to Agassi in straight sets in the semi-finals, but his victory against Nadal was far from straightforward: In the first final meeting between the pair, and just their second ATP Head2Head meeting, Federer battled back from a two-set deficit to score a 2-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-1 win.

That result earned Federer the first of his three Sunshine Doubles and levelled his record against Nadal at 1-1 after the Spaniard’s triumph one year earlier at the same venue. The Swiss again swept Indian Wells and Miami the following year, defeating Ivan Ljubicic in three tie-breaks for the 2005 Miami crown.

Federer’s 2017 Miami title run was a memorable display of clutch tennis, with the Swiss riding a 6-1 tie-break record into the final, where he downed Nadal 6-3, 6-4. To reach the title match, Federer won two tie-breaks against Roberto Bautista Agut in the fourth round, a decisive third-set tie-break against Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals, and two of three tie-breaks against Nick Kyrgios in a semi-final thriller.

The 2019 Miami title, earned with a win against Isner, proved to be Federer’s last at the ATP Masters 1000 level. He would finish that season with four ATP Tour titles, including the final tour-level title of his career, fittingly in his native Basel.

Monte Carlo (4 Finals: 2006-08, 2014)

Despite the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters being one of two ATP Masters 1000s (alongside Rome) at which Federer did not claim a title, the Swiss still notched 30 wins in the Principality. He had the misfortune of meeting Nadal in three straight finals from 2006-08, as the Spaniard was in the midst of an eight-year reign as champion on the Monaco clay. 

Federer came closest to glory in the 2014 final, when he beat Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals and came within a few points of victory in the final against Wawrinka. But in the all-Swiss final, Wawrinka came from behind to prevail 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2.

Hamburg (4 Titles: 2002, 2004-05, 2007)

Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal in the 2007 Hamburg final. Photo Credit: Stuart Franklin/Bongarts/Getty Images

Federer won four titles in five appearances at the Hamburg ATP Masters 1000 event from 2002-07, including triumphs in three consecutive appearances in 2004, 2005 and 2007. From 2004-08, he rattled off a 21-match win streak. 

Federer’s first Masters 1000 title came on the Hamburg clay in 2002, when he defeated Marat Safin 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 in the final as the 11th seed. He then defeated Guillermo Coria and Richard Gasquet in 2004 and 2005, before a showdown with Nadal in the 2007 final.

Nadal came into that title tilt with an 81-match win streak on clay, and looked set to extend that mark after taking a 6-2 opening set. But Federer, who lost in straight sets to Nadal in Monte Carlo weeks prior, turned the tables with a dominant performance in sets two and three, soaring to the title behind 6-2 and 6-0 sets. It was his first clay win against his great rival.

But Nadal would get back on top in a three-set 2008 final, winning the final ATP Masters 1000 edition of the Hamburg event and ending Federer’s 21-match winning run.

Madrid (3 Titles: 2006, 2009, 2012)

Roger Federer won his third Madrid title in 2012. Photo Credit: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

Entering the 2006 Madrid hard-court event as World No. 1, Federer lived up to that billing by storming to the title without dropping a set. The Swiss scored two 6-0 sets for good measure, to close out a semi-final victory against David Nalbandian and a final triumph against Fernando Gonzalez. 

He again reached the final without dropping a set in 2007, but fell just short of a successful title defence when Nalbandian battled back from a set down in the championship match. 

Even a change of the Madrid surface to clay in 2009 did not slow Federer’s success in the Spanish capital. He beat Andy Roddick, Del Potro and home favourite Nadal for the 2009 title, and again fell one match short of back-to-back crowns with a loss to Nadal in 2010.

His third Madrid title came in 2012, the only year when the event was held on blue clay, when he came from behind in his opening match against Milos Raonic and again in the final against Tomas Berdych.

Rome (4 Finals: 2003, 2006, 2013, 2015)

While Federer never claimed the title in Rome, he came agonisingly close in 2006. In a match that made ATPTour.com’s list of Federer’s 10 most memorable, the Swiss dropped a 6-7(0), 7-6(5), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5) decision to none other than Nadal. 

Federer led 4-1 in the deciding set, and saw two match points go begging on return at 6-5. He once again led in the tie-break, 5/3, but lost the final four points to fall to a heartbreaking defeat.

In his three other Rome finals, Federer lost to Felix Mantilla (2003), Nadal again (2013) and Djokovic (2015). In his most recent appearance, he saved two match points against Borna Coric to reach the quarter-finals for the eighth time before finishing with a 34-16 record at the Italian event.

Canada (2 Titles: 2004, 2006)

Roger Federer defeated Richard Gasquet in the 2006 Toronto final. Photo Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Both of Federer’s Canada titles came in Toronto, with final victories against Roddick in 2004 and Gasquet in 2006. His 2004 triumph avenged a semi-final loss one year prior to Roddick, who went on to lift the ’03 Montreal title after winning a third-set tie-break against the Swiss.

The 2004 final pitted World No. 1 against World No. 2, with the top-ranked Federer prevailing 7-5, 6-3 against the American. In 2006, Federer won four straight three-setters to earn the trophy, capping it off with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Gasquet.

He reached an additional four finals, including in 2007, when Djokovic denied him a repeat title in a decisive third-set tie-break. Other final defeats for the Swiss came against Andy Murray (2010), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2014) and Alexander Zverev (2017).

Cincinnati (7 Titles: 2005, 2007, 2009-10, 2012, 2014-15)

Roger Federer was 3-1 against Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati finals, including his 2015 triumph. Photo Credit: Rob Carr/Getty Images

Federer’s seven-trophy haul in Cincinnati is a tournament record and a personal high at the ATP Masters 1000s. He won each of his first seven finals, including three against Djokovic, dropping just two sets in those seven victories.

In 2009, Federer beat Murray then Djokovic in the last two rounds, both in straight sets, before successfully defending his title with a 6-7(5), 7-6(1), 6-4 final victory against Mardy Fish the following year.

The Swiss did not drop a set in 2012, winning tie-breaks against Fish, Wawrinka and Djokovic. He repeated that flawless feat in 2015, winning tie-breaks against Murray in the semi-finals and Djokovic in the final to finish a remarkable 11-year run with his seventh crown at the American event.

Returning to the Cincinnati final for the eighth time in 2018, Federer fell to Djokovic, who completed the career Golden Masters with the title.

Shanghai (2 Titles: 2014, 2017)

Federer reached the final in his Shanghai debut in 2010 without the loss of a set, beating Djokovic in the semis before falling to Murray in the title match.

He returned to the championship round in 2014, again beating Djokovic in the semi-finals, then edged Gilles Simon 7-6(6), 7-6(2) for his first Shanghai title. In 2017, Federer defeated del Potro 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the final, then downed Nadal 6-4, 6-3 to claim the trophy.

The Swiss closed out his Shanghai resume with semi-final and quarter-final runs in 2018 and 2019.

Paris (1 Title: 2011)

A dominant 2011 run yielded Federer his lone title at the Rolex Paris Masters. He defeated three Frenchmen — Adrian Mannarino, Gasquet and Tsonga — as he won his five matches without the loss of a set, capped off by a 6-1, 7-6(3) win against Tsonga in the final. One year prior, he dropped a dramatic semi-final against France’s Gael Monfils by a 7-6(7), 6-7(1), 7-6(4) scoreline.

The Swiss also returned to the semi-finals in 2013 and 2018, falling to Djokovic in three sets on both occasions, including a 7-6(6), 5-7, 7-6(3) thriller in ’18.

Nitto ATP Finals (6 Titles: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011)

A record-breaking complement to his Masters 1000 successes, Federer’s performances at the Nitto ATP Finals clearly demonstrated his ability to consistently dominate even against the very best in the world.

The Swiss’ year-on-year exploits saw him qualify for the season-ending showpiece a record 18 times, every year from 2002 to 2020 except for 2016. His six titles are also an event record and his 59 wins is the highest tally in tournament history.