The Streak -- yet another reason Roger Federer is the greatest athlete in the world
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Alex Bogdonovic, Alejandro Falla, Thomas Johansson, Ivo Karlovic, Lleyton Hewitt, Sebastian Grosjean, Alberto Costa, Marcos Baghdatis, Fabrice Santoro, Andrei Pavel, Andre Agassi, Tim Henman, Fabrice Santoro, Takao Suzuki, Jakko Nieminen, Marcos Baghdatis, Andre Agassi, Marat Safin, Dudi Sela, Nicolas Almagro, Fernando Gonzalez, Carlos Moya, Victor Henescu, Rafael Nadal, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Ivo Minar, Nicolas Kiefer, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Fernando Gonzalez, Lleyton Hewitt, Ivo Minar, Fabrice Santoro, Oliver Rochus, Nicolas Kiefer, David Nalbandian, Lleyton Hewitt, Denis Istomin, Florian Mayer, Max Mirnyi, Tommy Haas, Nikolay Davydenko, Nicolas Kiefer, Diego Hartfield, Alejandro Falla, Nicolas Massu, Tomas Berdych, Mario Ancic, David Nalbandian, Richard Gasquet, Tim Henman, Nicolas Mahut, Tomas Berdych, Mario Ancic, Jonas Bjorkman, Yeu-Tzuoo Wang, Tim Henman, Vincent Spadea, Marc Gicquel, James Blake, Nikolay Davydenko, Bjorn Phau, Jonas Bjorkman, Mikhail Youzhny, Novak Djokovic, Tommy Robredo, Andy Roddick, Michael Russell, Thierry Ascione, Potito Starace, Mikhael Youzhny, Tommy Robredo, Nikolay Davydenko, Teimuraz Gabashvili, Juan Martin Del Potro, Marat Safin, Tommy Haas, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Richard Gasquet, Scoville Jenkins, Paul Capdeville, John Isner, Feliciano Lopez, Andy Roddick, Nickolay Davydenko, Diego Hartfield, Fabrice Santoro, Janko Tipsarevic, Tomas Berdych, James Blake, Novak Djokovic, Sam Querrey, Albert Montanes, Mario Ancic, Julien Benneteau, Fernando Gonzalez, Gael Monfils, Dominik Hrbaty, Robin Soderling, Marc Gicquel, Lleyton Hewitt, Mario Ancic, Marat Safin, Maximo Gonzales, Thiago Alves, Radek Stepanek, Igor Andreev, Gilles Muller, Novak Djokovic, Andreas Seppi, Evgeny Korolev, Marat Safin, Tomas Berdych, Juan Martin Del Potro, Andy Roddick, Alberto Martin, Jose Acasuso, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Tommy Haas, Gael Monfils, Juan Martin Del Potro, Yen-Hsun Lu, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Robin Soderling, Ivo Karlovic, Tommy Haas, Devin Britton, Simon Greul, Lleyton Hewitt, Tommy Robedo, Robin Soderling.
These are the foes Roger Federer has played during the most remarkable streak going in modern sports. With his Wednesday win over Robin Soderling at the U.S. Open, Federer has now made 22 straight slam semifinals. Twenty-two!
The list details his opponents, in order, first round through the semifinals, from Wimbledon 2004 through this current U.S. Open. The wins, 131 of them, are in normal type. The losses, all 3, are in bold. It’s a mark of sustained greatness that none of the current stars in other sports come close to.
Tiger Woods missed a cut at a grand slam this year; to say nothing of the times he’s failed to have a top-4 slam finish since 2004. Kobe Bryant’s Lakers didn’t make the playoffs in 2005. They lost in the first round in 2006. Michael Phelps is wonderful, but the Olympics are far from a yearly event.
Twenty-two straight Grand Slam semis. Twenty-two of the biggest, most pressure packed tournaments, played over a five year span against the very best, four times a year, on three different surfaces.
The previous consecutive streak? Ivan Lendl’s 10.
Wow.
-- Kurt Streeter
