A record of Federer's that Rafa equaled and could break

El Dude

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Consecutive years in the year-end top 5. Roger had 10 years from 2003 to 2012, but was #6 in 2002 and 2013. Rafa will finish this year at #3, which is his tenth year in a row from 2005-2014. I think chances are good that Rafa snags this one from Roger next year.

Anyhow, congratulations to Rafa - that's quite an accomplishment considering his injury history.

Here are the top streaks:

13 - Connors
10 - Lendl, Federer, Nadal
9 - Edberg, Sampras
8 - Becker, McEnroe, Djokovic
 

Billie

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Is there a difference between finishing in the top 5 and top 3? I think Nole's 8 years are all top 3.
 

El Dude

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Well Rafa's are top 4 and Roger's are top 3, but that's not the point.
 

herios

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El Dude said:
Consecutive years in the year-end top 5. Roger had 10 years from 2003 to 2012, but was #6 in 2002 and 2013. Rafa will finish this year at #3, which is his tenth year in a row from 2005-2014. I think chances are good that Rafa snags this one from Roger next year.

Anyhow, congratulations to Rafa - that's quite an accomplishment considering his injury history.

Here are the top streaks:

13 - Connors
10 - Lendl, Federer, Nadal
9 - Edberg, Sampras
8 - Becker, McEnroe, Djokovic

If this is the ranking, why are you calling Roger the record holder ??
 

El Dude

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Holy nitpicking, Batman! I don't mean all-time record, just something that Roger set for himself.
 

herios

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El Dude said:
Holy nitpicking, Batman! I don't mean all-time record, just something that Roger set for himself.

Then you should call it differently, milestone or something. Like he doesn't hold enough records already, we need to invent another one:nono:cool:
 

El Dude

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I like how you turn this into me somehow giving Federer accolades when the whole point of this thread was to give props to Nadal.
 

Billie

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El Dude said:
I like how you turn this into me somehow giving Federer accolades when the whole point of this thread was to give props to Nadal.

To me the thread gives props to Connors;) and so far Nadal and Nole are the only ones on a current streak to increase their years in top 5.

Nadal will surely surpass Federer, unless something drastic happens, I will hope Nole can do it too.

Also in my opinion, top 3 consecutive finishes is way more impressive than top 5. I'd like to know how many of Connors' 13 years is actually top 3 finish? You might have Federer there as a record holder that Nadal can't surpass.:D
 

El Dude

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Connors would still hold the record with 12 years in a row in the top 3.

Consecutive years in top 3:
12 - Connors
10 - Federer
9 - Lendl, Sampras
8 - Djokovic (active)
7 - Borg, McEnroe, Nadal

I think Novak has a legit shot of passing Federer - he'd need two more years to equal him, or through his age 29 season. To equal Connors it would have to be through age 31, to pass him age 32. That's a tall order.
 

Billie

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Great, thank you so much El Dude for answering me.

You never know with Nole, he can surprise in both good and bad ways.;)
 

DarthFed

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El Dude said:
Connors would still hold the record with 12 years in a row in the top 3.

Consecutive years in top 3:
12 - Connors
10 - Federer
9 - Lendl, Sampras
8 - Djokovic (active)
7 - Borg, McEnroe, Nadal

I think Novak has a legit shot of passing Federer - he'd need two more years to equal him, or through his age 29 season. To equal Connors it would have to be through age 31, to pass him age 32. That's a tall order.

12 straight in the top 3 is insane. Roger doing 10 straight is very impressive and I'd expect Djokovic to at least equal it. Roger's 2013 was just an all around disaster. I do think if he plays 2 or even 3 more years he will still be top 5 (his level has to totally plummet again to fall out of it) but that 2013 prevented him from beating Connors' record for that stat.
 

shawnbm

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Ol' Jimbo was an animal. He was top three (actually number one) when Rosewall, Gonzales and Newcombe were playing, during the prime of Borg and McEnroe, and then still whilst Lendl, Becker and Edberg were ascending or were already at the top of the game. Connors was something.
 

El Dude

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DarthFed said:
12 straight in the top 3 is insane. Roger doing 10 straight is very impressive and I'd expect Djokovic to at least equal it. Roger's 2013 was just an all around disaster. I do think if he plays 2 or even 3 more years he will still be top 5 (his level has to totally plummet again to fall out of it) but that 2013 prevented him from beating Connors' record for that stat.

There are similarities between Connors and Federer in terms of career and I think we might see similar longevity from Fed - if he wants to and, of course, adjusted for his overall higher level of play relative to the field. Consider:

PEAK (year-end #1):
Connors - 1974-78, age 22-26
Federer - 2004-07, 09, age 23-26, 28

LAST SLAM (so far):
Connors - 1983, age 31
Federer - 2012, age 30 (almost 31)

LAST YEAR-END TOP 5 (so far):
Connors - 1987, age 35
Federer - 2014, age 33

LAST YEAR-END TOP 10 (so far):
Connors - 1988, age 36
Federer - 2014, age 33


I think that Roger could remain a top 5 player for at least another couple years, unless several younger players break through to an elite level and push some players out. But he remains the third best player in the game, and he's the second healthiest of the three so is right there in the mix for the 2-3 ranking.

On a different note, perhaps the most amazing stat I came across while researching consecutive top 10/5/3 was this one: Ken Rosewall finished 25 consecutive years in the top 10, from 1952 to 1976. 25 years!!! Now most of that was in the pre-Open and pre-ATP era, so there wasn't a clear point system. But rankings were still kept but they were, I believe, voted on by sportswriters. But regardless, it is an amazing feat, especially considering that it spans a period of time from age 18 to 42!

Pancho Gonzales isn't far behind with 21 consecutive years in the top 10, but then you drop all the way to 16 for Jimmy Connors. Here's the list:

25 Ken Rosewall (1952-76)
21 Pancho Gonzales (1949-69)
16 Jimmy Connors (1973-88)
14 Bill Tilden (1919-32)
13 Rod Laver (1959-71), Ivan Lendl (1980-92), Roger Federer (2002-14)
12 Pete Sampras (1990-2001)
10 Stefan Edberg (1985-94), Rafael Nadal (2005-14)

I think Roger has a good chance of passing Jimmy Connors for the Open Era/ATP record - again, if he wants to play that long. To get to 17 consecutive years in the top 10 he'd have to play through 2018, the year he turns 37.
 

shawnbm

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Connors, Lendl,Federer, Edberg, Sampras and Nadal being talked about with Tilden, Rosewall, Laver and Gonzales in terms of long term excellence is all one needs to know when you talk about the pantheon of tennis over history.
 

Kieran

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shawnbm said:
Connors, Lendl,Federer, Edberg, Sampras and Nadal being talked about with Tilden, Rosewall, Laver and Gonzales in terms of long term excellence is all one needs to know when you talk about the pantheon of tennis over history.

Good post, Shawn: these men are just passing through, but they leave behind a legacy that stands alongside the great names of the past...
 

shawnbm

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And I think ol' Nole might be in on that list in another three years or so, Kieran. We all saw the talent and the fight years ago, and he has largely lived up to the hype. Seven majors and counting, which is really something when you think about it.
 

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Djoker could easily stay 3 more years in top 3, unless some bad injury show up.

Above all, i dont see none of actual players to replace Djoker, Nadal and Fed. But when that new one show up, it will take 2 years to gain No.1 spot.
 

El Dude

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I think Slam totals really give us a sense of "tiers" of all-time greats, but that we have to include Pro Slams otherwise players like Gonzales, Laver and Rosewall are penalized for playing professionally for the peak of their careers. So here are the "Major" (Grand and Pro Slams) titles in all tennis history:

23 Rosewall
19 Laver
17 Federer
15 Tilden, Gonzales
14 Sampras, Nadal
12 Emerson
11 Cochet, Borg
10 Wilding, Perry, Budge

Open Era players with 6+ Slams:
8 Connors, Lendl, Agassi
7 Newcombe, McEnroe, Wilander, Djokovic
6 Edberg, Becker

I only listed Open Era players because there are just too many if we go all the way back.

I think Novak has a very good chance making that top list of players with 10+ majors.
 

shawnbm

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I concur about Novak going to ten now that he bagged his seventh this year. I think he has at least 3 more hard court majors in him, likely within three years, if not two.
 

El Dude

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A year or so ago I think I predicted that Novak will end with 10-12. I think that's his probable range, although it realistically could be anything from around 9 to 15. I can't see him winning less than two more, and its hard to imagine him having more Slam wins left in him now, at age 27, than he already has, but he isn't showing signs of slowing down and is probably best situated of the elite to continue to dominate over the next few years. But to get eight more he'd need at least a couple more two-Slam years, and that's a tall order at this point. I'll stick with 10-12 being the most likely range.