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.