Roger Federer (3)

2007: Holding off young rivals

In 2007, Federer reached all four Grand Slam singles finals, winning three of them again. At the Australian Open, he became the first man since Björn Borg in 1980 to win a major without dropping a set, beating Fernando González in the final.[86] Federer captured his fourth Dubai crown to extend his winning streak to 41 matches, the longest of his career and only five shy of the all-time record. Federer then entered Indian Wells as the three-time defending champion, but his streak ended in controversy when he was defeated by Guillermo Cañas, who had failed a drug test for illegal doping.[87] This surprising first-round loss marked the first time that he was defeated since August 2006, a period spanning over seven months.

During the clay season, Federer snapped Nadal's 81-match winning streak on clay, an Open-era record, in the final of the Hamburg Masters after turning the match around from a set down, including a final set bagel.[89] This win convinced some that Federer could win the French Open to become the first man in almost 40 years to hold all four majors simultaneously, but instead he lost in a four-set final to Nadal again.[90] At Wimbledon, Federer defeated Nadal for a second consecutive year in the final, this time in a thrilling five-set encounter that many analysts hailed as the greatest Wimbledon final since 1980. This victory equaled him with Björn Borg for the record of five consecutive Wimbledon championships.[91]

At the Canada Masters, Federer lost in the final to Novak Djokovic in a final-set tiebreaker upset. Federer rebounded in Cincinnati to capture his fifth title of the year.[92] Federer entered the US Open as the three-time defending champion and faced Djokovic in the final. This time, Federer prevailed in a close straight-set match.[93] This victory moved him ahead of Laver and Borg for third on the all-time list of major championship victories. He closed out the year with victories in Basel and the year-end championships in Shanghai.[94]

He finished the season as the year-end No. 1 for the fourth year in a row, compiling an impressive 68–9 record. After his phenomenal triple Grand Slam season yet again, Federer became the only player in history to win three majors in a year for three years (2004, 2006, 2007).[95] It was the third consecutive season that Federer held the No. 1 ranking for all 52 weeks of the year.[96]

2008: Illness, Olympic gold, and fifth US Open

Federer's success in 2008 was severely hampered by a lingering bout of mononucleosis, which he suffered during the first half of the year.[97] At the Australian Open Federer lost in the semifinals to eventual winner Djokovic, which ended his record of 10 consecutive finals.[98] He lost twice in Masters finals on clay to Nadal, at Monte Carlo and Hamburg.[98] Federer captured three titles playing in 250-level events at Estoril, Halle, and Basel.[99][100][101] Federer was defeated by Nadal in two Grand Slam finals, the French Open and Wimbledon, which was regarded as the best match of tennis history by many, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg's record. He came back from two sets down to force a fifth set, where he fell just two points from the title.[98]

At the Olympic Games, Federer and Stan Wawrinka won the gold medal in doubles by beating the Bryan brothers American team in the semifinals and the Swedish duo of Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson in the final.[102] However, Federer could reach only the quarterfinals in the singles draw, bowing out to then No. 8 James Blake, thus ceding his No. 1 ranking to Nadal after being at the top for a record 237 consecutive weeks.[103] Federer captured his only Grand Slam of 2008 at the US Open, defeating Andy Murray in the final.[104]

At the end of the year, Federer suffered a back injury, which caused him to withdraw from the Paris Masters and resulted in a poor showing at the year-end championship, where he was eliminated in the round-robin stage.[105] This marked the only time in his career that he was eliminated before the semifinals. Federer ended the year ranked No. 2.[106]

2009: Career Grand Slam and major title record

Federer began the 2009 season with a loss to Nadal in the final of the Australian Open in a hotly contested five-set match.[107] Federer struggled following the defeat in Melbourne and entered the clay season without a title
Federer's season turned around in the final Masters event of the clay season when he defeated Nadal on clay for only the second time to capture the Madrid Masters.[109] After Nadal's unexpected defeat to Robin Söderling, Federer became the overwhelming favorite to win the elusive French Open. In his next match, he came from two sets and break point down in the third set to defeat Tommy Haas in five sets.[110] He also fought back from a two-sets-to-one deficit against a young Juan Martín del Potro to win a five-setter in the semifinals.[111] In the final, he defeated Söderling in straight sets to finally capture the Coupe des Mousquetaires and career Grand Slam.[112] This victory also tied him with Pete Sampras for the most Grand Slam singles titles at 14.[113]

In Wimbledon, Federer faced long-time rival Andy Roddick in the final in what was their eighth and final meeting at a Grand Slam. The final was historic for being the longest Grand Slam final in terms of games played with Federer prevailing 16–14 in a record-setting fifth set, thus winning his 15th Grand Slam singles title and breaking the all-time record of Pete Sampras.[114][115] Federer continued his summer run by winning his third Cincinnati Masters, defeating Novak Djokovic in the final.[116] For the third consecutive year, Federer defeated Djokovic in the semifinals of the US Open. On the penultimate point, he hit what many consider to be the greatest shot of his career, a tweener winner, to set up match points.[117] Federer was defeated by del Potro in the final despite falling just two points from the title in the fourth set.[118]

Federer finished the season as the year-end No. 1 for the fifth time in his career.[119]

2010s

2010: Fourth Australian Open

Federer started the year with a win at the Australian Open, where he defeated Andy Murray in the final, extending the Grand Slam singles record to sixteen titles and matching Andre Agassi's record of four Australian Open titles.[120][121] Since 2005 Wimbledon, Federer had made 18 out of 19 finals in Grand Slam tournaments, a period of sustained excellence unparalleled in the Open Era. This tournament, however, marked the end of his dominance at the majors.[122]

At the French Open, Federer won his 700th tour match and 150th tour match on clay.[123] However, he failed to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since the 2004 French Open, losing to Söderling in the quarterfinals and relinquishing his No. 1 ranking, having been just one week away from equaling Pete Sampras's record of 286 weeks as world No. 1.[124] In a huge upset at Wimbledon, Federer lost in the quarterfinals again to Tomáš Berdych and fell to No. 3 in the rankings for the first time in six years and eight months.[125][126]

Towards the middle of July, Federer hired Pete Sampras's old coach, Paul Annacone, on a trial basis to put his tennis game and career back on track.[127] At the US Open, Federer reached the semifinals, where he lost a five-set match to Novak Djokovic after holding two match points.[128] Federer reached four Masters finals prevailing against Mardy Fish at Cincinnati.[129]

Federer finished the year in strong form, winning indoor titles at the Stockholm Open, Swiss Indoors and the ATP Finals in London, beating Djokovic and Nadal in the finals of the latter two.[130][131] It remains the only tournament in his career in which Federer defeated all fellow members of the Big Four.[132] In 2010, Federer finished in the top two for the eighth consecutive season.[133]

2011: Tour Finals title record

The year 2011 was a lean year for Federer, although great by most player's standards. He was defeated in straight sets in the semifinals of the Australian Open by eventual champion Novak Djokovic.[134] At the French Open semifinals, Federer ended Djokovic's undefeated streak of 43 consecutive wins with a four-set victory,[135] but he then lost in the final to Rafael Nadal.[136] At Wimbledon, Federer lost in the quarterfinals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. It marked the first time in his career that he had lost a Grand Slam match after winning the first two sets.[137]

At the US Open, Federer lost in the semifinals to Novak Djokovic in five sets after winning the first two sets for the second time in 2011. In a repeat of the previous year's semifinal event, Federer again squandered two match points, this time on his own serve. The loss meant that it was the first time since 2002 that Federer had not won any of the four Grand Slam titles.[138][139]

Federer finished the season successfully in the indoor season, winning his last three tournaments of the year at the Swiss Indoors, Paris Masters and ATP Finals, forming a 16-match winning streak. Federer finished the year ranked No.