Roger Federer makes history, joins ‘Club 80’

When it comes to making history within the sport of tennis, you often don’t need to look much further than Roger Federer. The Swiss legend has been part of the top table of tennis for years, and has established himself firmly as among the top players of all-time. Some would argue he is the undisputed best tennis player of all-time. Whatever your view and take on the man, though, it is clear that his ability to make history has been consistent throughout a long, storied, and highly successful career.

Now, though, that history looks even more remarkable. With only a small selection of players taking part in over 60 Major tournaments during their careers, Federer has managed to break this. Since the Open Era of tennis began, just nine players were able to match or break the 64-tournament barrier in Major appearances. Several of those players are still active today, with the likes of Novak Djokovic and Andreas Seppi standing on 64 appearances at a Major tournament.

However, just three players have broken the 70-tournamnet barrier, with Mikhail Youzhny one of just three to do so in the Open Era. Fabrice Santoro holds that record, as does Feliciano Lopez. However, Federer now holds the all-time record, having appeared at a whopping 80 Major tournaments.

Since making his Majors debut in Paris in 1999, Federer has continued to amass appearances at the biggest events within the entire sport. He has continued that for a career that spans over two decades, and shows no signs of slowing down.

While 39-year-old Lopez might be on 77 tournaments, Federer looks as likely to keep adding to his record of 80-plus tournaments. Given he still plays at an elite level, Federer might still be dominating for a while yet.

Could Federer win the Roland Garros event?

Having suffered from the kind of form and fitness issues that often plague older players, Federer has bene working hard to get himself into prime shape again. Keep in mind that from 2000 to 2016, Federer played in a whopping 64 Major tournaments consecutively. He missed out on the Roland Garros event from 2016 to 2018 with various reasons, and missed some other Major events due to injury.

However, the Swiss looks back to his finest form at the moment, after dispatching Dennis Istomin in his first match at a Major competition for around 500 days. He smashed the competitor with a showing of slick, stylish tennis that looked back to the kind of peak form that we know Federer can reach. He even converted 5 of his 13 break opportunities.

This is a player who looks ready to not only compete and to break records, but to make history and to continue his incredible development as a player over the last years. Without doubt, this is a record that should be almost impossible for most players to match – and a further sign that, for many, Federer is the undisputed GOAT of Open Era tennis.