It’s nice that Federer has reclaimed the #1 ranking. It’s an amazing feat considering that he first claimed the ranking on February 2^nd, 2004. He last held the number one spot in on November 4^th, 2012. Pretty amazing if you think about it. Roger holds the record for total weeks at #1 (303), oldest ATP number one in the Open Era (36), and consecutive weeks at #1 (237). The one record he does not have is Pete Sampras’ six years as the year-end #1.

Roger has finished five years as the #1 ranked player in the world, tied with Jimmy Connors. However, tying Pete in one of the lone records he has left would be quite an accomplishment. There is a real possibility he can accomplish this given he already won one Grand Slam this year. He’s likely to skip the clay court season to prep for Wimbledon and the US Open. If he’s healthy, he’s got a shot. To be honest, I had completely forgotten that Pete had finished the year ranked #1 six times! I’m not surprised given people never talk about Pete’s accomplishments with as much fervor as Nadal’s or Federer’s.

Here’s a snapshot of the top ten finishers.

So, let’s talk about Pete! His career spanned 15 years. Out of those 15, he finished six seasons as the #1 player in the world – consecutively (1993 – 1998). Roger’s career has already spanned 20 years since he first came on tour, and has been able to end #1 consecutively only four times (2004 – 2007). Although, it must be said that he has also finished either #2 or #3 on seven other occasions. All that being, said, it’s nice to know that Pete still has a record that will be hard to break. Not only finishing the year #1 six different seasons, but also consecutively.

Pete Sampras’ Stats

Roger Federer’s Stats: