On Sunday Roger Federer was twice a point away from winning his 21st grand slam title at Wimbledon. Taking on world No.1 Novak Djokovic, the Swiss player failed to convert two match points. Resulting in him eventually losing in the final set tiebreaker after five hours of play on Center Court.
It was the 22nd time Federer has lost after having match point opportunities and the sixth time he has done so in a grand slam tournament. 13 out of those 22 matches saw him have more than one chance to seal victory. The most notable of those took place back in 2010 at the Paris Masters. Playing France’s Gael Monfils, Federer failed to convert five match point opportunities as he lost 7-6(7), 6-7(1), 7-6(4).
The unfortunate outcome has happened to the 37-year-old at least once every year since 2013. Furthermore, since 2017 he has failed to win after having match points twice each season.
Djokovic is the only person to fight back against Federer on multiple occasions at grand slam level. Besides his recent triumph at Wimbledon, the Serbian also saved two match points to beat Federer in their US Open clashes in 2010 and 2011. Djokovic is the only player to have ever done this against Federer on three separate occasions.
Looking at the overall picture, those 22 matches represents only 0.83% of his total losses on the ATP Tour since turning pro (22 out of 265). Federer’s current win-loss record stands at 1222-265. Claiming a total of 102 titles, which is the second highest in the Open Era. Jimmy Connors is currently first with 1274 wins and 109 titles.
Since 2000, there has been five seasons where the former world No.1 hasn’t lost a match after being in prime position. They were in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012.
Here is a breakdown of those 22 matches:-
| YEAR | TOURNAMENT | ROUND | OPONENT |
MATCH POINTS WASTED |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Wimbledon | Final | Novak Djokovic | 2 |
| 2019 | Madrid | Quarter-final | Dominic Thiem | 2 |
| 2018 | Wimbledon | Quarter-final | Kevin Anderson | 1 |
| 2018 | Indian Wells | Final | Juan Del Potro | 3 |
| 2017 | Stuttgart | Two | Tommy Haas | 1 |
| 2017 | Dubai | Two | Evgeny Donskoi | 3 |
| 2016 | Stuttgart | Semi-final | Dominic Thiem | 2 |
| 2015 | Madrid | Two | Nick Kyrgios | 2 |
| 2014 | Rome | Two | Jeremy Chardy | 1 |
| 2013 | Dubai | Semi-final | Tomas Berdych | 3 |
| 2011 | US Open | Semi-final | Novak Djokovic | 2 |
| 2010 | Paris-Bercy | Semi-final | Gael Monfils | 5 |
| 2010 | US Open | Semi-final | Novak Djokovic | 2 |
| 2010 | Miami | Two | Tomas Berdych | 1 |
| 2010 | Indian Wells | Third | Marcos Baghdatis | 3 |
| 2006 | Rome | Final | Rafael Nadal | 2 |
| 2005 | Monte Carlo | Quarter-final | Richard Gasquet | 3 |
| 2005 | Aust. Open | Semi-final | Marat Safin | 1 |
| 2003 | Miami | Quarter-final | Albert Costa | 3 |
| 2002 | Rotterdam | Quarter-final | Nicolas Escudé | 1 |
| 2002 | Aust. Open | Two | Tommy Haas | 1 |
| 2001 | Paris-Bercy | Two | Jiri Novak | 1 |
| 2001 | Halle | Quarter-final | Pat Rafter | 1 |
| 2000 | Wien | Semi-final | Tim Henman | 2 |
source of data – Simon Graf/derbund.ch
