36-year-old Roger Federer becomes the oldest No. 1 in ATP history
Roger Federer added another highlight to his age-defying career resurgence Friday, returning to the top of the world rankings for the first time in more than five years and becoming the oldest player to reach the top spot.
“What an amazing run its been and a journey it’s been for me ... to clinch world No. 1,” Federer said.
Beating leading Dutch player Robin Haase 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinal at the ABN AMRO World Tournament means the 36year-old Federer becomes the oldest player - male or female - to top the world rankings, surpassing Andre Agassi, who held the record at age 33.
“Getting to No. 1 and enjoying it right here at 36, almost 37 years old is an absolute dream come true,” Federer said. “I can’t believe it.”
Federer will leapfrog 31-year-old Rafael Nadal to No. 1 when the rankings are updated on Monday.
Also a record will be the fiveyears-plus which have elapsed since Federer was last No. 1, and the 14 years since he first reached the top spot.
On Monday, he will extend his record of 302 weeks at No 1 since the rankings began in 1973. Pete Sampras is a distant second with 286 weeks at the top. Novak Djokovic is the closest currently active player, with 223 weeks at No. 1.
“Reaching No. 1 is one of, if not the ultimate achievement in our sport,” Federer said.
“Sometimes at the beginning you get there just because you play so well. Later, you sometimes try to fight it back and you wrest it back from somebody else who deserved to be there, and when you’re older you feel like you have to put maybe double the work in. So this one maybe means the most to me throughout my career.”
Federer, the 2005 and 2012 ABN AMRO champion, plays either Andreas Seppi or Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals on Saturday.
Federer won the Australian Open in January for his 20th Grand Slam title and edged closer to the top of the rankings. He had not originally planned to play in Rotterdam but accepted a wild card when it became clear he might be able to take back the top spot.
Haase made clear he was going to make Federer fight, and broke him in the ninth game and fired an ace to take the set 6-4.
But Federer stepped up a gear and blew Haase away in the second set, reeling off 11 straight points to race to 3-0 in taking the set 6-1.
Federer then broke Haase twice early in the third for 3-0, and swept to the victory.
Earlier, Grigor Dimitrov beat Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semifinals, where he will meet 2017 finalist David Goffin, who progressed when his quarterfinal opponent Tomas Berdych pulled out sick.
Wozniacki stays No 1 after edging Kerber in Qatar quarters
Caroline Wozniacki outlasted former No. 1 Angelique Kerber 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-3 in the Qatar Open quarterfinals and ensured she retained the top ranking from Simona Halep yesterday afternoon.
No. 2-ranked Halep reached the semifinals with a dominating win, though she promptly withdrew with a right foot injury.
Wozniacki had to at least match her to stay No. 1, and the new Australian Open champion was pushed for almost 2 1/2 hours before prevailing.
Kerber led 5-3 but Wozniacki had a set point before taking it in a tiebreaker.
Kerber rushed her in the second set and broke early in the third. But Wozniacki broke straight back and her superior fitness shone in some long rallies.
The Dane will meet Petra Kvitova in the semifinals after her match against Julia Goerges ended early when the German retired with a hip injury while trailing 6-4, 2-1.
After beating American qualifier Catherine Bellis 6-0, 6-4, Halep announced her withdrawal from the semis on Saturday, when she was scheduled to play Garbine Muguruza.
Muguruza beat Caroline Garcia of France 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
“I am surprised that I could play three matches and win them,” Halep, the 2014 champion, said. “I felt pain every day, so it was not easy to manage it.
“I didn’t have much time to recover before this tournament, but today was too much, and I decided to stop.
“The MRI shows I have fluid and also tendinitis at the fourth toe, so I have to take care of it and think about my health first.”
Halep also withdrew from next week’s Dubai Open, another tournament she has won, and the Romanian said she did not expect to be back in action for more than two weeks, until Indian Wells.
Halep relinquished No. 1 after losing to Wozniacki in the Australian Open final.
ATP-Oldest No. 1’s
36 - Roger Federer, Feb. 19, 2018
33 - Andre Agassi, Sept. 7, 2003
31 - Rafael Nadal, Feb. 18, 2018
30 - Jimmy Connors, July 3, 1983
30 - Ivan Lendl, Aug. 12, 1990
Weeks at No. 1
1. Roger Federer 302
2. Pete Sampras 286
3. Ivan Lendl 270
4. Jimmy Connors 268
5. Novak Djokovic 223
6. John McEnroe 170
7. Rafael Nadal 167
8. Björn Borg 109
9. Andre Agassi 101
10. Lleyton Hewitt 80
11. Stefan Edberg 72
12. Jim Courier 58
13. Gustavo Kuerten 43
14. Andy Murray 41
15. Ilie Năstase 40
16. Mats Wilander 20
17. Andy Roddick 13
18. Boris Becker 12
19. Marat Safin 9
20. John Newcombe 8
20. Juan Carlos Ferrero 8
22. Thomas Muster 6
22. Marcelo Ríos 6
22. Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6
25. Carlos Moyá 2