Roger Federer makes more history with insane rankings record
Roger Federer continues to re-write tennis’ record books.
On Monday the Swiss Maestro became the first player in tennis history to spend 1000 weeks in the world’s top 30.
The 38-year-old first entered the top 30 in October of 2000 - and hasn’t left since.
He’s collected 103 ATP titles and 20 grand slams along the way.
‘EMOTIONALLY WASTED’: Roger Federer 'breakdown' comes to light
With a combined age of 103, Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic continue to dominate men's tennis and it takes a brave punter to predict their imminent demise.
But there is at last the sense of a credible challenge from an exciting crop of youngsters including Daniil Medvedev, who pushed Nadal all the way in the US Open final, and ATP Finals winner Stefanos Tsitsipas.
"I believe I'm really close to being crowned a Grand Slam champion," said Tsitsipas after beating Dominic Thiem in the final in London.
Federer reveals emotional ‘breakdown’
Federer recently admitted he suffered a "bit of a breakdown" during last month's tour of Mexico and South America after rioting in Colombian capital Bogota forced him to cancel his exhibition match against Germany's Alexander Zverev.
The 38-year-old's five-country tour is covered in broadcaster ESPN's candid documentary 'Roger Federer: Everywhere is Home' which will air on Dec. 17.
It charts the 20-time Grand Slam champion's journey, including the history-making match in Mexico City bullring when a 42,517 delirious fans watched him take on German Zverev -- a record crowd for a tennis match.
One of the most memorable segments of the documentary comes in Bogota when large scale demonstrations and riots led to a curfew imposed by the government, shortly before Federer and Zverev were supposed to start their match.
With a huge crowd already present, Federer reluctantly decided the situation was not safe.
Footage shows Federer walking back to his locker room where he broke down in tears and was hugged by Zverev.
"We went to warm up and were having a blast on the court, but then everything started to get a bit crazy," Federer said.
"I was thinking is this the best scenario? Because people need to get home and be safe and this was honestly when I knew we shouldn't play, it was too much stress and pressure for everybody.
"I had a bit of a breakdown. It was not going to be the dream match it was supposed to have been and I could feel it all falling apart at the end. When I came back (to the locker room) I was emotionally wasted."
with agencies
