Roger Federer has become the iron man of men’s professional tennis. The 36-year-old earned his 20th Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open on 28 January 2018. This latest victory means that Federer has won 10 percent of the men’s Grand Slam events (200 titles, total) that have been contested since the Open era began in 1968. He has won the Australian Open six times, Wimbledon eight times, the US Open five times, and the French Open once. Federer now becomes the first man and the fourth player overall to reach the 20-title "club," joining Margaret Court (with 24 wins), Serena Williams (23), and Steffi Graf (22).
Twenty Grand Slams and counting:
- How does he stay on top? “I think by not overplaying, not playing every tournament possible,” said Federer after defeating Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the finals of the 2018 Australian Open.
- Federer’s fourth Grand Slam title since turning 30 years old puts him in elite company, with tennis greats Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall.
- Federer, who turned professional in 1998, has won 96 career ATP singles titles, second on the men's all-time list behind Jimmy Connors’ 109 wins. The rest of the top five: Ivan Lendl at 94, John McEnroe at 77, and Rafael Nadal at 75.