Is 23 consecutive semis a remarkable achievement?

henryshli

Semi-Pro
It sounds a lot since the next is about 10. However it's not like winning a tornament is it? i feel that maybe the total GS record will be broken before the consecutive semis. What do you think?
 
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nikdom

Guest
Like some said, beyond 5-6 it was incredible, at 10 it was ridiculous. At 23, we don't have adjectives. Maybe we should just call it Rogerculous or InFedible.
 

stoo

Semi-Pro
It's an amazing feat that shows the consistency of his high level of play.
Fan of Fed or not, you have to admit it's a remarkable achievement.
 
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TheMagicianOfPrecision

Guest
Like some said, beyond 5-6 it was incredible, at 10 it was ridiculous. At 23, we don't have adjectives. Maybe we should just call it Rogerculous or InFedible.

Lendl who had the previous record with 10 consecutive was considered a real beast during his time, just imagine 23. THIS will imo be the one record that will stand the longest.
 

VGP

Legend
It sounds a lot since the next is about 10. However it's not like winning a tornament is it? i feel that maybe the total GS record will be broken before the consecutive semis. What do you think?

What do I think?

I think you're spoiled by Federer's greatness. It's become commonplace to see Federer accomplish what he has.

Not only has he reached 23 consecutive grand slam single's semifinals (which shows his incredible consistency and luck to stay healthy- starting at Wimbledon of '04) he's gone on to win the tournaments (13 times during this 23 semifinal run) as a previous poster pointed out.

"Weak draws" or "choking opponents" aside, I can't believe the guy's not had any major injuries or illnesses that have held him back. He did it having mononucleosis. He's even avoided food poisoning, or diarrhea.....even a "bad day at the office" has escaped him.
 
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Interesting topic.

Never thought of it as a statistic, really. It is obviously amazing, looking back on it, but it's not really anything that has ever been tracked because people remember champions, not semifinalists. What if Roger had a 30 semifinal streak going.....without a slam title. Not so good. Greatest Semifinalist of All Time? Like tennishand said, I'd rather have one slam title than that dubious distinction.

The fact that he is a double digit grand slam champion, and on the occasions he does not win...he makes it to the second weekend and is always in the hunt...that's what highlights this achievement of 23 straight semis.

It actually brings up thoughts like:
According to the computer, if there were 4 different slam winners in a given year, and they all did poorly at the other three, and Roger got to the semis of each slam and had a good year outside the slams, he could end the year at number one.

Well, again, this is like Connors winning the US Open on 3 different surfaces. It is not the same, clearly. But, neither is really an official stat (imho), and neither of these is likely to be broken.
 
Agree, Federer's longterm sustainable peak level is greater than Nadal's.

Makes total sense to me. Roger plays the game efficiently and also beautifully and effectively. That's a good long-term way to go.

Rafa is more varied nowadays, and he's always been so incredibly intense, but I can't see him riding a Rosewall-esque career (or even longevity on the order of Connors or Agassi).

Roger.....hmmm, maybe another few years at or near the top. Not out of the question. Good, long, successful career. I'd love to play the game like him -- even a little bit like him.
 
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aprilfool

Guest
It sounds a lot since the next is about 10. However it's not like winning a tornament is it? i feel that maybe the total GS record will be broken before the consecutive semis. What do you think?

How many of the top ten have even played in twenty-three consecutive Grand Slams?
 

Starfury

Hall of Fame
I'll say it's the only record Federer has set that's simply out of this world, as opposed to just better than everyone else, for the simple reason that he's 130% better than anyone else who's ever played the game.

To put it into perspective, that's like 32 Grand Slams compared to 14, or 658 weeks (12.5 years) at #1 compared to 286 weeks.
 

cknobman

Legend
People that question these stats as valid or remarkable or try to lessen the quality of it by arguing draws and other nonsense only do this because they have another person who is their favorite tennis player and they see achievements from Federer as an attempt to lessen the achievments of their favorite player. So these people loose all objectivity and only argue with their hearts. I cant blame them but it still dosnt make their arguments have any more merit.

YES it is a remarkable achievement.
 

henryshli

Semi-Pro
winning a slam is more than having 100 consecutive semis.

the statisticians got no more ideas on Federer.

Do you really believe that? So if you compare two players' career, one who has won 1 GS and another who has been in 100 consecutive GS semis you would consider the GS winner a better player?
 

Lotto

Professional
Do you really believe that? So if you compare two players' career, one who has won 1 GS and another who has been in 100 consecutive GS semis you would consider the GS winner a better player?


The questions not who's the better player..but if you think about it logically you'd prefer to win one slam then never win a slam but reach 100 GS semis, yano.
 

urban

Legend
Its remarkable, without question. But in the long run, the real major wins will matter more. Look at Chrissie Evert, she was virtually in all semis in majors, she played in, over a 15 year period. She had a fine 125 match streak on clay. But what one remembers, is her majors and overall tournament tally or her reign as Nr 1. And here players like Graf with her GS and her record of at least 4 majors at all venues, or Martina with her 6 major winning streak and her 160 titles overall are looking stronger. Connors was, if i am right, between 1974 and 1984 in all semis of majors he entered, bar the qf loss to Tanner at the 1976 Wim. Marvellous consistence. But nevertheless, his best records are his 5 USO wins on 3 different surfaces, his 109 overall wins and his 1974 season. And many do rank Borg especially for his RG-Wim triple or Mac for his 1984 season higher.
 
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