Roger Federer: Why US Open Is His Best Tournament

Roger Federer has proved to be dominant across all continents and all courts, but the U.S Open has been his best tournament.

Federer has reached at least the semifinals every year since 2004, and won five consecutive titles from 2004-2008.

However, he has also won Wimbledon five times in a row, and has won the tournament seven times in his career. Federer has conquered the Australian open four times, and like the U.S. Open, he has reached the semifinals in every year since 2004.

While Federer has played excellent tennis at the French Open, he has often been thwarted by Rafael Nadal and only has one title.

Judging just by numbers of victories, one would have to point to Wimbledon as his best tournament. Federer’s career 117-17 record on grass gives him a .873 win percentage, which the best of all time, according to ATPWorldTour.com.

Also according to ATPWorldTour.com, Federer has a .833 win percentage on hard courts, after going 520-104 throughout his career. This is also the highest career mark among any player in history.

Having a lower win percentage on hard courts than on grass would once again point to Wimbledon as Federer’s best tournament. However, Federer’s greatness lies in his ability to maintain dominant form over an incredible stretch of time.

He may have won Wimbledon earlier this year, but he was eliminated in the quarterfinals in his previous two appearances on the grass courts. In contrast, he has been one of the last four men standing at the Australian Open and the U.S. Open since 2004.

He has played nearly three times as many matches on hard courts than he has on grass, and his 520 wins show that he truly is the king of the hard courts.

He thrives on this surface, and in the biggest games, he pushes the speed to astonishing levels and always pulls through. While he may have more titles on the grass at Wimbledon, he is still vulnerable to lesser opponents on the surface, as shown by the two quarterfinal upsets.

But at the majors played on hard courts, only Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and an incredible performance by Juan Martin del Potro have been able to beat him since 2008. Wimbledon is not his best tournament, leaving the Australian Open and the U.S. Open as the two remaining candidates.

The five consecutive victories at Flushing Meadows compared to the four interspersed titles at Melbourne Park make this an easy decision. 

His consistently high level of play on hard courts and his five-year streak of dominance at the U.S. Open makes this his best tournament.