10 Grand Slam Matches That Roger Federer Should Have Lost

Being the most successful Grand Slam player in history doesn’t come without challenges.

Federer has demonstrated an unparalleled consistency in the majors, having reached 23 consecutive semifinals and a quarterfinal tally that continues to rise, but that isn’t to say that there haven’t been moments among those that have seen the maestro in a seemingly insurmountable deficit.

These are those matches; the greatest struggles for Federer which saw him facing a fearless opponent or an off-day, and which nearly saw him eliminated from the tournaments that matter most.

The “should” in the title does not mean that Federer deserved to lose, but rather that almost any other player in similar circumstances would not have made it to the next round. 

Roger Federer vs Andy Roddick: Wimbledon 2004 (4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-4)

Federer himself acknowledged how fortunate he was to have escaped this match the champion.

"I got lucky today for sure," he said. "I was down a break in the third set and if Andy had served a few better games it would have been two sets.”

A couple rain delays proved beneficial as he was able to recover crucial breaks, and he was also helped by the fact that Roddick was unable to capitalize on six break points at the beginning of the fourth set. 

Roger Federer vs Tommy Haas: Australian Open 2006 (6-4, 6-0, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2)

Federer raced to a 2-0 set lead, including a devastating bagel in the second, and as the third began, the outcome never really seemed in doubt.

However, Haas had confidence from a victory over the maestro in a warm-up event just a few weeks prior, and some scintillating rallies and deft net play saw Federer’s lead eventually erased.

Federer said after that he was never in danger of losing, but earlier this year at Wimbledon we saw just how possible it is to beat Roger if he is forced to five.

Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic: US Open 2007 (7-6(4), 7-6(2), 6-4)

It’s admittedly strange that such a score line would make the list, but this was a very strange straight-sets win.

Djokovic had numerous set points in the first two sets, but errors, more aggressive play from Federer, and some very nervous double faults saw all those opportunities quickly erased.

The big stage proves difficult for newcomers (see Andy Murray), but Djokovic quickly learned his lesson by getting revenge at the following Australian open.

Roger Federer vs Janko Tipsarevic: Aus Open '08 (6-7(5), 7-6(1), 5-7, 6-1, 10-8)

Federer had looked very comfortable at the start of the tournament, having lost only six games total, and this match seemed like it would be routine.

Tipsarevic, however, played very smart, aggressive tennis, and coupled with the fact that Federer was far from his best (and suffering from mono), the match eventually went to a decider.

While Federer had been able to breeze past Nadal in the fifth at Wimbledon, it took him considerably longer with considerably more trouble to finally escape and make it to the later stages of the tournament.

Roger Federer vs Igor Andreev: US Open 2008 (6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3)

While Andreev is certainly a fine player, Federer’s 60 unforced errors contributed largely to how competitive this match ended up being.

The crowd was a huge factor in getting behind Federer at crucial moments, with Federer unusually reciprocating, including a guttural roar after he managed to pull through a gritty second set tiebreaker.

Roger Federer vs Tomas Berdych: Aus Open '09 (4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2)

After beating him in straight sets with mono last year, Federer must have had some confidence coming into the match.

Even with numerous opportunities, though, the first two sets slipped away from him, and the match began to look more and more like his streak of semifinals would be broken.

The opening of the third set was littered with service breaks, but once Federer was able to hold and take the set, the momentum shifted dramatically and he was able to pull it out in five.

Roger Federer vs Juan Martin Del Potro: FO 2009 (3-6, 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4)

With Nadal eliminated, Federer knew more than anyone else (and everyone else knew) that this was his best shot at the French Open title.

Having previously overcome a tough five setter from Tommy Haas, Federer was facing a 2-1 set deficit with his title dreams nearing elimination.

He was able to get his first break in the fourth set and push it to a decider, and even though he faced some nervous moments in closing it out, he managed to make it to the final and eventually obtain his lone Roland Garros crown.

Roger Federer vs Andy Roddick: Wimbledon 2009 (5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 3-6, 16-14)

Roddick is the only player to make this list twice, and here even more than before did he have the trophy well within his grasp.

Federer managed to elude four set points from the American in the second set tiebreak (which would have placed Roddick up two sets to none), and made it all the more painful by an amateurish high backhand volley that missed well wide on his fourth opportunity.

Roddick commented afterward that Federer was having trouble reading his serve “for the first time ever,” and it was only in the final game of the fifth set that Federer was able to get the decisive break and his sixth Wimbledon crown.

Roger Federer vs Alejandro Falla: Wimbledon 2010 (5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(1), 6-0)

After losing before the semifinals in Roland Garros for the first time in 23 majors, Federer was far from his most confident, but nobody expected this.

In the 2004 Championship, Federer had obliterated him, and the grass court warm up before the 2010 event was just as bad for the Colombian. Falla raced to a 2-0 set lead though, with Federer looking completely foreign on a surface that had once seemed as native to him as clay for Nadal.

Falla even served for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set, and then had break chances after failing to capitalize. Federer managed to escape the humiliation of being defeated in the first round of a tournament he had won the year before and dominated in years before that.

Roger Federer vs Gilles Simon: Australian Open 2011 (6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3)

Simon had gone into the match undefeated against Federer, but both of those matches had been Masters level tournaments in a best-of-three set format, and Grand Slam matches are an entirely different entity.

Federer proved this as he raced to a 2-0 set lead, infallibly rocketing forehands and backhands past the tenacious Frenchmen. In both their previous encounters, though, Federer had taken the first set but needed three to close it out, and this match was no different.

Federer managed to escape, but Simon proved that their two prior meetings had been no fluke.