It's Official: Federer Breaks Sampras Record for Weeks at No. 1

Roger Federer, who regained the top ranking after winning his 17th major and 7th Wimbledon crown, has broken Pete Sampras' record for most weeks at No. 1. Can Roger take aim at the all-time record for most weeks at No.1 (male or female) set by Steffi Graf? He just needs to stay in the top stop for another full year and nine months, not an easy task in the "Big 4" era.

Here is the list of players (both male and female) who have been No. 1 for at least 200 weeks:
1. Steffi Graf (GER) - 377
2. Martina Navratilova (USA) - 332
3. Roger Federer (SUI) - 287*
4. Pete Sampras (USA) - 286
5. Ivan Lendl (CZE) - 270
6. Jimmy Connors (USA) - 268
7. Chris Evert (USA) - 260
8. Martina Hingis (SUI) - 209
*active streak

Roger Federer: #7, #17, #1, #286

Seventh Wimbledon title. Seventeenth Major. World Number One for a record-tying 286th week. These are just a few numbers that highlight Roger Federer's achievement by winning Sunday's final at Wimbledon. To be able to do it at this stage in his career is truly remarkable. And he's not done yet.

It was believed several years back that Wimbledon and the London Olympics 2012 would be Federer's last tournaments, especially if he wins both - much like the "exit on a high" Pete Sampras did when he immediately retired after winning his 14th and final Major at the 2002 US Open at age 31. Now nearing his 31st birthday, Roger isn't about to hang up his racket just yet. Able to find the right balance between his professional tennis career and his family life, and having maintained a relatively injury-free and low-mileage tennis playing style, Federer is aiming to put up more numbers and break more records. At least five more years in the ATP, perhaps? After all, Andre Agassi retired at age 36.

Is Roger Federer the Greatest Of All Time? Not yet, not now. Wait till he has played his last point.

Wimbledon Shock Exit: Nadal Upset in 2nd Round

World No. 2 Rafael Nadal - a two-time champ and three-time runner-up has been eliminated in the 2nd Round at Wimbledon. His conqueror is World No. 100 Lukas Rosol, who prevailed in five tight sets using a steady powerful serve and enough winners to keep Nadal at bay.

Nadal's defeat paves the way for World No. 4 Andy Murray, who is in Nadal's half of the draw. Murray has never been past the semis in Wimbledon. Nadal will drop to No. 3 when the rankings are published on July 9.

Wimbledon "Big 4" Ranking Projections: Number One Ranking Up For Grabs

In last year's Wimbledon, the men's top ranking changed hands with Novak Djokovic replacing Rafa Nadal as No. 1.  This year, Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer could end up as No. 1 after the fortnight at SW19.  Djokovic and Federer (drawn in the same half yet again) control their own destiny - for Djokovic, be in the final, and for Federer, be the Champion and the No. 1 ranking is theirs.  Nadal needs a little help - even if he wins his 3rd Wimbledon title, he must hope for Djokovic to lose before the semis for him to regain No. 1 he lost last year.

Here is the detailed ranking projections:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArXMd59RqOuFdG5QclF3QXMwSG9vRlVhM0JiSG84Q2c

"Big Four" Midyear Report

Two Grand Slam tournaments and five Masters 1000 events have been played so far. Let's see how our "Big Four" have done year-to-date.

#1 Novak Djokovic (36-6, 2 titles)
Australian Open - Winner (5th major, 3rd Australian Open title)
French Open - Finalist
Indian Wells - Semifinalist
Miami - Winner (11th Masters 1000 title)
Monte Carlo - Finalist
Madrid - Quarterfinalist
Rome - Finalist
Other notable tournaments: None

#2 Rafael Nadal (41-5, 4 titles)
Australian Open - Finalist
French Open - Winner (11th major, 7th French Open title)
Indian Wells - Semifinalist
Miami - Semifinalist
Monte Carlo - Winner (20th Masters 1000 title)
Madrid - R16
Rome - Winner (21st Masters 1000 title)
Other notable tournaments: Won Barcelona

#3 Roger Federer (39-6, 4 titles)
Australian Open - Semifinalist
French Open - Semifinalist
Indian Wells - Winner (19th Masters 1000 title)
Miami - R32
Monte Carlo - DNP
Madrid - Winner (20th Masters 1000 title)
Rome - Semifinalist
Other notable tournaments: Won Rotterdam and Dubai

#4 Andy Murray (26-9, 1 title)
Australian Open - Semifinalist
French Open - Quarterfinalist
Indian Wells - R64
Miami - Finalist
Monte Carlo - Quarterfinalist
Madrid - DNP
Rome - R16
Other notable tournaments: Won Brisbane

Up next, Wimbledon and the 2012 Summer Olympics!

2012 Roland Garros 4th Round Match: Federer vs. Goffin Tale of the Tape

[3] R. Federer (SUI)
Age: 30
Grand Slam titles: 16 <-- Record
Grand Slam W-L record: 235–35 <-- Record no. of wins
Win Percentage: 87%

 [LL] D. Goffin (BEL)
Age: 21
Grand Slam titles: 0
Grand Slam W-L record: 3-0
Win Percentage: 100% <-- Record!

 Goffin is the only unseeded player left in the men's draw.

Nadal's Hold on Monte Carlo To Be Challenged by Djokovic

So here we are in the final at the Monte Carlo Masters.  On one end, we find seven-time defending champion and undisputed "king of clay" Rafa Nadal.  On the other end, we find a worthy challenger in World No.  1 Novak Djokovic, who has defeated Nadal in 7 straight finals,  including last year's Masters clay tournaments in Madrid and Rome.

Monte Carlo and Roland Garros are the only two titles Nadal has left to defend this year.  Can Djokovic take them away as well? 

Indian Wells Final 4: Big 3 + Big John

The first ATP World Tour 1000 of the year at Indian Wells is down to the last four. The tournament's top three seeds of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are expected to be in the semis, but American John Isner crashed the "Bigs".

[1] Djokovic (SRB) vs. [11] Isner (USA)
Have only played twice before (both in 2010) with Djokovic winning both matches

[2] Nadal (ESP) vs. [3] Federer (SUI)
This is their 28th career meeting, but unbelievably their first ever at Indian Wells

Tennis-fun's picks:
Djokovic d. Isner, Federer d. Nadal

"Big 4" in Back-to-Back Grand Slam Semis

The ATP's "Big Four" is through to the last four for the second straight Major. It's a different semifinal pairing this time around, but this goes to show how Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Murray have dominated the men's game in the last few years.

Since 2008, at least three of the bigs have been in 10 semifinals of all Grand Slam tournaments played (17 total including this year's Aussie Open). Each man reached the semis in more than half of these tournaments:

Federer - Reached 14 of the last 17 Major semis
Nadal - Reached 13 of the last 17 Major semis
Djokovic - Reached 11 of the last 17 Major semis
Murray - Reached 9 of the last 17 Major semis

By contrast, the rest of the current top ten (Ferrer, Tsonga, Berdych, Fish, Tipsarevic, Almagro) have combined for only 5 semifinal appearances in the last 17 Grand Slam tournaments.

Here are Tennis Fun's Aussie Open 2012 picks:
Semifinals: Federer d. Nadal, Djokovic d. Murray
Final: Federer d. Djokovic