By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer
Roger Federer leads the list of nominees announced Wednesday for the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s class of 2026. He was the first man to win 20 Grand Slam singles titles and ushered in an era of unprecedented greatness with younger rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
With a terrific forehand and serve, an attacking, all-court style and footwork that helped make everything seem so effortless, Federer won 103 trophies and 1,251 matches in singles, totals surpassed among men only by Jimmy Connors in the Open era, which began in 1968.
Federer finished five seasons at No. 1 in the ATP rankings, spent a record 237 consecutive weeks in that spot, led Switzerland to the 2014 Davis Cup title and teamed with Stan Wawrinka to claim a doubles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Roger Federer reached 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals
At the height of his powers, Federer reached a record 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals from 2005-07, capturing eight titles in that span; he extended that dominance by making 18 of 19 major finals into 2010. There also were streaks of 36 quarterfinals in a row and 23 straight semifinals.
Federer, an ambassador for the game who often spoke in English, French and Swiss German at news conferences, played his last match at Wimbledon in 2021. He was a month shy of 40 at the time.
His retirement announcement didn’t come until the following year, and he bid farewell with an appearance alongside Nadal in doubles at the Laver Cup, an event his management company founded.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, Juan Martin del Potro on Tennis Hall of Fame ballot
Federer is joined in the Hall’s player category on the ballot by two-time major singles champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and 2009 U.S. Open winner Juan Martin del Potro. There are two nominees in the contributor category: TV announcer Mary Carillo and administrator Marshall Happer.
The inductees will be announced in November.
Federer is among eight men with at least one singles trophy from each of the sport’s four most important events, winning eight at Wimbledon, six at the Australian Open, five at the U.S. Open and one at the French Open. He completed his career Grand Slam at Roland-Garros in 2009.
His first major championship came at the All England Club in 2003, and he broke Pete Sampras’ then-record for a man of 14 Slam titles by winning Wimbledon in 2009, defeating Andy Roddick 16-14 in the fifth set of the final.
Federer won 20 Grand Slam titles. Djokovic has 24, Nadal retired with 22
Eventually, Federer was overtaken in the Grand Slam standings by Nadal, who retired last year at age 38 with 22, and Djokovic, who is still active at 38 with 24.
“I always say it’s wonderful to be part of that selective group,” he said about the so-called Big Three in a 2021 interview with The Associated Press. “How can you compare? What’s better? To win when you’re old or when you’re young? I have no idea, you know. Is it better to win on clay or grass? Don’t know. Is it better to have super dominant years or come back from injury? I don’t know. It really is impossible to grasp.”
Federer’s run of five consecutive U.S. Opens — no man has won two in a row there since — ended in the 2009 final with a five-set loss to del Potro. At the time, del Potro was not quite 21 and seemed destined for an elite career thanks in part to his booming forehand, but a series of wrist and knee injuries derailed the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Argentine.
He ended up with 22 tour-level titles and a career-high ranking of No. 3, while reaching one other Grand Slam final, finishing as the runner-up to Djokovic at the 2018 U.S. Open. Del Potro earned a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and helped Argentina win the Davis Cup that year. His last appearance at a major tournament was a fourth-round run at the 2019 French Open.
Kuznetsova won major trophies in singles at the 2004 U.S. Open and 2009 French Open, and in doubles at the Australian Open on 2005 and 2012, got to No. 2 in the WTA rankings in singles and No. 3 in doubles, and was part of three championships with Russia in the competition now known as the Billie Jean King Cup. Kuznetsova won 18 tour-level events in singles and 16 in doubles.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis