By Bob Stockton
Roger Federer is the top seed this week in the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris – one of the biggest tournaments in tennis that the Swiss maestro HASN’T won.
Federer has played in the Bercy tournament seven times in her career and – remarkably – has never even reached the semifinals of the event. He first reached the quarterfinals in 2002 – clinching his first-ever trip to the ATP World Tour Finals – before losing to Lleyton Hewitt. He reached the quarters again in 2003, losing to Tim Henman, but then was absent from the event until 2007, losing in the round of 16 to David Nalbandian. He reached the quarterfinals again in 2008, but had to withdraw from the event with a bad back – the first and only time to date that Federer was forced to withdraw from an ATP World Tour event. In 2009, Federer lost in his opening match to Julien Benneteau of France.
The other big titles missing from the Federer mantelpiece include the following;
- The Italian Championships in Rome: Federer has played the event 10 times, reaching the final twice in 2003 and 2006. In 2003, Federer blew a great chance to capture to prestigious title when he lost to the lower-ranked Felix Mantilla 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (8) in the final. In 2006, in one of the best matches ever played at the Foro Italico – and another great chance for Federer to lay claim to the Italian title – Federer lost by a 6-7(0), 7-6 (5), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (5) margin. . Federer led 4-1 in the fifth set and botched two match points at 6-5 in the fifth set before losing in a five-hour-and-six-minute struggle. Wrote Rene Stauffer in his book ROGER FEDERER: QUEST FOR PERFECTION ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.RogerFedererBook.com), “The match not only proved that Federer was catching up to the clay court prowess of Nadal, but also firmly cemented the rivalry between Federer-Nadal as one of the best in global sports.”
- The Monte Carlo Open: Federer has played the tournament nine times, reaching the final in 2006, 2007, 2008, losing all three times to….you know who….Rafael Nadal. His best chance came in 2006, losing to Nadal 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (5). He lost the 2005 final 6-4, 6-4 to Nadal and the 2006 final by a 7-5, 7-5 margin to his lefty arch-rival.
- The Olympic Games: Federer has won a gold medal in men’s doubles in 2008, pairing with Stan Wawrinka, but in singles, his best showing came in 2000 when he lost the bronze-medal match with Arnaud DiPasquale of France, after losing to Tommy Haas in the semifinals. As the top seed at the 2004 Games, Federer was upset in the second round to Tomas Berdych. In 2008 in singles, Federer lost one-round before the medal round in singles, falling to James Blake.
Davis Cup: Federer hasn’t played in a Davis Cup world group match for Switzerland since the 2004 quarterfinals against France. He and Switzerland’s best chance on his watch to win the Davis Cup came in 2003, when he and Switzerland lost a hard-fought semifinal against Australia 3-2 in Australia, Federer losing a two-sets-to-love lead against Hewitt 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5, 6-1.