Roger Federer records that may never be broken: The 24-final winning streak

Every day until the final event of his career—the Laver Cup later this week—we’ll be highlighting one of Roger Federer’s records that may never be broken.

We’ve already covered him being the only tennis player ever to win two different Grand Slams five years in a row each, as well as his 65-match winning streak on grass, the longest tour-level grass-court winning streak for a man in the Open Era.

Today, it’s another ridiculous streak:

Winning 24 tour-level finals in a row

Winning one tour-level final is already an incredible achievement—you’re playing someone who’s been unstoppable all week, someone who’s probably grown in confidence match by match, and the tension is at its highest with the trophy within reach.

Now, imagine winning 24 tour-level finals in a row.

That’s exactly what Federer did over a two-year span between 2003 and 2005. The week after winning his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003, he lost in the final of the clay-court event in Gstaad, Switzerland to Jiri Novak, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, and then didn’t lose another final until the very last week of the 2005 season, where he actually went up two sets to love against David Nalbandian in the final of the ATP Finals in Shanghai—and even served for the match at 5-4 in the fifth set—before ultimately falling to the Argentine, 6-7 (4), 6-7 (11), 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (3), after four hours and 33 minutes.

It’s still the longest winning streak in tour-level finals for a man in the Open Era.

And no one else really comes close to Federer's record—the second-longest streak belongs to Bjorn Borg, who won 15 finals in a row between 1979 and 1980.

Rafael Nadal’s longest winning streak in tour-level finals was 14 in a row between 2005 and 2006, while Novak Djokovic won 10 finals in a row from 2015 to 2016.

FEDERER IN FINALS FROM OCTOBER 2003 TO NOVEMBER 2005:

• d. Moya in 2003 Vienna F, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3
• d. Agassi in 2003 ATP Finals F, 6-3, 6-0, 6-4
• d. Safin in 2004 Australian Open F, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-2
• d. Lopez in 2004 Dubai F, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
• d. Henman in 2004 Indian Wells F, 6-3, 6-3
• d. Coria in 2004 Hamburg F, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3
• d. Fish in 2004 Halle F, 6-0, 6-3
• d. Roddick in 2004 Wimbledon F, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-4
• d. Andreev in 2004 Gstaad F, 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
• d. Roddick in 2004 Canada F, 7-5, 6-3
• d. Hewitt in 2004 US Open F, 6-0, 7-6 (3), 6-0
• d. Roddick in 2004 Bangkok F, 6-4, 6-0
• d. Hewitt in 2004 ATP Finals F, 6-3, 6-2
• d. Ljubicic in 2005 Doha F, 6-3, 6-1
• d. Ljubicic in 2005 Rotterdam F, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (5)
• d. Ljubicic in 2005 Dubai F, 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-3
• d. Hewitt in 2005 Indian Wells F, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4
• d. Nadal in 2005 Miami F, 2-6, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-1
• d. Gasquet in 2005 Hamburg F, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (4)
• d. Safin in 2005 Halle F, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4
• d. Roddick in 2005 Wimbledon F, 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-4
• d. Roddick in 2005 Cincinnati F, 6-3, 7-5
• d. Agassi in 2005 US Open F, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-1
• d. Murray in 2005 Bangkok F, 6-3, 7-5
• l. to Nalbandian in 2005 ATP Finals F, 6-7 (4), 6-7 (11), 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (3)

“I knew I was putting all those records on the line when I came here,” Federer said after his razor-thin loss to Nalbandian in Shanghai. “So that it happened is, sort of in a way, almost normal. It’s just a pity now that I was so close.”