Roger Federer reflects on becoming the first player to be ranked No. 1 for 300 weeks.
“It’s obviously an amazing number,” Federer told reporters. “I never thought of something like this when I was a little kid, that’s for sure. I was just hoping one day my dream was going to come true to play on the regular tour, play Wimbledon, maybe become world No. 1 at some stage. So here I am at 300 weeks. It’s pretty incredible. Probably one of my biggest accomplishments. I’m very proud of that record, no doubt about it … Obviously I lost the world No. 1 ranking a few times, but I also stayed a long time once I got there. I always felt tennis was easier for me playing as world No. 1 than actually getting there.”
The 31-year-old Swiss says that what satisfies him most about achieving the goal is that it shows him that all of his hard work has paid off.
“I never give up,” Federer said. “Show up, tired, injured, doesn’t matter how I felt mentally so many times over the years. It’s gotten to this incredible number of 300. It’s a great reward for me. I know how much work it has been. It’s not easy to stay at the top for so long and handle all the obligations that go with just playing tennis. It’s not how I envisaged the whole career really, having to do so much press, promotion work, you name it. It came sort of out of the blue for me quite honestly. I think I've handled it really, really well. That’s also one of the reasons I’ve been able to play for so long and so successfully.”