How Many Times Roger Federer Narrowly Scraped Victories After Saving Match Points

Throughout his career, Swiss Maestro Roger Federer has been enjoyed dominating victories. However, there have been times when he has been made to work a lot and save match points to win the match. Here are all of those times.

1999 Rotterdam Open – First Time Roger Federer Saved Match Points

The first time that Roger saved a match point to win a match was at the 1999 Rotterdam Open. In the first round, the Swiss Maestro saved 2 match points beat Guillermo Raoux 6-7, 7-5, 7-6. He would go on to reach the quarter-finals where he lost to eventual winner Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

2000 Open 13

In the quarter-finals of the Open 13, Roger faced his future coach Ivan Ljubicic in the quarter-finals. He won 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, saving 2 points in the process. The Swiss Maestro went on reach his first ATP final at the event where he, unfortunately, lost to compatriot Marc Rosset.

2000 US Open

The 2000 US Open was Roger Federer’s first main draw appearance at the Grand Slam. In the first round, he faced Dutch player Peter Wessels who had a match point in the fourth set. He was able to save it and he won the match as Wessels retired in the fifth set.

2000 Basel

In the semi-finals of the Basel Open, Federer faced off against one of his biggest rivals – Lleyton Hewitt. They both played an amazing match and Lleyton nearly won it as he had a match point in the third set. However, Roger pulled out some of his best tennis and managed to win 6-4, 5-7, 7-6.

Rome 2001

In the 2001 Rome Masters, Federer faced off against Thomas Johansson. He saved one match point in the third set and won 7-6, 5-7, 7-6. None of their future matches would ever be so close and Roger won them in dominating fashion.

2001 Vienna

In the third round of the 2001 Vienna Open, Federer battled against Nicolas Massu. It was their first meeting and it was a very close contest. Massu played incredibly well and had three opportunities to win the match in straight sets. However, Roger saved them all and was victorious 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.

2003 Cincinnati:  Roger Federer Saves 7 Match Points

Coming into the 2003 Cincinnati masters, Federer was in incredible form having won the Wimbledon title that year. This is why many expected him to beat Scott Draper easily in the round of 16. However, that did not happen as the Swiss Maestro was forced to save 7 match points in order to win 4-6, 6-3, 7-6.

2003 Paris:

At the 2003 Paris Masters, Federer faced off against Martin Verkerk in the round of 16. He was pushed to his limits as Martin had a total of 4 match points in the match. Luckily, Roger was able to save all of them and win 6-7, 7-6, 7-6.

2003 Tennis Masters Cup

At the 2003 Tennis Masters Cup, Federer battled against one of his biggest rivals – Andre Agassi. This was one of their tightest matches ever with Andre holding 2 match points in the 3rd Set. However, Roger bounced back to take the match 6-7, 6-3, 7-6.

2005 Dubai

From 2003-5, Federer didn’t have to save any match points to win. However, that streak came to an end against Juan Carlos Ferrero at the Dubai Open. The Spaniard had 2 match points in the last set but he couldn’t convert any of them as Federer won the match 4-6, 6-3, 7-6.

2006 Halle: Roger Federer Saves 4 Match Points

The Halle Open has been one of Roger’s favorite events. However, he has had many difficult matches there. One of those came in 2006 against Oliver Rochus. The Belgian had 4 match points but Federer wasn’t going to let it go so easily. He saved all of them and won 6-7, 7-6, 7-6.

2006 Masters Cup

At the 2006 Masters Cup, Roger played against Andy Roddick. Roddick played an incredible match and had opportunities 3 opportunities to win it in straight sets. However, he sadly ended up losing the match 4-6, 7-6, 6-4. He would be surely upset about this as he has only beaten Roger thrice in his career.

2011 Madrid

It had been 5 years since Federer had to save a match point to win. However, that ended when he played Feliciano Lopez in the 2011 Madrid Open. The Spaniard played the tennis of his life and had a match point in the final set. However, he failed to convert and Federer won the match 7-6, 6-7, 7-6.

2014 US Open

In the quarter-finals of the US Open, Federer battled against Gael Monfils. The Frenchman took a 2 sets to love lead, after which, Federer won the third. In the fourth set, Monfils had 2 match points but unfortunately, Federer saved them. The Swiss Maestro went on to win the match to complete one of his best comebacks.

2014 Shanghai

In the second round of the 2014 Shanghai Masters, Federer faced off against Leonardo Mayer.   He saved 5 match points in the third set to win one of the tightest matches of the event. This triumph proved to be crucial as Roger went on to win his first title at the tournament.

2014 ATP Finals

At the 2014 ATP Finals, Roger made it to the semi-finals, and there, he faced compatriot Stan Wawrinka. In a tough battle, Federer won the match after saving 4 match points. It was a great victory but unfortunately, he was forced to pull out of the final the very next day.

2016 Wimbledon

In the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon, Federer was down 2 sets to love against Marin Cilic. He managed to win the third set easily but was taken to a tiebreaker in the 4th. Cilic had 3 match points but Federer saved all of them and won it 11-9. He went on to win the last set 6-3 to progress to the semi-finals.

2017 Miami

Tomas Berdych has been a tough opponent for Federer and he was able to challenge him again at the 2017 Miami Open. Tomas played really well and that earned him 2 match points in the final set. Unfortunately, Roger came back and won the match. The Swiss Maestro later would go on to win the title which was absolutely amazing.

2018 Halle

In the round of 16 at the Halle Open, Roger faced off against Benoit Paire. Many were expecting an easy victory but Paire brought out his best tennis that day. He earned himself 2 match points in the last set but sadly, he couldn’t convert them and Federer ended up progressing to the next round

2019 Madrid

At the 2019 Madrid Open, Roger was playing on clay after a very long time. He was clearly rusty, and hence, Gael Monfils was able to challenge him in the match. He had 2 match points but like a true champion, Federer saved them and won the match

2019 Rome

Before the 2019 Rome Masters, Borna Coric had beaten Federer quite a few times and he was determined to do so again. He came very close as he held 2 match points in the last set but he sadly wasn’t able to convert them

2020 Australian Open

In the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, Tennys Sandgren played the tennis of his life against Federer. He had 7 opportunities  to win the match but Roger wasn’t going to let him have them. He held his nerve and ended up winning one of the most thrilling five-setters of the tournament.

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