2016 Roger Federer tennis season

Last updated
2016 Roger Federer tennis season
Full nameRoger Federer
CountryFlag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland
Calendar prize money$1,527,269
Singles
Season record21–7 (75.0%)
Year-end rankingNo. 16
Ranking change from previous yearDecrease2.svg 13
Grand Slam & significant results
Australian Open SF
French Open A
Wimbledon SF
US Open A
Other tournaments
Olympic Games A
Doubles
Season record0–0
Year-end rankingUnranked
Mixed doubles
Season record0–0
Other Mixed Doubles tournaments
Olympic Games A
Injuries
InjuriesKnee injury following Australian Open and Wimbledon (season ending)
Back injury following Monte-Carlo Masters
2015
2017

Roger Federer's 2016 tennis season officially commenced on 3 January 2016, with the start of the Brisbane International, and ended on 8 July 2016, with a loss in the semifinals of the Wimbledon Championships.

Contents

This season saw Federer suffer from a knee injury which sidelined him for the majority of the year. After surgery, Federer returned but was hindered by a back injury which kept him out of the French Open, therefore ending his record of 65 consecutive appearances at Grand Slam tournaments.

On July 26 Federer officially ended his season early, not wanting to risk damaging his knee further. [1] Federer would thus end the year at No. 16 in the ATP rankings, marking the first time that he dropped out of the top 10 since 2002. Additionally, this was the first season since 2000 in which Federer did not win a singles title.

Year summary

Early hard court season

Brisbane International

Federer opened his season at the Brisbane International for the third consecutive year, after winning the title in 2015. As the top seed, he received a bye in the first round. Although suffering with the flu virus, he beat Tobias Kamke in the second round in straight sets. [2] He then defeated Grigor Dimitrov in three sets to advance to the semifinals. [3] In the semifinals, he defeated Dominic Thiem in straight sets to advance to his third consecutive final at the tournament. He faced Milos Raonic in a repeat of the 2015 final, losing in straight sets. According with himself, Federer's performance was hindered throughout the tournament due to the flu virus. [4]

Australian Open

Federer entered the Australian Open as the third seed. He defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili and Alexandr Dolgopolov, both in three straight sets to advance to the third round. There, he beat Grigor Dimitrov in four sets, in a win that marked Federer's 300th match win at a Grand Slam. He became the first man in the open era to reach this milestone and the second overall player behind Martina Navratilova, who won 306 matches. [5] He reached the quarterfinals with an easy three set win over David Goffin in the fourth round. He then defeated Tomáš Berdych in straight sets to advance to his 12th Australian Open semifinal, where he faced Novak Djokovic in their first match of the year and their 45th meeting overall. Federer lost the match in four sets and this loss put Djokovic ahead in their rivalry for the first time.

Injury hiatus

In the day after his loss to Djokovic, Federer sustained a knee injury. In early February, he underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus, thus missing both the scheduled Rotterdam Open and Dubai Tennis Championships. [6] Later in the month, Federer announced he would also miss the Indian Wells Masters. [7] In March, it was confirmed that he would make his return at the Miami Open. [8]

Miami Open

As the third seed, and after a first round bye, Federer was scheduled to face Juan Martín del Potro in the second round in his comeback match. However, he would pull out of the tournament due to contracting a stomach virus, thus prolonging his time on the sidelines.[ citation needed ]

Spring clay court season

Monte-Carlo Masters

After a ten-week hiatus, Federer made his return at the first clay court Masters 1000 tournament, the Monte-Carlo Masters. As the third seed, he received a first round bye and in the second round won his first match since January by defeating Guillermo García López in straight sets to advance to the third round. He proceeded to defeat Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the quarterfinals, where he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three sets despite being two points away from the win.

Madrid Open

Federer was expected to play the Madrid Open, but he was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a back injury. [9]

Italian Open

Upon pulling out of Madrid, Federer entered the Italian Open. Despite that, and after a first round bye, he stated that he almost withdrew prior to his opening round due to lingering fitness issues. However, after a morning practice, he decided to play rising teenage star Alexander Zverev, defeating him in straight sets. Again at the last minute, Federer decided to play his third round match against Dominic Thiem, but this time he was beaten in straight sets as the back injury continued to hamper his speed and movement. This tournament cast further doubt on Federer's participation in the upcoming French Open.

Federer ended up withdrawing from the second major of the year not wanting to further aggravate his injury before the start of the grass court season. That marked the end of his all-time record run of 65 consecutive appearances at majors, which began in the 2000 Australian Open.

Grass court season

Stuttgart Open

Federer took advantage of the recently expanded grass court season, first instituted in 2015, by playing in a newly minted grass court tournament, the Stuttgart Open. After a bye in the first round he started the tournament by defeating Taylor Fritz in three sets, in a rainy match played over two days. In the quarterfinals, he defeated qualifier Florian Mayer in straight sets, advancing to the semifinals. In the semifinals, he lost to No. 3 seed Dominic Thiem after holding two match points in the second set tiebreak. He lost a grass court match after having a match point for only the second time in his career.

Halle Open

Federer then entered the Halle Open as an eight-time champion and three-time defending champion. He defeated Jan-Lennard Struff, Malek Jaziri and David Goffin in the first three rounds, reaching the semifinals without losing a set in the process. In the semifinals, however, he lost to 19-year-old Alexander Zverev in three sets. Remarkably, this was the first time in which Federer lost before the final in this tournament since the 2002 edition.

Wimbledon

After a short break, Federer travelled to London to play Wimbledon, his second major of the year. He began the tournament with victories over Guido Pella, qualifier Marcus Willis, Daniel Evans and Steve Johnson, all in straight sets, reaching the quarterfinals in the process. In the quarterfinals he played and defeated Marin Čilić in an extremely tight match, in which he lost the first two sets before coming back to win the next three, saving three match points in the fourth set. However, he ended up losing to world No. 7 Milos Raonic in the semifinals after another tight five-setter.

Out for the rest of the season

On July 26 Federer announced that he would not play anymore in 2016, due to a knee injury, therefore not being able to defend his titles at the Cincinnati Masters and the Swiss Indoors as well as the runner-up position at the US Open. As a result, Federer dropped out of the top 5 in the ATP rankings for the first time since the week of 3 March 2014. [10] His ranking also fell out of the top 10 for the first time since 2002, ending a remarkably 14-year streak. This was also the first season since 2000 in which Federer did not win a singles title in a calendar year.

All matches

This table chronicles all the matches of Roger Federer in 2016, including walkovers (W/O) which the ATP does not count as wins or losses.

Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#P#DNQAZ#POGSBNMSNTIPNH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles matches

TournamentMatchRoundOpponent (seed or key)RankResultScore
Brisbane International
Brisbane, Australia
ATP Tour 250
Hard, outdoor
3 – 10 January 2016
1RBye
1 / 12982R Flag of Germany.svg Tobias Kamke (Q)277Win6–2, 6–1
2 / 1299QF Flag of Bulgaria.svg Grigor Dimitrov 28Win6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–4
3 / 1300SF Flag of Austria.svg Dominic Thiem (8)20Win6–1, 6–4
4 / 1301F Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Milos Raonic (4)14Loss (1)4–6, 4–6
Australian Open
Melbourne, Australia
Grand Slam tournament
Hard, outdoor
18 – 31 January 2016
5 / 13021R Flag of Georgia.svg Nikoloz Basilashvili 118Win6–2, 6–1, 6–2
6 / 13032R Flag of Ukraine.svg Alexandr Dolgopolov 35Win6–3, 7–5, 6–1
7 / 13043R Flag of Bulgaria.svg Grigor Dimitrov (27)28Win6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4
8 / 13054R Flag of Belgium (civil).svg David Goffin (15)16Win6–2, 6–1, 6–4
9 / 1306QF Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Tomáš Berdych (6)6Win7–6(7–4), 6–2, 6–4
10 / 1307SF Flag of Serbia.svg Novak Djokovic (1)1Loss1–6, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Miami Open
Miami, United States
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Hard, outdoor
21 March – 3 April 2016
Withdrew
Monte-Carlo Masters
Monte Carlo, Monaco
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Clay, outdoor
10 – 17 April 2016
1RBye
11 / 13082R Flag of Spain.svg Guillermo García López 38Win6–3, 6–4
12 / 13093R Flag of Spain.svg Roberto Bautista Agut (14)17Win6–2, 6–4
13 / 1310QF Flag of France.svg Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (8)9Loss6–3, 2–6, 5–7
Madrid Open
Madrid, Spain
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Clay, outdoor
30 April – 8 May 2016
Withdrew
Italian Open
Rome, Italy
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Clay, outdoor
9 – 15 May 2016
1RBye
14 / 13112R Flag of Germany.svg Alexander Zverev 44Win6–3, 7–5
15 / 13123R Flag of Austria.svg Dominic Thiem (13)15Loss6–7(2–7), 4–6
Stuttgart Open
Stuttgart, Germany
ATP Tour 250
Grass, outdoor
6 – 13 June 2016
1RBye
16 / 13132R Flag of the United States.svg Taylor Fritz 65Win6–4, 5–7, 6–4
17 / 1314QF Flag of Germany.svg Florian Mayer (Q)226Win7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–1)
18 / 1315SF Flag of Austria.svg Dominic Thiem (3)7Loss6–3, 6–7(7–9), 4–6
Halle Open
Halle, Germany
ATP Tour 500
Grass, outdoor
13 – 19 June 2016
19 / 13161R Flag of Germany.svg Jan-Lennard Struff (WC)88Win6–4, 7–6(7–3)
20 / 13172R Flag of Tunisia.svg Malek Jaziri 64Win6–3, 7–5
21 / 1318QF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg David Goffin (5)11Win6–1, 7–6(12–10)
22 / 1319SF Flag of Germany.svg Alexander Zverev 38Loss6–7(4–7), 7–5, 3–6
Wimbledon Championships
London, United Kingdom
Grand Slam tournament
Grass, outdoor
27 June – 10 July 2016
23 / 13201R Flag of Argentina.svg Guido Pella 52Win7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–3), 6–3
24 / 13212R Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Marcus Willis (Q)772Win6–0, 6–3, 6–4
25 / 13223R Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Daniel Evans 91Win6–4, 6–2, 6–2
26 / 13234R Flag of the United States.svg Steve Johnson 29Win6–2, 6–3, 7–5
27 / 1324QF Flag of Croatia.svg Marin Čilić (9)13Win6–7(4–7), 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(11–9), 6–3
28 / 1325SF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Milos Raonic (6)7Loss3–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–4, 5–7, 3–6

Schedule

Singles schedule

DateTournamentLocationCategorySurfacePrev.
result
Prev.
points
New
points
Result
3 January 2016–
10 January 2016
Brisbane International Brisbane (AUS) 250 Series HardW250150Final (lost to Milos Raonic, 4–6, 4–6)
18 January 2016–
31 January 2016
Australian Open Melbourne (AUS) Grand Slam Hard3R90720Semifinals (lost to Novak Djokovic, 1–6, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6)
21 March 2016–
3 April 2016
Miami Open Miami (USA) Masters 1000 HardAN/AN/AWithdrew due to stomach virus
10 April 2016–
17 April 2016
Monte-Carlo Masters Monte Carlo (MON)Masters 1000Clay3R90180Quarterfinals (lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6–3, 2–6, 5–7)
30 April 2016–
8 May 2016
Madrid Open Madrid (ESP)Masters 1000Clay2R10N/AWithdrew due to back injury
9 May 2016–
15 May 2016
Italian Open Rome (ITA)Masters 1000ClayF60090Third round (lost to Dominic Thiem 6–7(2–7), 4–6)
6 June 2016–
13 June 2016
Stuttgart Open Stuttgart (GER)250 SeriesGrassAN/A90Semifinals (lost to Dominic Thiem, 6–3, 6–7(7–9), 4–6)
13 June 2016–
19 June 2016
Halle Open Halle (GER) 500 Series GrassW500180Semifinals (lost to Alexander Zverev, 6–7(4–7), 7–5, 3–6)
27 June 2016–
10 July 2016
Wimbledon London (GBR)Grand SlamGrassF1200720Semifinals (lost to Milos Raonic, 3–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–4, 5–7, 3–6)
Total year-end points82652130Decrease2.svg6135difference

Yearly records

Head-to-head matchups

Roger Federer has a 21–7 (75.0%) ATP match win–loss record in the 2016 season. His record against players who were part of the ATP rankings Top Ten at the time of their meetings is 1–4 (20.0%). Bold indicates player was ranked top 10 at time of at least one meeting. The following list is ordered by number of wins:

Finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Category
Grand Slam (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 250 (0–1)
Titles by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Titles by setting
Outdoor (0–1)
Indoor (0–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss0–1 Jan 2016 Brisbane International, Australia250 SeriesHard Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Milos Raonic 4–6, 4–6

Earnings

EventPrize moneyYear-to-date
Brisbane International $37,900$37,900
Australian Open A$750,000$552,325
Monte-Carlo Masters €90,010$654,873
Italian Open €46,740$708,171
Stuttgart Open €30,790$743,163
Halle Open €90,235$844,669
Wimbledon £500,000$1,527,269
$1,527,269

Figures in United States dollars (USD) unless noted.

Awards

See also

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