2016 Roger Federer tennis season

The 2016 Roger Federer 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.

2016 Roger Federer tennis season

Full name	Roger Federer
Country	Switzerland
Calendar prize money	$1,527,269
Singles
Season record	21–7 (75.0%)
Year-end ranking	No. 16
Ranking change from previous year	13
Grand Slam & significant results
Australian Open	SF
French Open	A
Wimbledon	SF
US Open	A
Other tournaments
Olympic Games	A
Doubles
Season record	0–0
Year-end ranking	Unranked
Mixed Doubles
Season record	0–0
Other Mixed Doubles tournaments
Olympic Games	A
Injuries
Injuries	Knee injury following Australian Open and Wimbledon (season ending) Back injury following Monte-Carlo Masters

This season saw Federer suffer from a knee injury which sidelined him for the majority of the year. After having 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 shut down his season, not wanting to risk damaging his knee further.[1] Federer would 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

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 last year's 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.

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 withdrew 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.

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][11] 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

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

A

P

Z#

PO

G

F-S

SF-B

NMS

NH

(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (P) postponed; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)

Singles matches

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponent (Seed or Key)	Rank	Result	Score
Brisbane International Brisbane, Australia ATP Tour 250 Hard, outdoor 3 – 10 January 2016
	–	1R	Bye
	1 / 1298	2R	Tobias Kamke (Q)	277	Win	6–2, 6–1
	2 / 1299	QF	Grigor Dimitrov	28	Win	6–4, 6–7^(4–7), 6–4
	3 / 1300	SF	Dominic Thiem (8)	20	Win	6–1, 6–4
	4 / 1301	F	Milos Raonic (4)	14	Loss (1)	4–6, 4–6
Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam tournament Hard, outdoor 18 – 31 January 2016
	5 / 1302	1R	Nikoloz Basilashvili	118	Win	6–2, 6–1, 6–2
	6 / 1303	2R	Alexandr Dolgopolov	35	Win	6–3, 7–5, 6–1
	7 / 1304	3R	Grigor Dimitrov (27)	28	Win	6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4
	8 / 1305	4R	David Goffin (15)	16	Win	6–2, 6–1, 6–4
	9 / 1306	QF	Tomáš Berdych (6)	6	Win	7–6^(7–4), 6–2, 6–4
	10 / 1307	SF	Novak Djokovic (1)	1	Loss	1–6, 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
	–	1R	Bye
	11 / 1308	2R	Guillermo García López	38	Win	6–3, 6–4
	12 / 1309	3R	Roberto Bautista Agut (14)	17	Win	6–2, 6–4
	13 / 1310	QF	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (8)	9	Loss	6–3, 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
	–	1R	Bye
	14 / 1311	2R	Alexander Zverev	44	Win	6–3, 7–5
	15 / 1312	3R	Dominic Thiem (13)	15	Loss	6–7^(2–7), 4–6
Stuttgart Open Stuttgart, Germany ATP Tour 250 Grass, outdoor 6 – 13 June 2016
	–	1R	Bye
	16 / 1313	2R	Taylor Fritz	65	Win	6–4, 5–7, 6–4
	17 / 1314	QF	Florian Mayer (Q)	226	Win	7–6^(7–2), 7–6^(7–1)
	18 / 1315	SF	Dominic Thiem (3)	7	Loss	6–3, 6–7^(7–9), 4–6
Halle Open Halle, Germany ATP Tour 500 Grass, outdoor 13 – 19 June 2016
	19 / 1316	1R	Jan-Lennard Struff (WC)	88	Win	6–4, 7–6^(7–3)
	20 / 1317	2R	Malek Jaziri	64	Win	6–3, 7–5
	21 / 1318	QF	David Goffin (5)	11	Win	6–1, 7–6^(12–10)
	22 / 1319	SF	Alexander Zverev	38	Loss	6–7^(4–7), 7–5, 3–6
Wimbledon Championships London, United Kingdom Grand Slam tournament Grass, outdoor 27 June – 10 July 2016
	23 / 1320	1R	Guido Pella	52	Win	7–6^(7–5), 7–6^(7–3), 6–3
	24 / 1321	2R	Marcus Willis (Q)	772	Win	6–0, 6–3, 6–4
	25 / 1322	3R	Daniel Evans	91	Win	6–4, 6–2, 6–2
	26 / 1323	4R	Steve Johnson	29	Win	6–2, 6–3, 7–5
	27 / 1324	QF	Marin Čilić (9)	13	Win	6–7^(4–7), 4–6, 6–3, 7–6^(11–9), 6–3
	28 / 1325	SF	Milos Raonic (6)	7	Loss	3–6, 7–6^(7–3), 6–4, 5–7, 3–6

Schedule

Singles schedule

Date	Tournament	Location	Category	Surface	Prev. result	Prev. points	New points	Result
3 January 2016– 10 January 2016	Brisbane International	Brisbane (AUS)	250 Series	Hard	W	250	150	Final (lost to Milos Raonic, 4–6, 4–6)
18 January 2016– 31 January 2016	Australian Open	Melbourne (AUS)	Grand Slam	Hard	3R	90	720	Semifinals (lost to Novak Djokovic, 1–6, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6)
21 March 2016– 3 April 2016	Miami Open	Miami (USA)	Masters 1000	Hard	A	N/A	N/A	Withdrew due to stomach virus
10 April 2016– 17 April 2016	Monte-Carlo Masters	Monte Carlo (MON)	Masters 1000	Clay	3R	90	180	Quarterfinals (lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6–3, 2–6, 5–7)
30 April 2016– 8 May 2016	Madrid Open	Madrid (ESP)	Masters 1000	Clay	2R	10	N/A	Withdrew due to back injury
9 May 2016– 15 May 2016	Italian Open	Rome (ITA)	Masters 1000	Clay	F	600	90	Third round (lost to Dominic Thiem 6–7^(2–7), 4–6)
6 June 2016– 13 June 2016	Stuttgart Open	Stuttgart (GER)	250 Series	Grass	A	N/A	90	Semifinals (lost to Dominic Thiem, 6–3, 6–7^(7–9), 4–6)
13 June 2016– 19 June 2016	Halle Open	Halle (GER)	500 Series	Grass	W	500	180	Semifinals (lost to Alexander Zverev, 6–7^(4–7), 7–5, 3–6)
27 June 2016– 10 July 2016	Wimbledon	London (GBR)	Grand Slam	Grass	F	1200	720	Semifinals (lost to Milos Raonic, 3–6, 7–6^(7–3), 6–4, 5–7, 3–6)
Total year-end points						8265	2130	6135 difference

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:

• Grigor Dimitrov 2–0
• David Goffin 2–0
• Nikoloz Basilashvili 1–0
• Roberto Bautista Agut 1–0
• Tomáš Berdych 1–0
• Marin Čilić 1–0
• Alexandr Dolgopolov 1–0
• Daniel Evans 1–0
• Taylor Fritz 1–0
• Guillermo García-López 1–0
• Malek Jaziri 1–0
• Steve Johnson 1–0
• Tobias Kamke 1–0
• Florian Mayer 1–0
• Guido Pella 1–0
• Jan-Lennard Struff 1–0
• Marcus Willis 1–0
• Alexander Zverev 1–1
• Dominic Thiem 1–2
• Novak Djokovic 0–1
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 0–1
• Milos Raonic 0–2

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)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Jan 2016	Brisbane International, Australia	250 Series	Hard	Milos Raonic	4–6, 4–6

Earnings

Event	Prize money	Year-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

• Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award[12]
  • Record twelfth award in career (sixth consecutive)
• ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favourite[12]
  • Record fourteenth consecutive award in career

See also

• 2016 ATP World Tour
• 2016 Rafael Nadal tennis season
• 2016 Novak Djokovic tennis season
• 2016 Andy Murray tennis season
• 2016 Stan Wawrinka tennis season

References

1. AP. "Federer to miss Rio Olympics, rest of season to protect surgically-repaired knee", Tennis, 26 July 2016. Retrieved on 15 February 2018.
2. "Roger Federer soldiers on with flu, thrashes opponent". Retrieved 8 January 2016.
3. "ESPN: Federer advances to semifinals". Retrieved 8 January 2016.
4. "Federer to "rest up" following flu affected performance in Brisbane". Retrieved 11 January 2016.
5. "300: Federer Reaches Slam Milestone". Retrieved 22 January 2016.
6. "Roger Federer faces a month on sidelines after knee surgery". The Guardian/Reuters. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
7. "Federer withdraws from Indian Wells". Retrieved 26 February 2016.
8. "Roger Federer to make return at Miami Open". ESPN/PA Sport. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
9. Rothenberg, Ben. "Roger Federer Withdraws From Madrid Open, Citing Back Injury", The New York Times, 2 May 2016. Retrieved on 5 July 2018.
10. "Roger Federer". www.facebook.com.
11. "Federer to miss Rio Olympics, rest of season to protect surgically-repaired knee". Tennis.com.
12. "Federer, Del Potro, Bryans Honoured In 2016 ATP World Tour Awards". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved 11 November 2016.