More records stack up for Roger Federer, but one Wimbledon record was rather less welcome

It seemed a simple enough task for a man who has reached the final at Wimbledon 10 times, has won a record-equalling seven titles here, was junior champion in singles and doubles at the age of 16, is appearing in his 19th consecutive Championships, and has won more grass titles, 16, than any other man.

Roger Federer needed only to win his opening match this year to take Jimmy Connors’ record for the most match-wins on Wimbledon’s famous grass. It would be his 85th.

And bearing in mind that he was also on the verge of taking the record for most consecutive second-round appearances here, too, the odds were certainly stacked in the Swiss champion’s favour.

Not that his first match this year was, on paper, a straightforward one. Alexandr Dolgopolov, a former world No13, owns one of the more unconventional games on a tennis court. It begins with his quick, abbreviated service motion, transfers to his bouncing ground strokes, finds expression in exaggerated slice and in tactics that embrace drop-shots and lobs with ease. It can be akin to watching quicksilver, one moment brilliant, the next disastrous.

It so happened that the 28-year-old Ukrainian was going for his 200th match-win, but despite this year winning his third title, his first in over five years, he continued to be plagued by injuries that, in the last 18 months alone, included hip, groin, shoulder, abdomen, back and leg.

In any case, Dolgopolov’s achievements this year were put in the deepest of shade by the winning ways of Federer, who had picked up titles at the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami, plus his ninth Halle title.

What few anticipated, though, was just how simple a task his 85th match-win on his favourite court in the world would be. He broke immediately, 2-0, and broke again to take the first set, 6-3, in under half an hour with 10 winners to five errors.

Then alarm bells rang as Dolgopolov sought medical advice during the change-over, and although he continued briefly, with Federer leading by a set and 3-0, the Ukrainian walked to the net to retire.

It certainly was not the way Federer would have wanted to take his latest record, though it was long enough, at 42 minutes, to clock up the 10 aces he required to take him past another career milestone: 10,000 aces. And only the biggest servers in the sport, the big Goran Ivanisevic and the even taller Ivo Karlovic, have hit more since records began in 1991.

Federer has still more records on the line here, too. Already he has equalled Fabrice Santoro’s record of 70 Major appearances, and if Federer should go on to extend his record tally of Majors to 19 and top the record for Wimbledon men’s titles set by Pete Sampras, he would, at almost 36 years of age, also become the oldest man in the Open Era to win the Wimbledon title.

There are, of course, a lot of ‘ifs’ in that package, and in truth, his 85th win here was over too quickly to judge just how likely he is to achieve his goal.

Unfortunately, the same was true of No2 seed Novak Djokovic, whose match was terminated with an almost identical score and time when Martin Klizan retired in the third game of the second set having lost the first.

Klizan, like Dolgopolov, has been carrying an injury for a good part of the season, and came to court with a heavily strapped calf. After medical consultation, he decided he could not continue.

No surprise, of course, that the packed centre court let out a communal groan when history repeated within an hour. Many of those who enjoyed prime seats did so because of their dedication to their respective favourites. Fans camp for up to two days—taking advantage of the unique Wimbledon queue—to get the best seats in the house. They, and those who had paid for tickets via the ballot, were hugely disappointed.

That the two withdrawals were so high profile, and back-to-back, threw into sharp relief a problem that was unfolding across the men’s draw. On Monday, there had been three retirements in the top half, and on Tuesday, there were two more retirements on top of Klizan and Dolgopolov.

In fairness to Feliciano Lopez and Denis Istomin, both had gone deep into their matches, more than two hours apiece, before injury forced a halt in their fourth sets.

But the others retirements were similar to those faced by Federer and Djokovic. In fact, two of them lasted only a quarter of an hour apiece.

Naturally, the views of the two former champions, both of them also current or former members of the ATP Players Council, were sought. For on the professional tour, a man who is unfit to play his match can keep his first-round earnings, but vacate his spot to a lucky loser. It’s a solution that adds a modest amount to a tournament’s bill but ensures that the often money-strapped lower-ranked players do not end up out of pocket. Just as important, it gives the paying public a complete, competitive match.

The four Majors do not have this system: Had Klizan or Viktor Troicki or Janko Tipsarevic pulled out before their first matches, they would also have given up their first-round earnings worth £32,000.

Both Federer and Djokovic, both politically astute and articulate, were in favour of extending the same rules across the board.

Federer: “When you’re down a set and a break… if you feel like [the pain] is getting worse and you can hurt yourself even further, it is better to stop. The question always is, should they have started the match at all. That only the player can answer. You hope that they would give up their spot for somebody else, even though they deserve to be in there.

“On the ATP, we have a different situation, where if you can’t play, you still get your prize money twice in the year. Maybe the Grand Slams should adopt some of that, then maybe we would eliminate half of the players [who had to retire]. For some of them, maybe something really did happen. Now you’re thrown in the same basket, so that’s rough.”

“Like you said, it’s a lot of money. For some, they just want to be out there because they feel like miracles happen: Maybe the other guy retires, or maybe the other guy is carrying an injury. If I win, have a day off, maybe I will feel better on Thursday. All these things play into the equation as well. Could be rain, come back the next day. You never know what the player’s motives are.”

Djokovic: “I think the new rule that the ATP has introduced allows players who deserve it already, who have made it to the Grand Slam main draw, get what they deserve, but on the other hand allow someone else to play if they can. I support that kind of rule.

“This tournament has a special place in players’ careers. There’s so much weight behind it and significance about it, the aura of Wimbledon has probably always been the strongest of any other tournament. I’m sure that most of the players on the tour, if not all, feel that. Especially if you walk out on the Centre Court, there is a responsibility. I’m sure they tried their best, but it is what it is.”

The tournament, the paying public, the campers, and probably the players most of all, will hope Wimbledon does not go on to set a new record in the coming days. As it is, seven first-round retirements equals its 2008 record.

With the weight of the likes of Federer and Djokovic behind change, can it be long before the rules become the same whatever the tournament?