Editing Roger Federer (section)

====2007: Holding off young rivals====
{{Main|2007 Roger Federer tennis season}}
In 2007, Federer reached all four Grand Slam singles finals, winning three of them again. At the [[2007 Australian Open|Australian Open]], he became the first man since [[Björn Borg]] in 1980 to win a major without dropping a set, beating [[Fernando González]] in the final.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/aus07/news/story?id=2744992|title=Federer defeats Gonzalez for 10th Grand Slam title|date=28 January 2007|publisher=ESPN|access-date=13 April 2017|archive-date=16 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116061428/http://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/aus07/news/story?id=2744992|url-status=live}}</ref> Federer captured his fourth Dubai crown to extend his winning streak to 41 matches, the longest of his career and only five shy of the all-time record. Federer then entered [[2007 Pacific Life Open – Men's singles|Indian Wells]] as the three-time defending champion, but his streak ended in controversy when he was defeated by [[Guillermo Cañas]], who had failed a drug test for illegal doping.<ref>{{cite web|first=Bonnie|last=DeSimone|title=Canas keeps the ball in court in doping case|url=http://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=2819004|publisher=[[ESPN]]|date=5 April 2007|access-date=22 October 2016|archive-date=26 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926114647/http://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=2819004|url-status=live}}</ref> This surprising first-round loss marked the first time that he was defeated since August 2006, a period spanning over seven months.<ref>{{Cite news|date=12 March 2007|title=Federer stunned by Canas on day of upsets|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tennis-men-pacific-idUSL1002391020070312|access-date=7 June 2020|archive-date=7 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607213129/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tennis-men-pacific-idUSL1002391020070312|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:The Mighty Federer cropped.jpg|thumb|Federer was called "Darth Federer" by fans and commentators at the 2007 US Open.]]

During the clay season, Federer snapped Nadal's 81-match winning streak on clay, an Open-era record, in the final of the [[2007 Hamburg Masters – Singles|Hamburg Masters]] after turning the match around from a set down, including a final set [[Bagel (tennis)|bagel]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=20 May 2007|title=Federer ends Nadal's clay streak in Hamburg|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tennis-men-masters-idUSL2034409220070520|access-date=7 June 2020|archive-date=7 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607213126/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tennis-men-masters-idUSL2034409220070520|url-status=live}}</ref> This win convinced some that Federer could win the [[2007 French Open – Men's singles|French Open]] to become the first man in almost 40 years to hold all four majors simultaneously, but instead he lost in a four-set final to Nadal again.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/2007/520/MS001/match-stats|title=Rafael Nadal VS. Roger Federer – Paris 2007|work=ATP World Tour |access-date=29 October 2017|archive-date=24 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424024338/http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/2007/520/MS001/match-stats|url-status=live}}</ref> At [[2007 Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon]], Federer defeated Nadal for a second consecutive year in the final, this time in a [[2007 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles final|thrilling five-set encounter]] that many analysts hailed as the greatest Wimbledon final since [[1980 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles final|1980]]. This victory equaled him with [[Björn Borg]] for the record of five consecutive Wimbledon championships.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 July 2007|title=Wimbledon: Roger Federer beats Rafael Nadal to win the men's singles final|url=http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/jul/08/tennis.wimbledon7|access-date=7 June 2020|website=The Guardian|archive-date=7 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607213142/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/jul/08/tennis.wimbledon7|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the [[2007 Rogers Masters – Singles|Canada Masters]], Federer lost in the final to [[Novak Djokovic]] in a final-set tiebreaker upset. Federer rebounded in [[2007 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters – Singles|Cincinnati]] to capture his fifth title of the year.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/jul/09/tennis.wimbledon |title=Federer's fifth and finest draws level with Borg |website=www.theguardian.com |date=9 July 2007 |access-date=16 December 2023 |archive-date=17 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217054527/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/jul/09/tennis.wimbledon |url-status=live }}</ref> Federer entered the [[2007 US Open (tennis)|US Open]] as the three-time defending champion and faced Djokovic in the final. This time, Federer prevailed in a close straight-set match.<ref>{{Cite news|date=9 September 2007|title=Federer wins fourth US Open title|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/6985663.stm|access-date=7 June 2020|archive-date=16 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116054648/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/6985663.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> This victory moved him ahead of Laver and Borg for third on the all-time list of major championship victories. He closed out the year with victories in [[Swiss Indoors|Basel]] and the [[ATP World Tour Finals|year-end championships]] in Shanghai.<ref>{{Cite news|date=18 November 2007|title=Supreme Federer destroys Ferrer|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/7100446.stm|access-date=7 June 2020|archive-date=6 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806203829/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/7100446.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

He finished the season as the year-end No. 1 for the fourth year in a row, compiling an impressive 68–9 record. After his phenomenal triple Grand Slam season yet again, Federer became the only player in history to win three majors in a year for three years (2004, 2006, 2007).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ausopen.com/history/great-champions/roger-federer |title=Roger Federer |website=ausopen.com |date=30 January 2017 |access-date=16 December 2023 |archive-date=17 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217054526/https://ausopen.com/history/great-champions/roger-federer |url-status=live }}</ref> It was the third consecutive season that Federer held the No. 1 ranking for all 52 weeks of the year.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Allen|first=J. A.|title=10 Records Roger Federer Will Never Equal or Break|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1371892-ten-records-roger-federer-will-never-equal-or-break|access-date=7 June 2020|website=Bleacher Report|archive-date=7 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607213129/https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1371892-ten-records-roger-federer-will-never-equal-or-break|url-status=live}}</ref>