Roger Federer completes most appearances by any men's player in Australian Open history

When Roger Federer walked onto the Rod Laver Arena on Monday, he achieved another milestone in his illustrious career. It was his 21st singles appearance at the Australian Open – the most number of times a male player has taken the court at the Australian Open. Federer broke Australian Lleyton Hewitt’s record of 20 appearances. Feliciano Lopez and Fabrice Santoro are the other two players who have played the most number of times in Australian Open – 18 times.

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During the milestone match, Federer looked extremely comfortable on the familiar turf of Rod Laver Arena. The World No.3 cruised to an easy win against Steve Johnson of the United States of America. Federer won the match 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, putting on a breathtaking display of tennis.

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During his pre-match conference, Federer had claimed that he had little expectations for the tournament. However, after his display on the court, that should change. The Swiss ace broke Johnson five times and maintained his record of staying undefeated in the opening match of the Australian Open. He has never lost at the Australian Open before the third round.

Roger Federer's records

So far, Federer has won 97 matches in Australian Open, which is the most by any player at the tournament. Before his win on Monday, the 20-time Grand Slam champion's last victory in Australian Open came in 2019 after beating American Taylor Fritz in the third round in straight sets. Two more wins at this year’s Australian Open will make Federer the first player to win 100 matches at the tournament. It would make the Swiss the only player to reach the landmark of triple-digit victories at two different tournaments. He already has 101 wins at the Wimbledon Championships.

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