The ATP top 10 comprised several iconic figures when Roger Federer first became world number one in 2004.
Federer climbed to the summit on 2 February that year, and remarkably did not lose his number one spot until August 2008.
It was his fierce rival Rafael Nadal who eclipsed him at that stage, but only after the Swiss legend had led the way for a record 237 weeks.
Federer started his stunning journey following the 2004 Australian Open, when the ATP top 10 looked very intriguing to say the least.
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The ATP top 10 when Roger Federer first became No. 1
Federer secured his maiden spot at the top by defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the semifinals of the 2004 Australian Open.
The 22-year-old was guaranteed to surpass incumbent Andy Roddick, who fell in the quarterfinals in Melbourne, although he did incidentally go on to win the title.
That arrived via a final victory over Marat Safin, who had knocked out Roddick and subsequently Andre Agassi in the semifinals.
Federer climbed one spot to first place, with Carlos Ferrero also rising one spot to second as Roddick dropped two places to third.
Guillermo Coria and Agassi were in fourth and fifth respectively, while Rainer Schuettler, Carlos Moya, David Nalbandian, Mark Philippoussis and Paradorn Srichaphan completed the top 10.
| 1 | Roger Federer | ||||||
| 2 | Juan Carlos Ferrero | ||||||
| 3 | Andy Roddick | ||||||
| 4 | Guillermo Coria | ||||||
| 5 | Andre Agassi | ||||||
| 6 | Rainer Schuettler | ||||||
| 7 | Carlos Moya | ||||||
| 8 | David Nalbandian | ||||||
| 9 | Mark Philippoussis | ||||||
| 10 | Paradorn Srichaphan | ||||||
Roger Federer recalls becoming ATP number one for the first time
Now more than 20 years later, the 44-year-old has looked back on his impressive climb to the very top of the ATP rankings.
As quoted by the ATP website, he said: “When I was number one in the world for the first time in 2004, I didn’t want to have a rival.
“I just wanted to be the best, and then there was the rest, basically.”
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He certainly lived up to those comments, having made the spot his own after the number one ranking had changed five times throughout the 2023 season.
His spell remains the longest run at number one, well ahead of Jimmy Connors in second with 160, and Ivan Lendl in third with 157.
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