Federer's assault on ATP record book continues

LONDON, June 17 (UPI) -- Roger Federer continued his climb in the ATP record book with his win at the Gerry Weber Open.

Federer defeated Mikhail Youzhny in Sunday's final 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4. He moved to 15-0 in his career against Youzhny.

More to the point, however, is that the title was the 77th of Federer's career, which ties John McEnroe for third place all-time behind Jimmy Connors (109) and Ivan Lendl (94). It also gives Federer 13 consecutive years with at least one championship, tying Connors and trailing only Lendl, who won titles in 14 consecutive years over 1980-93.

No one has more grass court titles than Federer (13), with seven coming at Wimbledon and six at the Gerry Weber. His 57 outdoor championships also lead the ATP record book.

He has 121 match wins on grass courts and only Connors (168) had more. However, Federer's winning percentage is 87.68 and No. 1 in that category. He's only lost 17 grass-court matches in his career.

That would seem to make him at least a betting interest at Wimbledon, which begins June 24 and where Federer is the defending champion. But the top of the field is very strong as organizers prepare to announce the seedings and draws this week.

Going into the tournament, Novak Djokovic is No. 1 in the world, having gone 33-5 with three titles -- including the Australian Open -- this year. Second in the rankings is Andy Murray, who rebounded from a back injury to win last week's Aegon Championships for his third championship in 2013.

Federer is third followed by David Ferrer, with a pair of titles and four runner-up finishes in 2013. Then there is Rafael Nadal, the French Open champion and owner of a 43-2 record and seven titles and two seconds in nine tournaments this year.

It will be a tough top of the field for Federer to repeat Wimbledon.

There were no changes in the top of the men's world tennis rankings this week. The Top 10, with home country and rankings points, in the final update before the Wimbledon draw is announced:

1. Novak Djokovic, Serbia, 11,830

2. Andy Murray, Great Britain, 8,560

3. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 7,740

4. David Ferrer, Spain, 7,220

5. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 6,895

6. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic,4,515

7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France, 4,155

8. Juan Martin del Del Potro, Argentina, 3,960

9. Richard Gasquet, France, 3,135

10. Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland, 2,810