"I always thought it was impossible" - When Tiger Woods inspired Roger Federer with his longevity "at the top"

Tiger Woods has one of the most dominating runs as the World No. 1 golfer. He has been ranked at the top for a total of 683 weeks, with his longest reign of 281 weeks. From June 15, 1997, until May 17, 2014, he held the number one rank for 11 different reigns. This has influenced many people, including Roger Federer.

Roger Federer is widely regarded as one of tennis' best players of all time. He, too, enjoyed a lengthy reign as World No. 1 in tennis, spanning more than 237 weeks. Federer mentioned on The Daily Show in 2022 that he always looked up to two names for longevity, Tiger Woods and Michael Schumacher.

Michael Schumacher also held the top position for an extended period of time. He was the reigning champion for around seven years, the longest of which was from 2000 to 2004. During this time, Schumacher's Ferrari won five world championships. Growing up, Roger Federer admired Schumacher and Woods' extended reigns and wondered how they did it.

Fast forward to when Federer got number one, and he knew all he needed to do was win. The tennis legend said:

"And I always thought it was impossible to do that, to stay at the top for so long and have that drive. Now people ask me: 'How did you do it?' And I’m like, 'well, it’s normal!' You just go out there, you do it again, and you try to win, and again. And it’s fun and so you keep doing it. Everybody else would like to be in your shoes, right? And then you also have a duty to represent the sport well and enjoy it while it lasts."

Roger Federer's dominance lasted from February 2, 2004, to June 24, 2018 (spanning five reigns).

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Are Tiger Woods and Roger Federer good friends?

TGL presented by SoFi: JUP v BOS - Source: Getty

Tiger Woods and Roger Federer have been seen together on many occasions. The two had mutual respect and a terrific friendship until Woods changed his phone number and disappeared. In a 2018 interview, the tennis legend explained the story, saying, via Express UK:

"I have not seen him for a lot of time... once we used to see each other from time to time for the Gillette campaign. Even Nike. But that was rare. It was more about wishing good luck. When he faced problems, he disappeared and changed his number."

Federer even revealed further details about his connection with Tiger Woods, noting that the two of them share many enjoyable times. They even spent a lot of time together when they did brand endorsements for Gillette.