Roger Federer will try to win the Italian Open with his 15th attempt

Roger Federer has won a record 17 Grand Slam singles titles and 85 titles overall. He has won events in 19 different countries. When in Rome, though, Federer always ends up losing.

Of all the tournaments he has entered three or more times, Federer has failed to win just three, according to tennis-data website Tennis Abstract: Rome, Monte Carlo, and the Olympic Games. On Wednesday in Rome, Federer will begin a 15th campaign for his first Italian Open title.

It’s the most he has played anywhere without winning. Federer has reached three Rome finals and lost them all, two of them to Rafael Nadal. The other final came in 2003, when Federer lost to Felix Mantilla. That was before he had won his first major title, at Wimbledon later that same year.

Federer has lost to Novak Djokovic twice in Rome, both times in the semifinals. There have been disheartening defeats in earlier rounds too, like last year’s loss to Jeremy Chardy (in Federer’s first match after receiving a bye), Ernests Gulbis (2010), Radek Stepanek (2008) and Filippo Volandri (2007).

Federer’s chief rivals, Djokovic and Nadal, also have tournaments that they’ve struggled at: Nadal has failed to win six tournaments that he has entered three or more times (for Djokovic, it’s seven). 

At the French Open this year, Djokovic will aim for his first title at Roland Garros in his 11th visit. (He’ll attempt the same in Cincinnati this summer.) Nadal’s longest losing streak is in Miami, where he has played 11 times without winning the title.

For Federer, never winning Rome won’t hurt his legacy and probably won’t cost him any sleep. These days he’s most interested in winning an 18th major title and playing in countries where he has never played before, like Turkey. Federer recently returned from his first, and probably last, tournament there. He won the title.

thewallstreetjournal.com