<human>: Roger Federer (German pronunciation: ['rodZ@r 'fe:d@r@r]; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 2 in men's singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He is regarded by many fans, players and analysts as the greatest tennis player of all time. Federer has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles--the most in history for a male player--and has held the world No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings for a record total of 308 weeks, including 237 consecutive weeks. After turning professional in 1998, he was continuously ranked in the top ten from October 2002 to November 2016.

The 2006 season was statistically the best season of Federer's career. In November 2011, Stephen Tignor, chief editorial writer for Tennis.com, ranked Federer's 2006 season as statistically the second-best season of all time during the Open Era, behind Rod Laver's Grand Slam year of 1969.  Federer won 12 singles titles (the most of any player since John McEnroe in 1984) and had a match record of 92-5 (the most wins since Ivan Lendl in 1982). Federer reached the finals in an astounding 16 of the 17 tournaments he entered during the season.  In 2006, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles and reached the final of the other, with the only loss coming against Nadal in the French Open. This was Federer and Nadal's first meeting in a Grand Slam final. He was the first man to reach all four finals in a calendar year since Rod Laver in 1969. Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon Championships final. In the Australian Open, Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis, and at the US Open, Federer defeated Roddick (2003 champion). In addition, Federer made it to six ATP Masters Series 1000 finals, winning four on hard surfaces and losing two on clay to Nadal. Federer, however, consistently pushed Nadal to the limit on clay throughout the season taking him to fourth-set tiebreakers in Monte-Carlo and Paris, and a thrilling match in Rome that went to a deciding fifth-set tiebreaker.  Federer won one ATP 500 series event in Tokyo and captured the year-end championships for the third time in his career, again finishing the year as world No. 1. Federer only lost to two players during 2006, to Nadal four times in finals, and to 19-year-old Andy Murray in the second round of the 2006 Cincinnati Masters, in what would be Federer's only defeat before reaching the final of a tournament that year. Federer finished the season on a 29-match winning streak, as well as winning 48 of his last 49 matches after the French Open.  A personal highlight for Federer came near the end of the season when he won his hometown tournament, the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland for the first time, having finished runners up in 2000 and 2001, and missing the tournament in 2004 and 2005 due to injuries. CANNOTANSWER

Answer the following question by taking a quote from the article: Why was the 2006 season an outstanding year?
<bot>: The 2006 season was statistically the best season of Federer's career.