Roger Federer

Roger Federer (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the number one position for a record 237 consecutive weeks[2] and 285 total weeks, one week behind record holder Pete Sampras. As of 18 October 2010, he is ranked World No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Many sports analysts, tennis critics, and former and current players consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time.[3][4][5][6][7][8] Federer has won a male record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. He is one of seven male players to capture the career Grand Slam and one of three (with Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal) to do so on three different surfaces (clay, grass and hard courts). Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 22 career Grand Slam finals. He holds the record of reaching the semi-finals or better of 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments over five and a half years from the 2004 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open.[9] Federer also holds the record of reaching 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals and appeared in 18 of 19 over four and a half years from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open, excluding the 2008 Australian Open. Federer has won 4 ATP World Tour Finals and 17 ATP Masters Series tournaments. He also won the Olympic Gold Medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. As a result of Federer's successes in tennis, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for four consecutive years (2005–2008).[10] He is often referred to as The Federer Express[11] or abbreviated to Fed Express,[11] the Swiss Maestro[11] or simply Maestro.[11][12][13][14] Contents [hide] Roger Federer A dark-haired man is in the serving motion, which he is in all white clothing, and he has a reddish-black tennis racket in his right hand Wimbledon 2009 Country Switzerland Residence Wollerau, Switzerland Date of birth 8 August 1981 (1981-08-08) (age 29) Place of birth Basel, Switzerland Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Turned pro 1998[1] Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand) Career prize money US$57,439,704 * All-time leader in earnings Singles Career record 722–172 (80.7%) Career titles 63 (tied 5th in overall rankings in Open era) Highest ranking No. 1 (2 February 2004) Current ranking No. 2 (18 October 2010) Grand Slam results Australian Open 4W (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010) French Open 1W (2009) Wimbledon 6W (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009) US Open 5W (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) Other tournaments Tour Finals 4W (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007) Olympic Games SF (2000) Doubles Career record 114–74 (60.6%) Career titles 8 Highest ranking No. 24 (9 June 2003) Grand Slam Doubles results Australian Open 3R (2003) French Open 1R (2000) Wimbledon QF (2000) US Open 3R (2002) Olympic Games Gold medal.svg Gold Medal (2008) Last updated on: 24 May 2010. Olympic medal record Competitor for Switzerland Men's Tennis Gold 2008 Beijing Doubles * 1 Childhood and personal life o 1.1 Marriage and family o 1.2 Outreach and charitable efforts * 2 Tennis career o 2.1 Pre-1998: Junior years o 2.2 1998–2002: Early career in the ATP o 2.3 2003–2006: Breakthrough and dominance o 2.4 2007 to present: Gaining greatness and achieving records o 2.5 Rivalries + 2.5.1 Federer vs. Nadal + 2.5.2 Federer vs. Roddick + 2.5.3 Federer vs. Hewitt + 2.5.4 Federer vs. Djokovic o 2.6 Playing style o 2.7 Equipment, apparel, and endorsements o 2.8 Grand Slam performance timeline o 2.9 Olympic finals o 2.10 Records * 3 See also * 4 Notes * 5 References * 6 Video * 7 External links o 7.1 Profiles Childhood and personal life Federer was born in Binningen, near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South Africa-born Lynette Du Rand.[15] He holds both Swiss and South African citizenship.[16] He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, near Basel, close to the French-German borders and Federer speaks Swiss German, German, French and English fluently.[15][17][18] He was raised as a Roman Catholic and met Pope Benedict XVI while playing the 2006 Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome.[19] Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer was subject to compulsory military service in the Swiss Armed Forces. However, in 2003 he was deemed unfit due to a long-standing back problem and was subsequently not required to fulfill his obligations.[20] Marriage and family Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Mirka Vavrinec. They met while competing for Switzerland in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Vavrinec retired from the tour in 2002 because of a foot injury and has since been working as Federer's public relations manager.[21] They were married in Basel on 11 April 2009, surrounded by a small group of close friends and family at Wenkenhof Villa (municipality of Riehen).[22] On 23 July 2009, Mirka gave birth to twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva.[23] Outreach and charitable efforts Federer supports various charities. He established the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to help disadvantaged people and to promote sports.[24][25] In 2005, he auctioned his racquet from his US Open championship to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.[26] He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF in 2006.[27] Since then, he has visited South Africa and Tamil Nadu, one of the areas in India most affected by the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.[28] He has also appeared in UNICEF public messages to raise public awareness of AIDS. In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Federer responded by arranging a collaboration with fellow top tennis players Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Stosur to forgo their final day of preparation for the 2010 Australian Open to form a special charity event called Hit For Haiti, in which all proceeds will go to the Haiti earthquake victims.[29] He was named as a 2010 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in recognition of his leadership, accomplishments and contributions to society.[30] Tennis career Pre-1998: Junior years Main article: Roger Federer juniors years Federer's main accomplishment's as a junior player came at Wimbledon, where he won both the singles tournament over Irakli Labadze 6–4, 6–4[31] and in doubles teamed up with Olivier Rochus, in which they defeated the team of Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram 6–4, 6–4.[32] In addition, Federer lost the US Open Junior tournament in 1998 to David Nalbandian in 3–6, 5–7. He won four other ITF junior singles tournaments in his career, including the prestigious Orange Bowl where he defeated Guillermo Coria 7–5, 6–3 in the finals.[33] He ended 1998 as the junior World Number One. 1998–2002: Early career in the ATP Main article: Roger Federer's early career A dark-haired man in all white clothing, and caring a redish-black bag on his right shoulder and a black one on the left shoulder Federer at the 2002 US Open Roger Federer's first tournament as a professional was Gstaad in 1998, which he faced Lucas Arnold Ker in the Round of 32, and he lost 4–6, 4–6.[34] Federer's first final came at the Marseille Open, which was in 2000, and he lost to fellow Swiss Marc Rosset 6–2, 3–6, 6–7(5).[35] Federer's first win was at the 2001 Milan Indoor tournament, which he defeated Julien Boutter by a score of 6–4, 6–7(7), 6–4.[35] In 2001, Federer made his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open, and at Wimbledon that same year defeated four-time defending champion Pete Sampras to reach the quarterfinals. The most prestigious event final he reached during this period was the 2002 Miami Masters event, where he lost to Andre Agassi in 3–6, 3–6, 6–3, 4–6 on hardcourt.[36] In addition, Federer won his first Master Series event at the 2002 Hamburg Masters on clay in 6–1, 6–3, 6–4 over Marat Safin; the victory made him a top-10 player for the first time.[36] Federer made ten singles finals during this time in his career between 1998 and 2002, of which he won four and lost six.[34][35][36][37][38] From 1998 to 2002, Federer made six finals in doubles. Of note are Federer and partner Max Mirnyi's defeat in the final of the Indian Wells Masters in 2002, and their victory in the same year in the final of the Rotterdam 500 series event. Federer had won the latter the year earlier with partner Jonas Björkman.[36][38] 2003–2006: Breakthrough and dominance Main articles: Roger Federer in 2003, Roger Federer in 2004, Roger Federer in 2005, and Roger Federer in 2006 In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, beating Mark Philippoussis 7–6(5), 6–2, 7–6(3).[39] Federer won his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 Event in Miami with Max Mirnyi,[40] and made it to one singles Masters Series 1000 Event in Rome on clay, which he lost.[39] Federer made it to nine finals on the ATP Tour and won seven of them, including the 500 series events at Dubai and Vienna.[39] Lastly, Federer won the Year-End Championships over Andre Agassi.[39] During 2004, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles for the first time in his career, and became the first person to do so since Mats Wilander in 1988. His first Grand Slam hard court title came at the Australian Open over Marat Safin 7–6(3), 6–4, 6–2. He then won his second Wimbledon crown over Andy Roddick 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(3), 6–4.[41] Federer defeated the 2001 US Open champion, Lleyton Hewitt, at the US Open for his first title there 6–0, 7–6(3), 6–0.[41] Federer won three ATP Masters Series 1000 events. One was on clay in Hamburg, and the other two were on hard surfaces in Indian Wells and Canada.[41] Federer took the ATP 500 series event at Dubai, and wrapped up the year by winning the year-ending championships for the second time.[41] A dark-haired man is waving to the crowd with his tennis racket in his right hand, and he is wearing all white clothing Federer during the 2005 Wimbledon Championships, where he won his third consecutive title. In 2005, Federer failed to reach the finals of the first two Grand Slam tournaments, losing the Australian Open semifinal to eventual champion Safin and the French Open semifinal to champion Rafael Nadal.[42] However, Federer quickly reestablished his dominance on grass, winning the Wimbledon Championships over Andy Roddick 6–2, 7–6(2), 6–4. At the US Open, Federer defeated Andre Agassi in the latter's last Grand Slam final 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(1), 6–1.[42] However, Federer would take four ATP Masters Series 1000 wins: Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati on hard court surfaces and a lone clay court title at Hamburg.[42] Furthermore, Federer won two ATP 500 series events at Rotterdam and Dubai.[42] Federer lost the year-ending championships to David Nalbandian in the final.[42] 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 1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6(4). This was the two men's first meeting in a Grand Slam final.[43] Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon Championships final 6–0, 7–6(5), 6–7(2), 6–3, which was the start of their storied rivalry. In the Australian Open, Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2[43] and at the US Open, Federer defeated Roddick (2003 champion) 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1.[43] 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 won one ATP 500 series event in Tokyo, and captured the year-end championships for the third time in his career.[43] 2007 to present: Gaining greatness and achieving records Main articles: Roger Federer in 2007, Roger Federer in 2008, Roger Federer in 2009, and Roger Federer in 2010 In 2007, Federer reached all four Grand Slam singles finals, winning three of them. He won the Australian Open over Fernando González 7–6(2), 6–4, 6–4, the Wimbledon Championships over Rafael Nadal for the second time 7–6(7), 4–6, 7–6(3), 2–6, 6–2, and the US Open over Novak Djokovic 7–6(4), 7–6(2), 6–4. Federer lost the French Open to Nadal 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4.[44] Federer made five ATP Masters Series 1000 finals, but won only in Hamburg and Madrid.[44] Federer won one 500 series event in Dubai and won the year-ending championships.[44] A dark-haired man is in a red shirt with white shorts and shoes and bandanna, which he is carrying his tennis racket in his right hand pointing towards the ground Federer at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where he won a gold medal in Doubles. In 2008, Federer won one Grand Slam singles title, which came at the US Open over Briton Andy Murray 6–2, 7–5, 6–2.[45] Federer was defeated by Nadal in two Grand Slam finals, at the French Open 6–1, 6–3, 6–0 and at Wimbledon 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–7(8), 9–7, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg's record.[45] In the Australian Open, Federer lost in the semifinals to Djokovic, which ended his record of 10 consecutive finals.[45] Federer lost twice in Master Series 1000 Finals on clay to Nadal at Monte Carlo and Hamburg.[45] However, Federer captured two titles in 250 level events at Estoril, Halle and one title in 500 level events in Basel. In doubles, Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka won the gold medal at the Olympic Games.[46] In 2009, Federer won two Grand Slam singles titles, which were the French Open over Robin Söderling 6–1, 7–6(1), 6–4 and the Wimbledon Championships over Andy Roddick 5–7, 7–6(6), 7–6(5), 3–6, 16–14.[47] Federer reached two other Grand Slam finals, losing to Nadal at the Australian Open 7–5, 3–6, 7–6(3), 3–6, 6–2 and to Juan Martín del Potro at the US Open 3–6, 7–6(5), 4–6, 7–6(4), 6–2.[47] Federer won two more events, the first at the Madrid Masters over Nadal in the final, which was on clay, 6–4, 6–4.[47] The second was in Cincinnati over Djokovic 6–1, 7–5, although Federer lost to Djokovic in Basel 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 later in the year.[47] Federer completed a career grand slam by winning his first French Open title and won a men's record fifteenth Grand Slam singles title, which is one more than Pete Sampras's mark of fourteen.[47] In 2010, Federer continued to reach milestones and achievements. He won the Australian Open.[48] In the final, Federer defeated Andy Murray 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(11), whom he also beat in the 2008 US Open final.[45][48] Federer made it to three Masters 1000 finals. At the Madrid Open, which he lost to Nadal 6–4, 7–6.[48] At the Canadian Masters Federer lost to Murray.[49] A week later at the Cincinnati Masters Federer won his first title in eight months as he became the first player since Agassi to retain the title, as he beat Fish in the final.[50] He also equaled Agassi for the amount of Masters wins at 17 and tied Borg's mark for number of total titles won and moved to just one behind Sampras. Back at the slams at the French Open, Federer failed to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since the 2004 French Open, losing to Söderling 3–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4. However on the way he won his 700th tour match and 150th tour match on clay.[51] Nadal won the tournament for the fifth time and replaced Federer as World No 1. Federer was just one week away from equalling Pete Sampras's record of 286 weeks as World No. 1. In preparation for Wimbledon, Federer once again competed in Halle but was defeated in the final by Lleyton Hewitt 3–6, 7–6(4), 6–4. This is the first time since 2001 that Federer has entered Wimbledon having won only one title for the year. At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships Federer won for the 200th time in Grand Slam matches as he came back from 2 sets down to defeat Alejandro Falla 5–7,4–6,6–4,7–6(1), 6–0, with Falla serving for the match at 5–4 in the fourth set.[52] However, in a big surprise, Federer lost in the quarter final to Tomáš Berdych 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, and fell to World No. 3 in the rankings for the first time in nearly seven years.[53] During Federer's summer break between Wimbledon and Canada he hired Pete Sampras' old coach Paul Annacone to revive his fortune to start with on a trial period.[54] At the 2010 U.S. Open, Federer reached the semifinals, avenging his French Open loss to Söderling in the quarterfinals. By reaching the semifinals, Federer achieved his 20th match win in 2010 grand slams; this is the seventh consecutive year he has accomplished this feat, a record matched only by Ivan Lendl. In the semifinals, Federer lost a five-set match to number three seed and 2008 Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic 7–5, 1–6, 7–5, 2–6, 5–7. Rivalries Federer has had several intense rivalries over the years. The oldest rivalry is with Lleyton Hewitt, but the most famous is with Rafael Nadal. Federer vs. Nadal Main article: Federer–Nadal rivalry A dark-haired tennis player is reaching to hit a tennis shot with a racket in his left hand, and he is wearing black shoes and shorts with black and white mixture shirt and yellowish-green accessories Nadal during the 2009 Australian Open final Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004 and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers.[55][56][57][58][59] They have held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 until 14 September 2009, when Nadal fell to World No. 3 (Andy Murray became the new No. 2). They are the only pair of men to have ever finished four consecutive calendar years at the top. Federer was ranked number 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008.[60] Nadal leads their head-to-head 14–7.[61] Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 17 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record 7 Grand Slam finals.[62] From 2006 to 2008 they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final, and then they met in the 2009 Australian Open final. Nadal won five of the seven, losing the first two Wimbledons. Three of these matches were five set-matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open), and the 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts.[63][64][65][66] They have also played in a record 9 Masters Series finals, including their lone five hour match at the 2006 Rome Masters which Nadal won in a fifth-set tiebreak. Until 14 September 2009, when Juan Martín del Potro beat Nadal in the US Open semi-final on his way to defeating Federer in the final itself, no player had beaten both Nadal and Federer in the same Grand Slam. Nadal has not lost a French Open (5) final, while Federer was undefeated in US Open finals until losing to del Potro (5). Both have won Grand Slam events on three different surfaces successively (2008 French Open, 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open for Nadal and 2008 US Open, 2009 French Open, 2009 Wimbledon for Federer). Federer vs. Roddick Federer and Roddick have a long, though lopsided, rivalry. They have met 21 times during their careers, with Federer leading their overall head-to-head series 19–2.[67] Roddick has lost four Grand Slam finals, each time to Federer: Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and one US Open in 2006. On 2 February 2004, Federer supplanted Roddick as World No. 1 to begin his record reign of 237 consecutive weeks at number 1. Federer and Roddick are the only players to have finished each year in the ATP top 10 from 2002 to 2010. Federer vs. Hewitt Federer and Lleyton Hewitt have played each other on 25 occasions. Early in their careers, Hewitt dominated Federer, winning seven of their first nine meetings, including a victory from two sets down in the 2003 Davis Cup semifinal which allowed Australia to defeat Switzerland. However, from 2004 onward, Federer has dominated the rivalry, winning 15 of the last 16 meetings to emerge with a 17–8 overall head-to-head record.[68] This is Federer's longest rivalry as these two first played each other as juniors in 1996. They have met in one Grand Slam final, the 2004 US Open final, where Federer won 6–0, 7–6, 6–0 to win his first US Open title. Federer is 8–0 against Hewitt in Grand Slams, and has won six of the Grand Slams in which he has defeated Hewitt. Federer vs. Djokovic These two have met 16 times with Federer leading 10–6. The rivalry between the two is not as intense as Federer's rivalry with Nadal. Djokovic is the only player besides Nadal to have defeated Federer more than once in a Grand Slam tournament since 2004. Playing style Federer at the 2007 Davidoff Swiss Indoors Federer's versatility was summarised by Jimmy Connors: "In an era of specialists, you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist...or you're Roger Federer."[69] Federer is an all-court, all-round player known for his fluid style of play and shot making. Federer mainly plays from the baseline but is also comfortable at the net being one of the best volleyers in the game today. He has a very effective smash and very effectively performs rare elements in today's tennis, such as backhand smash, half-volley and jump smash (slam dunk). David Foster Wallace described Federer's exceptional speed, fluidity and brute force of this forehand motion as "a great liquid whip",[70] while John McEnroe has referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport".[71] Federer plays with a single-handed backhand which gives him great variety. He employs the slice, occasionally using it to lure the opponent to the net and pass him. Federer can also fire topspin winners and possesses a 'flick' backhand where he can generate pace with his wrist; this is usually used to pass the opponent at the net.[70] His serve is difficult to read because he tosses the ball in the same spot no matter where he intends to serve it, and turns his back to his opponents during his motion. He is often able to produce big serves on key points during a match. His first serve is typically around 200 km/h (125 mph),[72][73][74] however, he is capable of serving at 220 km/h (137 mph).[72][73] His speciality is a half-volley from the baseline which enables him to play very near to the baseline and to pick up balls (even deeper ones) very early after their bounds, thus giving his opponents less time to react on his shot. Recently, Federer has also added the drop shot to his game and utilizes a well-disguised one off of both wings. He can also use the between-the-legs shot, as was shown in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open against Novak Djokovic, bringing him match point. Equipment, apparel, and endorsements Federer currently plays with a customised Wilson Six.One Tour BLX tennis racquet,[75] which is characterised by its smaller hitting area of 90 square inches, heavy strung weight of 12.5 ounces, and thin beam of 17 millimeters. His grip size is 4 3/8 inches (sometimes referred to as L3).[76] Federer strings his racquets at 24 to 28 kilograms (52.9 to 61.7 pounds) tension utilizing Wilson Natural Gut 16 gauge for his main strings and Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough 16L gauge (polyester) for his cross strings.[76] When asked about string tensions, Federer stated "this depends on how warm the days are and with what kind of balls I play and against who I play. So you can see – it depends on several factors and not just the surface; the feeling I have is most important."[77] Federer has a contract with Nike footwear and apparel.[78] For the 2006 championships at Wimbledon, Nike designed a jacket emblazoned with a crest of three tennis racquets, symbolising the three Wimbledon Championships he had previously won, and which was updated the next year with four racquets after he won the Championship in 2006.[79] In Wimbledon 2008 and again in 2009, Nike continued this trend by making him a personalised cardigan.[80] He also has his own logo, an R and F joined together.[81] Federer endorses Gillette,[82] Jura, a Swiss-based coffee machine company,[83] as well as Mercedes Benz and NetJets. Federer also endorses Rolex watches,[84] although he was previously an ambassador for Maurice Lacroix.[85] Also in 2009 Federer became brand ambassador for Swiss chocolate makers Lindt.[86] In 2010 his endorsement by Mercedes-Benz China was extended into a global Mercedes-Benz partnership deal.[8