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Roger Federer (born August 8, 1981) is a Swiss tennis professional, currently ranked World No. 1. Many experts and his own peers believe Federer may become the greatest player in history.[1][2][3][4][5]
Federer has been ranked No. 1 in the world since February 2, 2004 and holds the all-time record for most consecutive weeks as the top-ranked male player.[7]
Personal lifeFederer was born in the town of Binningen (near Basel, Switzerland), to Swiss-German Robert Federer and South African Lynette Federer. He grew up 10 minutes from Basel proper, in suburban Münchenstein. Federer has an older sister, Diana. He considers his main language German, but he also speaks French and English fluently.[8] He conducts press conferences in all three. Answering a frequently asked question about the proper pronunciation of his first name, Federer said: "As my mother comes from South Africa, my name has always been pronounced the English way."[8] As a boy, Federer was very emotional on the court and threw many tantrums, in contrast to his cool, calm playing style he has today. He admits to being kicked off the practice courts frequently. Federer was also a very talented soccer player. He, at one point, considered becoming a professional soccer player but instead decided to become a tennis professional, but continues to support FC Basel, his hometown club,[9] as well as A.S. Roma.[citation needed] When he was younger, he liked to watch tennis player Marcelo Ríos in action.[10]
He co-established the Roger Federer Foundation in December 2003. Its goals include funding projects that benefit disadvantaged children, primarily in South Africa, such as the charity IMBEWU.[12] In January 2005, he encouraged efforts from tennis players for the people affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, saying he would play as many matches as possible in tournaments organized to raise funds for the tsunami victims and auctioned off his autographed racquets to raise funds for UNICEF's relief operations.[13] Federer, along with his girlfriend Miroslava Vavrinec and a Swiss associate, launched a fragrance and cosmetics line called RF Cosmetics in October 2003.[14] In 2004, Federer was presented the "Golden Bagel Award;" a light-hearted award given to the men's professional tennis player who serves up the most "bagels" (sets won 6-0) in any given year. Federer gave out 12 "bagels" in 2004. His 6-0, 6-0 win over Gastón Gaudio in a semifinal of the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup was the first time a Masters Cup match had been won with a "double bagel." Since turning 18, Federer has not been "bagelled" himself. Furthermore, Federer won the "Golden Bagel Award" again in 2006, surpassing his previous record with 18 "bagels."[15] On April 3, 2006, Federer was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador to UNICEF,[16] which helps poor children from all parts of the world. He made his first official trip as Goodwill Ambassador on December 23, 2006, when he visited children in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a region devastated by the December 26, 2004, tsunami. "It's amazing to see how young people are using the rebuilding process as an opportunity to improve their lives and strengthen their community," said Federer. "The way these children are bouncing back from even the toughest tragedy is a testament to their resilience."[17] CareerJuniorsFederer started playing tennis at the age of six.[18] He started having tennis group practice at the age of nine and weekly private coaching when he was ten. He also practiced football (soccer) until he decided to focus on tennis at age 13. At 14, he became the national champion for all age groups in Switzerland and was chosen to train at the Swiss National Tennis Center at Ecublens. He joined the ITF junior tennis circuit in July 1996.[19] In 1998, his final year as a junior, Federer won the Wimbledon juniors title and the year-ending Orange Bowl. He was recognized as the ITF World Junior Tennis champion for the year.[20] ProfessionalEarly yearsIn July 1998, Federer joined the ATP tour. Federer debuted for the Swiss Davis Cup team in 1999 and finished the year as the youngest player inside the ATP's top 100 ranked players. In 2000, Federer reached the semifinals at the Sydney Olympics and lost the bronze medal match to Arnaud Di Pasquale of France. Federer was also the runner-up in Basel and Marseille. 2001Federer's first ATP tournament victory came in Milan in February 2001. During the same month, he won three matches for his country in its 3-2 Davis Cup victory over the United States. He later reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, defeating four-time defending champion and seven-time Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras in the fourth round, a victory that many consider to be a turning point of his career. He finished the year ranked 13th. 2002Federer reached his first ATP Masters Series (AMS) final at the Miami Masters, where he lost to Andre Agassi. He won his next AMS final in Hamburg. He also won both his Davis Cup singles matches against former world number ones (Russians Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov). Despite early-round exits at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open, and the untimely loss of his long-time Australian coach and mentor Peter Carter in a car crash in August, Federer reached No. 6 in the ATP Champions Race by the end of the year and qualified for the first time in the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup. Federer lost in the semifinals of that tournament to Lleyton Hewitt.[21] 2003Federer started 2003 by winning consecutive tournaments in Dubai and Marseille. He won in Munich without losing a set, but suffered a first-round loss at the French Open. On July 6, 2003, he defeated Mark Philippoussis and won his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon as the first Swiss male player to do so. He dropped only one set during the entire tournament. He also won four Davis Cup matches during the year to lead Switzerland to the semifinals of the World Group. He finished 2003 by winning the Tennis Masters Cup at Houston and ranking second in the ATP tour race. In December, he parted ways with Peter Lundgren, his coach for four years. 2004Image:Roger federer athens.jpg Federer at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Federer had one of the most dominating and successful years in the open era of modern men's tennis. He won three of the four Grand Slam singles tournaments, lost to no one ranked in the top ten, and won every final he reached. He won his first Australian Open title by defeating Marat Safin in straight sets, successfully defended his Wimbledon title by defeating Andy Roddick, and won his first U.S. Open title by defeating Lleyton Hewitt. He finished the year by taking the Tennis Masters Cup at Houston for the second consecutive year. His win-loss record for the year was 74-6 with 11 titles. Federer was named the ITF Tennis World Champion and Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in early 2005, edging out the likes of Michael Schumacher, Valentino Rossi, Lance Armstrong, and Michael Phelps. Throughout 2004, Federer did not have a coach, relying instead on his fitness trainer Pierre Paganini, physiotherapist Pavel Kovac, and a management team composed of his parents, his girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec (also his manager), and a few friends.[14] In 2005, Federer hired former Australian tennis player Tony Roche to coach him on a limited basis.[22] 2005Image:Federer Wimbledon2005.jpg Federer at Wimbledon, 2005. Federer reached the 2005 Australian Open semifinals before falling to eventual winner Marat Safin in a five-set night match that lasted more than four hours. He rebounded to win the year's first two ATP Masters Series (AMS) titles: Indian Wells (by defeating Lleyton Hewitt) and Miami (by defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain). He won his third Hamburg clay court title in May by defeating Richard Gasquet, to whom he had earlier lost in Monte Carlo. He then entered the French Open as one of the favorites, losing in the semifinals in four sets to eventual winner Nadal. Federer successfully defended his Wimbledon title for the third consecutive year by defeating Andy Roddick in a rematch of the previous year's final. Federer also defeated Roddick in Cincinnati to take his fourth AMS title of the year (and sweep all the American AMS events) and become the first player in AMS history to win four titles in one season. He then dropped only two sets en route to his second consecutive U.S. Open title, defeating Andre Agassi in four sets in the final. He became the first man in the open era to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open back-to-back in consecutive years (2004 and 2005). He failed to defend his Tennis Masters Cup title, however, losing to David Nalbandian of Argentina in a four-and-a-half hour, five-set match. Had he won the match, he would have finished the year 82-3, tying John McEnroe's 1984 record for the highest yearly winning percentage in the open era. 2006Image:Federer Serve.JPG Federer serving against Nicolas Mahut on Number One Court, Wimbledon Championships, 2006 Federer won three of the four Grand Slam singles tournaments and ended the year ranked number one, with his ranking points several thousand points greater than his nearest competitor's points. Federer won the year's first Grand Slam tournament, the 2006 Australian Open, by defeating Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. In March, Federer successfully defended his titles at the Indian Wells and Miami Masters and became the first player ever to win the Indian Wells-Miami double in consecutive years. Federer then reached two consecutive ATP Masters Series finals on clay, at Monte Carlo and Rome, but lost to Rafael Nadal on both occasions. Had Federer won the 2006 French Open, he would have completed a Career Grand Slam and become the first man since Rod Laver to hold all four Grand Slam singles titles at the same time, although he would have done so in a two-year schedule. He, however, lost in the final to defending champion Nadal in four sets. Although the clay Grand Slam title eluded him, he became one of only two then-active players who had reached the finals of all four Grand Slam singles tournaments, the other being Andre Agassi. Federer entered Wimbledon as the top seed and reached the final without dropping a set. There, Federer beat Nadal in four sets to win the championship. This was Federer's fourth consecutive Wimbledon title. Federer then started his North American tour and won the 2006 Rogers Cup in Toronto, defeating Richard Gasquet of France in the final. In the year's last Grand Slam tournament, the 2006 U.S. Open, he defeated American Andy Roddick in four sets for his third consecutive title at the Flushing Meadows. At the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup at Shanghai, Federer defeated defending champion David Nalbandian in one of his three round robin matches and Nadal in a semifinal. Federer then defeated American James Blake 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 in the final to win his third Masters Cup title.[23] In 2006, Federer lost to only two players: Nadal in the French Open final, Rome final, Monte Carlo final, and Dubai final; and Andy Murray in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters. The loss to Murray was Federer's only straight-sets loss of the year. The Cincinnati tournament was the only tournament of the year in which he did not reach the final.[23] 2007Federer won his tenth Grand Slam singles title when he won the 2007 Australian Open without dropping a set, defeating Fernando González of Chile in the final 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4. Federer then won the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open, defeating Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the final 6-4, 6-3. This raised his match record for the year to 12-0 and brought his winning streak to 41-consecutive matches. His streak ended during his next match when he lost to Guillermo Cañas in the second round of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, after winning this tournament three consecutive years (2004-2006); this loss also ended his bids to break Vilas' record of 46-consecutive matches in a row and to tie with the eight title wins-in-a-row record.[24][25] At the Sony Ericcson Open in Miami, Florida, Federer again lost to Guillermo Cañas, this time in the fourth round in three sets, 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-7(5). It was only the fifth time he has lost back-to-back to the same player; Nadal being one of the other players to do so.[citation needed] However, he was awarded four ATP Awards during a ceremony at the tournament, making him the first player to receive four during the same year.[26][27] Coaches
Playing styleFederer has a versatile, all-court playing style and can hit all of the fundamental shots very well. He is an adept volleyer and an excellent baseliner who can dictate play with precise groundstrokes from both wings. Federer uses a relatively conservative grip structure grip for his forehand--somewhere between a modern eastern and mild semi-western. He hits through his forehand on a straighter plane than nearly any other player and finishes his swing wrapped around his back, which is not the typical technique of following through after contact and "scratching your back" with the elbow pointing skyward and the racquet coming over the shoulder.[29] He also can generate extreme top-spin with the shot, allowing him to open up cross-court angles while still hitting the ball with pace. David Foster Wallace has described the exceptional speed, fluidity and brute force of this forehand motion as "a great liquid whip," while John McEnroe has referred to it as "the greatest shot in our sport" on numerous occasions. His forehand has been clocked as high as 192 km/h (120 mph).[citation needed] Federer plays with a one-handed backhand, which has improved over the last few years. Although critics and coaches consider his backhand to have been his weaker side, it has developed into one of the best in the game. He has an excellent slice but can also fire great top-spin shots. Federer tends to hit his groundstrokes early, while the ball is still on the rise, much like Andre Agassi did. While this requires excellent reactions and footwork, it means that Federer hits his groundstrokes closer to the net than most of his opponents. This reduces the reaction time of his opponents and allows him to hit the sharply angled winners that are a trademark of his game. As of 2007, Federer has started to come to the net more often, urged to do so by coach Tony Roche. He is a good volleyer and is notably strong at backhand smashes, one of the most difficult shots in the game. His serve is difficult to read because he tosses the ball in the same spot no matter where he intends to serve it and because he turns his back to his opponents during his motion. His first serve is typically around 200 km/h (125 mph) (although he is capable of serving into the 210 km/h (130 mph) range)[citation needed]. His second serve usually has a heavily kicked delivery. Federer generally serves with placement and precision, but on occasion he will hit a powerful serve to keep his opponents off balance. His footwork, balance, and court coverage are exceptional, and he is considered to be one of the fastest movers in the game. Unlike most players who take many small steps when approaching the ball in order to maintain balance (exemplified by the classic footwork of Jimmy Connors), Federer takes long fluid strides. He can hit a strong shot on the run or while backpedaling, allowing him to switch from defense to offense as well as any player on tour. Federer's relaxed, smooth playing style belies his aggressive and opportunistic tactics. He constructs points to get in a position that allows him to hit winners with his groundstrokes. Federer has mentioned that he has been able to read his opponents' moves, which helps him to construct these plays. EquipmentFederer, who has used various racquets, currently plays with a Wilson KSix-One Tour 90;[30] some speculate that it is a custom mold of the Pro Staff 85 used by Pete Sampras. Federer strings his racquets at a relatively loose tension (53-60 pounds depending on his opponent and surface).[31] This allows him to return balls at higher velocity with less effort, but accuracy becomes more difficult. Federer is sponsored by Wilson and is currently endorsed by Nike. Records
Trivia
Awards
Grand Slam singles finalsWins (10)
Runner-up (1)
Tennis Masters Cup singles finalsWins (3)
Runner-up (1)
Masters Series singles finalsWins (12)
Runners-up (4)
All finalsSingles wins (47)
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