Roger Federer - Tennis Player, Philanthropist - Biography.com “I can't stay No. 1 for 50 years, you know. We'll see what happens.” Roger Federer Synopsis Born in 1981 in Switzerland, Roger Federer was among his country's top junior tennis players by age 11. He turned pro in 1998, and with his victory at Wimbledon in 2003 he became the first Swiss man to win a Grand Slam singles title. Ranked No. 1 in the world from 2004 into 2008, and again in parts of 2009, 2010 and 2012, the graceful star set a record with 17 Grand Slam singles championships. Early Life Tennis star Roger Federer was born on August 8, 1981, in Basel, Switzerland, to Swiss father Robert Federer and South African mother Lynette Du Rand. Federer's parents met while on a business trip for a pharmaceutical company, where they both worked. Federer took an interest in sports at an early age, playing tennis and soccer at the age of 8.

By age 11, he was among the Top 3 junior tennis players in Switzerland. At age 12, he decided to quit other sports and focus all his efforts on tennis, which he felt he excelled at more naturally. By 14, he was fully immersed in the game, playing two or three tournaments per month and practicing six hours a week, along with up to three hours of conditioning. To perfect his technique, he often imitated his idols, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg. At age 14, Federer became the national junior champion in Switzerland, and was chosen to train at the Swiss National Tennis Center in Ecublens. He joined the International Tennis Federation junior tennis circuit in July 1996, and had his his first sponsorship by age 16. In 1998, shortly before he turned pro, Federer won the junior Wimbledon title and the Orange Bowl. He was recognized as the ITF World Junior Tennis champion of the year. Tennis Star Federer won the Wimbledon boys' singles and doubles titles in 1998, and turned professional later that year.

At Wimbledon in 2001, he caused a sensation by knocking out reigning singles champion Pete Sampras in the fourth round. In 2003, following a successful season on grass, Federer became the first Swiss man to win a Grand Slam title when he emerged victorious at Wimbledon. At the beginning of 2004, Federer had a world ranking of No. 2, and that same year, he won the Australian Open, the U.S. Open, the ATP Masters and retained the Wimbledon singles title. He was ranked No. 1 at the start of 2005, and his successes that year included the Wimbledon singles title (for a third successive year) and the U.S. Open. Federer held on to his No. 1 ranking from 2004 into 2008. In 2006 and '07, he won the singles championships at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. A paragon of graceful athleticism, Federer was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year from 2005-08. In 2008, Federer beat Scottish player Andy Murray at the U.S.

Open—his fifth U.S. Open win. However, that year proved to be a difficult time in Federer's career: He lost to rival Rafael Nadal at both the French Open and Wimbledon, and lost to another young star, Novak Djokovic , at the 2008 Australian Open. His ranking also slid to No. 2 for the first time in four years. The 2009 season was a memorable one for the Swiss star. He beat Robin Soderling to win the French Open and complete the career Grand Slam, and defeated Andy Roddick in an epic Wimbledon final to surpass Sampras for a record 15th Grand Slam singles title. Federer also reached the finals of the two other major tournaments, falling in five sets to Nadal at the Australian Open and to Juan Martin del Potro at the U.S. Open. His brilliant all-around play enabled him to regain the world's No. 1 ranking. Federer's career escalated once again in 2012, when he defeated Andy Murray for a record-tying seventh Wimbledon singles title. The victory helped the 30-year-old tennis star return to the No.

1 spot, and by the end of the year he had established a record with a total of 302 weeks atop the world rankings. In 2013, Federer made a surprise departure from Wimbledon. He was knocked out of the singles competition in the second round by Sergiy Stakhovsky, who was ranked 116th at the time. At the U.S. Open, Federer again struggled on the court. He was beaten by Spain's Tommy Robredo in the fourth round, losing in three straight sets. According to the U.S. Open website, Federer admitted that he "struggled throughout, which is not very satisfying." His confidence seemingly shaken by the loss, he lamented how he "missed so many opportunities" and that his "rhythm was off" during the match. Federer battled Djokovic in the 2014 men’s singles final at Wimbledon, but was denied a record eighth championship on the famed grass courts in a five-set loss. He then lost in the semifinals of the U.S. Open to hard-hitting Croatian Marin Cilic, who went on to win the tournament.

Federer's 2015 season began on a disappointing note with a loss to Italy's Andreas Seppi in the third round of the Australian Open. He proved he could still compete with the sport's elite players by defeating Djokovic to win the Dubai Championships in February, but his quest for a second French Open crown was thwarted with a quarterfinal loss to countryman Stan Wawrinka . Federer charged through the draw at Wimbledon a month later, but he was defeated in the final by Djokovic, delaying his quest for a record eighth title for at least another year. His fate was the same at the U.S. Open: Despite an impressive showing that suggested career Grand Slam title No. 18 was on the way, Federer simply could not get past the top-ranked Djokovic in a hard-fought final. In July 2016, Federer didn’t make it to the Wimbeldon finals either. He was defeated in five sets by Milos Raonic in a historic victory for Raonic, who became the first Canadian man to reach a grand slam final.

Earlier that year Federer lost the Australian Open to Novak Djokovic, and after their match Federer was sidelined with a knee injury. Later in the season, Federer suffered back problems, and he was forced to withdraw from the French Open to avoid further injury. Personal Life In 2009, Federer married Mirka Vavrinec, a former professional tennis player. That July, the couple became the parents of identical twin girls, Myla and Charlene. On May 6, 2014, the couple welcomed their second set of twins, boys Leo and Lenny. Federer lives with his family in Bottmingen, Switzerland. In 2003, Federer established the Roger Federer Foundation, which helps provide grants to poor countries that have child mortality rates of more than 15 percent, for education- and sports-related projects, among others. Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us ! Citation Information BIOGRAPHY: Roger Federer Lifetime twitter BIOGRAPHY Roger Federer has been ranked as the number one tennis player in the world, but how did the young man from Switzerland get this far?

Roger Federer, who is considered as the greatest player in the sport by many, was born on 8 August 1981 in Binningen, Switzerland. His father Robert is a Swiss national and his mother Lynette Durand was born in South Africa. This means he holds both Swiss and South African citizenship. He started playing tennis at the age of eight-years-old but didn't stick to this sport exclusively as a child. Instead, he also took part in badminton, cricket and basketball, which helped him improve his hand-eye coordination. Federer first started playing tennis professionally as a junior, with his most notable wins being the boys' singles final at Wimbledon and the Orange Bowl in 1998. During his junior career, he also won four ITF junior singles tournaments and ended 1998 as the junior world number one. His first final as an adult tennis player came in 2000 at the Marseille Open where he lost to fellow Swiss player Marc Rosset. Federer took part in the Sydney Olympics and met former Women's Tennis Association player Mirka Vavrinec who was also competing.

They started dating and when Vavrinec had to retire from the sport due to a foot injury in 2002 she became his public relations manager. Going back to his tennis career, he won the 2001 Hopman Cup representing Switzerland along with Martina Hingis. He then enjoyed his first singles win at the Milan Indoor Tournament the same year. Federer then reached the quarter-final of the French Open, his first Grand Slam, followed by the same stage at Wimbledon. He reached the quarter-final after beating Pete Sampras, who was Federer's favourite player as a child. In 2002, he reached the final of the Miami Masters event where he lost to Andre Agassi on a hard court. The same year, he won his first Masters Series beating Marat Safin. This victory placed Federer in the top ten tennis players in the world for the first time. He finished the year in sixth. Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer had to undertake national military service but in 2003, he was deemed unfit because of a long-standing back problem. However, it luckily hasn't affected his tennis skills!

He won his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon beating Mark Phillippoussis in the final in 2003 before winning his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 event in Miami with Max Mirnyi. On the ATP Tour, he reached nine finals and won seven of them. By the end of the year, he was ranked the world number two tennis player behind Andy Roddick. In 2004, he won three Grand Slams becoming the first person to do so since Mats Wilander in 1988. After winning the Australian Open, Federer became the world number one tennis player. He then beat Roddick to win Wimbledon for the second time and defeated Lleyton Hewitt to take home the US Open title for the first time. Federer then failed to reach the finals of the Australian Open and the French Open to his main rival Rafael Nadal at the start of 2005. He soon bounced back though and won Wimbledon for the third time and beat Agassi to win the US Open. In 2006, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles and reached the final of the French Open where he lost to Nadal.

As a result, Federer was the first man to reach all four finals in a calendar year since Rod Laver in 1969. Once again, he won Wimbledon and ended the year as the top ranked tennis player. Once again, Federer reached the final of all four Grand Slams in 2007 and won three of them. He lost the French Open to Nadal but defeated him at Wimbledon. The following year, he only won the US Open against Andy Murray but lost Wimbledon and the French Open to Nadal. He ended 2008 as the second top tennis player in the world. In 2009, Federer married his girlfriend Vavrinec in Switzerland. She gave birth to identical twins Myla Rose and Charlene Riva on 23 July 2009. In terms of his career, he won two Grand Slams – the French Open and Wimbledon. This was his sixth win at the British tournament and his 15th Grand Slam win, which surpassed Sampras' record of 14.

The following year started well as Federer won the Australian open but he was, rather shockingly, knocked out of Wimbledon in the quarter-final and fell to number three in the world rankings. Due to some minor wins, he ended the year in second place. Federer lost in straight sets at the Australian Open in 2011 before losing to Nadal in the final of the French Open and being defeated by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Wimbledon quarter-final. He was also knocked-out of the US Open but managed to finish the year as world number three after doing well at the ATP World Tour Finals. In 2012, Federer won the Indian Wells Master series for the record fourth time. On 8 July 2012, he beat Murray in four sets in the Wimbledon final for his seventh win. This means he ties Sampras' record and became the world number one again. Four weeks later, he met Murray at Wimbledon again but this time in the gold medal match of London 2012. He lost and took home a silver medal for Switzerland.

In 2013 he was beaten by Andy Murray in the semi finals of the Australian Open and was upset in a number of tournaments due to a serious back injury. As of 2014, he is currently rated the number four player in the world. He also supports a number of charities as well as the Roger Federer Federation, which he set up in 2003 to help disadvantaged people in South Africa. Roger Federer Biography -Biography Online About Roger Federer Biography Roger Federer born 8 August, 1981 is a Swiss tennis player, widely regarded to be the best tennis player of all time. In a remarkable career he has won 17 Grand Slam titles and reached the finals of all major grand slams at least five times. During the period 2004 to 2008 he was world number one for a record 237 consecutive weeks. He has won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship award (voted by players) a record eight times. He also supports several charities and is an ambassador for UNICEF. Early Life Federer Federer was born in Basel, Switzerland in 1981.

As a youngster he grew up loving all sports which involved the hand eye co-ordination of a ball. He played football, badminton and basketball and even calls himself an avid cricket fan. Although he played several sports, he began received coaching from the age of 10 from Adolf Kacovsky. Kacovsky remembers that Federer had tremendous natural talent ‘He seemed to be born with a racket in his hand’ But, even so, when the young Federer said he wanted to be the best player in the world, people would laugh (including himself) Despite Federer’s unbounded talent, he was temperamental on the court, he himself says he was a bit of a ‘hothead’. However, Peter Carter, an Australian coach spent considerable time telling Federer how much energy he was wasting getting annoyed with himself. Over the teenage years, Federer learnt to control his temper. He is now regarded as one of the calmest tennis players. In 1998, he won the boys Wimbledon tournament, aged 17. That year he also made it to the final of the US Open. Joining the senior ATP tour, Federer made steady progress.

He made his first final at the Marseilles Open in 2001, and won his first title in 2001 at the Milan indoor tournament. In 2001, He also rose to prominence in the public’s mind by beating four-time defending champion Pete Sampras to reach the quarter finals. In 2002, his beloved junior coach Peter Carter died (in a car crash in Africa). Federer said his death was very traumatic but it provided a motivation to remember and implement his advice to be a better player, but also a better person and calmer when defeated. In 2003, Federer confirmed his nascent talent by winning his first grand slam title at Wimbledon. He ended the year as world no. 2 – just behind Andy Roddick. The next year, Federer began to dominate the men’s game like no one else for a long time. He won three Grand Slam singles titles (the first to do this since Mats Wilander in 1988) Unsurprisingly he ended that dominant year as world number one. A position he was to keep for the next four years. An epic moment in his career came in the 2007 Wimbledon final.

Federer beat long-time rival R.Nadal in a thrilling five set final to give him five consecutive Wimbledon titles (only the 2nd player since Bjorn Borg to achieve this feat) It was widely regarded as one of the great Wimbledon finals. After winning, Federer said: “Each one is special but to play a champion like Rafa, it means a lot and equalling Bjorn’s record as well…” ( BBC Sport ) In 2011, Federer had a relatively lean year – failing to win a grand slam for first time in several years. Federer faced increased levels of competition from Rafa Nadal and an improving N Djokovic, Andy Murray. In 2012, he returned to form at Wimbledon, winning his 7th title on grass. He also won a silver medal in the Olympics (losing to Andy Murray) and gold in the doubles. In the past few years, Federer’s rate of career milestones has slowed down, but he continues to be one of the great tennis players of the era – despite also showing human limitations. Federer has also displayed great versatility and great perseverance, in a career spanning over a decade.

Jimmy Connors has paid tribute to Federer’s versatility and ability to play on any surface. “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.” He has a wide range of shots and ability to play at both the baseline and at the net.” Federer is widely regarded for having the complete all round game – power, finesse, a full range of shots, and excellent footwork. He methodically looks at opponents to evaluate weakness in their game. Through tournament winnings and endorsements, Federer has become one of the best paid sportsman of the current era. Forbes rank Federer as number two in terms of top earning sportsmen. Federer supports a number of charities, founding the Roger Federer foundation to help disadvantage people through sports in 2003. He was also appointed a goodwill ambassador by UNICEF in 2006. Citation : Pettinger, Tejvan . “Biography Roger Federer”, Oxford, , 21st Oct.

2013 Roger Federer – The Biography Roger Federer Roger Federer Nationality: Switzerland Executive summary: Winner of 17 Grand Slam titles Roger Federer is one of the best tennis players currently touring, and undoubtedly the best Swiss tennis player ever. Federer was raised in M�nchenstein, a suburb of Basel. He started playing tennis at the age of three, and for several years he was an outstanding player at both tennis and soccer. In adolescence, he decided to concentrate on tennis, and at 14 his parents enrolled him at the National Tennis Center, where he lived the game for two years. As a young player, Federer quickly climbed through the junior ranks. During his last year as a junior, in 1998, he won the Wimbledon singles and doubles junior championships. In his first few years on the adult circuit, Federer won a few minor tournaments, but wilted at the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the French Open. Yet in 2003, Federer made history by becoming the first Swiss man to win the singles championship at Wimbledon. Federer endorses high-quality timepieces manufactured by Maurice Lacroix in television commercials.

He is also sponsored by Nike, Wilson, and Emmi, a Swiss dairy conglomerate. JockBio: Roger Federer Biography In professional tennis, the only crime worse than lacking world-class talent is squandering it. For years, the curse of untapped potential hung around Roger Federer’s neck like an anvil, as the waited with growing impatience for his big breakthrough. With no holes in his game, fans simply assumed the only thing the fluid, efficient Swiss star needed was character. One life-altering tragedy and 16 Grand Slam titles later, all is forgiven and forgotten, as Roger has brought an element of artistry back to the men’s game. This is his story… GROWING UP Roger Federer was born August 8, 1981, in Basel, Switzerland. ( Click here for today's sports birthdays .) His parents, Robert and Lynette, both worked in the pharmacuetical industry. Robert was an executive for Ciba-Geigy. He met Lynette, a native South African and also a Ciba-Geigy employee, during a business trip. Their marriage also produced a daughter, Diana, in 1979.

Roger and his older sister grew up in the town of Munchenstein, just outside the city of Basel. A 2,000-year-old city on the Rhine, it is home to Switzerland’s oldest university, dozens of museums and the famous Theater Basel. Tennis was a family passion in the Federer home, though neither Roger’s parents nor his sister had any special aptitude for the game. Everyone enjoyed it, however, and Roger showed enough promise to earn entry into Basel’s crack junior program at the age of eight. Roger’s first sports hero was Boris Becker, the young German who won Wimbledon in 1985. Roger recalls watching Becker play Stefan Edberg in the 1988 Wimbledon final. He cried when his idol lost. Controlling his temper was a problem that would plague Roger throughout his childhood. His game already showed signs of genius, but like many kids his age, he was often out of control on the court. (Roger describes himself as a “hothead.”) He erupted after hitting dumb shots and rarely went through a day without hurling his racket against the fence. Robert and Lynette were mortified when they saw their son’s behavior during tournaments. Roger could not understand this.

He was never rude to umpires, linesmen or opposing players. His anger was reserved for himself. The Federers refused to speak to him after one of his episodes, frustrating him even more. Enter Peter Carter. A tough player from Australia, he had learned how to make a little talent go a long way. From the age of 10 to 14, Roger spent more time with Carter than his own parents. The coach taught Roger flawless technique on his ground strokes and serve, and watched him grow into his body and start dominating opponents. The two also discussed the mental side of the game—not just strategy and psychology, but also about the importance of being gracious and polite and reigning in your emotions. Carter was eventually able to get Roger to see how much energy he wasted during his outbursts, and over the next few years, the incidents lessened considerably. In 1994, at the age of 13, Roger decided it was time to leave home and accept an invitation to Switzerland’s national training center in Ecublens, near Lausanne.

He would come home on weekends and spend time with his family, but every Sunday night, when it was time to board the train for the two-hour ride back, he was terribly depressed. The training center was in the French-speaking part of the country. Roger, who spoke German, found himself isolated by many of the students and coaches. Three years later, he left Ecublens and re-enrolled in a new training facility in Biel, where Carter had been put on staff. Reunited with his coach, Roger began a steady rise to the world’s top junior ranking. In 1997, Peter Lundgren, a former ranked ATP player from Sweden who had once coached Marcelo Rios, joined the staff and worked with Roger on occasion. He helped to refine Roger’s already-silky strokes and hammered home the self-control message on which Carter had made such good headway. The following year, Roger distinguished himself as the mot polished teenager in tennis and earned the ITF’s #1 world ranking, capturing the Wimbledon junior singles (versus Irakli Labadze) and doubles titles, as well as the Orange Bowl (versus Guillermo Coria) in Florida.

He also reached the finals of the junior draw at the U.S. Open, but lost to David Nalbandian. Only Edberg, Pat Cash and Bjorn Borg had taken the junior singles at Wimbledon and then gone on to win the senior singles. Aiming to be the fourth, Roger decided it was time to join the men’s tennis tour. After signing a representation deal with IMG, he played some year-end mop-up events and did well enough, reaching the quarterfinals in Toulouse—just his second ATP tournament—and winning the singles and doubles in a Swiss satellite event to finish the season. Instead of tabbing Carter as his coach for his first full pro season, Roger chose Lundgren instead. Once a Top-25 player, Lundgren had insights into the pros that Carter did not. Roger still consulted frequently with his former coach, and within a couple of years, he engineered the ouster of Swiss Davis Cup captain of Jakob Hlasek so that Carter could step into this role. As Switzerland’s best young player, Roger had the power to do this. Roger played well in 1999. He reached the semifinals of a tournament in Vienna and advanced to the quarters in Marseille, Rotterdam and Basel.

His biggest victory came over Carlos Moya, who was ranked #5 at the time. Roger also won a Challenger-level event in Brest, defeating Max Mirnyi. By the end of the year, he was the youngest member of the ATP Tour’s Top 100. ON THE RISE The 2000 season brought Roger his first two ATP finals appearances. He lost to countryman Marc Rosset in Marseille in a final-set tiebreak and to Tomas Enqvist in the finals at Basel. Roger was playing about .500 tennis until the U.S, Open, then finished 16-9 through the end of the year. By far the highlight of Roger’s '00 season was representing Switzerland at the Olympics in Sydney. He lost his quarterfinal match, barely missing out on a medal, By then Rogerhad become smitten with a member of the Swiss women’s team, Miroslava Vavrinec. Their relationship blossomed in the ensuing years, and she eventually was considered a member of the Federer family. Roger finally got on the board in 2001, winning his first ATP singles title in Milan.

He defeated Goran Ivanisevic, Evgeny Kafelnikov and Julien Boutter on his road to the championship. From there, Roger led the Swiss Davis Cup team to victory over the United States by taking both his singles ties as well as the doubles. The first “Federer Express” headlines began appearing soon after. The best was yet to come. With everyone handing the Wimbledon crown to red-hot Pete Sampras that year, Roger stepped up and beat the American star in five sets to end his 31-match winning streak. Tennis fans thought this might be Roger’s long-awaited breakthrough, but he lost in the next round to Tim Henman. It was not the first time he had followed a significant win with a perplexing loss, and it would not be the last. Roger spent the rest of the summer nursing a groin injury. He reappeared at the U.S. Open—where he lost to Andre Agassi in the fourth round. Roger picked up his game when the European indoor tournaments rolled around, reaching the final in his hometown of Basel after an impressive win over Andy Roddick. Henman was waiting for him in the final, however, and beat him for a second time that year.

Roger claimed his first two ATP doubles titles in '01, in Rotterdam with Jonas Bjorkman and in Gstaad with Marat Safin. He ended the year ranked #13 in singles and got high marks on all surfaces. He had a winning record on hardcourts, grass, clay and carpet—an unusual feat for a developing player. Roger barely missed securing one of the six slots in the season-ending Masters Cup. He made it his goal to reach that tournament in 2002. Roger started the ’02 season with a victory at Sydney, an important tuneup for the Australian Open. He began the Open well, advancing to the round of 16 without trouble. Then he ran into Tommy Hass. Though he was handling Haas—Roger actually had match point—the pesky German fought back and won in five sets, taking the decider 8-6. Bjorn Borg, Black Book Partners Archives Waiting for Roger to claim his place in the Top 10 was becoming a frustrating process for his fans. After every signature vicotry, there seemed to be a deflating loss.

This is not unusual on the men’s tour, but in Roger’s case, he won with such creativity and style it was hard to see how he was ever defeated. In Key Biscayne, he upended #1 ranked Lleyton Hewitt and seemed unstoppable on his way to the final, where Andre Agassi cleaned his clock. From a player’s perspective, you were never sure which Federer was going to show up. And you didn’t always find out right away. For every guy Roger blew off the court, there was someone else who hung in until he lost his rhythm, and suddenly it was a match again. At the ’02 French Open, Roger was beaten by Moroccan journeyman Hicham Arazi in the first round. A week earlier, at a clay court tournament in Hamburg, he had destroyed Gustavo Kuerten and Marat Safin to win his first Masters series event. As the summer tournaments rolled around, Roger managed to creep into the Top 10 for the first time. But he was still vulnerable in long matches. It wasn’t a matter of conditioning, but rather one of mental toughness. Roger knew it, too.

After four- and five-set losses, he would weep out of frustration in the locker room. When he lost in the first round at Wimbledon in straight sets to 154th-ranked Mario Ancic, some of his most ardent fans began siding with his detractors; perhaps Roger did not have what it took after all. Despite Roger’s claims to the contrary, the pressure of his as-yet-unfulfilled potential was starting to get to him. He had always been despondent after bad losses, but it was getting harder and harder to shake them off. To get to sleep, he would bang his head into the pillow repeatedly to release the tension. Roger dropped another first-rounder that season at an August tournament in Toronto. He stuck around to compete in doubles, but was basically just partying at night instead of preparing for his matches. One evening, Roger went out for beers with some other players after attending a Cirque du Soleil performance, and ignored Lundgren’s repeated attempts to summon him on his cell phone. Finally, his coach called Wayne Ferreira and got through to Roger. Peter Carter was dead, Lundgren told Roger. Talk about guilt—it was at Roger’s urging that Carter had gone on safari in South Africa.

His vehicle had veered off the road and fallen into a ravine. He and the driver were killed instantly. Roger lost it. He bolted into the street. When he couldn’t find a cab, he panicked and just started running. He ran more than a mile until he gained his bearings and made his way back to the hotel. Roger returned to Switzerland to see to the arrangements for Carter’s funeral. The body arrived in Basel on his 21st birthday. Carter’s death forced Roger to focus on his life, his game and his relationships. As a young pro, he had brushed aside some of what Carter had taught him about being a good player and a good man. Now he wanted to honor his old friend by finally embracing these qualities. It didn’t happen overnight. Roger played the U.S. Hardcourts in Cincinnati and was beaten soundly in the first round, and then won only three matches in Flushing Meadows before bowing out of the U.S. Open. Roger finally began to turn things around later in September, when he avenged his loss to Harazi in a Davis Cup tie against Morocco. Roger teamed with George Bastl to win the doubles andbeat Younes El-Aynaoui to wrap up the series.

In each match—they both ended 6-3, 6-2, 6-1— it was like watching a tennis God toy with mere mortals. Someone had flicked on the switch. Roger finished the year strong enough to earn a #6 ranking, and was the only Top 10 player to win multiple singles and doubles championships—teaming with Mirnyi for titles in Rotterdam and Moscow. Roger easily made the season-ending Masters Cup draw. He won the round-robin phase of the tournament andmet Hewitt in the semis. The two young stars pounded away at each other, splitting the first two sets 7-5 and 5-7. Roger was outlasted by Hewitt 7-5 in a classic third and final set, but he impressed tennis experts with his newfound grit against a superior player. Never afraid to move forward—or move on—Roger decided to end his long relationship with IMG in 2003 and asked his parents to handle the bulk of his business dealings, adding an attorney and media consultant to Team Federer. Andre Agassi, 2004 SI for Kids Roger started the year on fire, winning his first 10 matches and capturing singles titles in Dubai and Marseille.

He lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open, but kicked back into high gear that April in Davis Cup play. Roger won both of his singles matches and the doubles to defeat France 3-2. When the clay court season began, Roger took the first tournament in Munich without dropping a set. He also reached the finals of his next event. But at the French Open, Roger bowed out again in the first round, this time to Luis Horna. MAKING HIS MARK Roger righted himself when the men’s tour moved to grass, winning at Halle, one of the tune-up events for Wimbledon. He was firing on all cyliders at the All-England Club, and for a change things seemed to be breaking his way. Co-favorites Hewitt and Agassi lost early, which meant the spotlight was retrained on Roger and Roddick, who were both unbeaten on grass in ’03 as they headed for their semifinal clash. It was all Roger could do to get on the court for this match after straining his back during his fourth-round victory over Feliciano Lopez. Deep massage, pain pills, and a shot at his first Grand Slam kept him going. There was still the small matter of Roddick.

The favorite to advance to the final and win it all, he hadn’t lost in more than a month—and had his serve working. The fact that Roger had never gone this deep into a Grand Slam before did not help his cause with the odds-makers, who believed that he was once again in over his head. A day before the Federer-Roddick match, tennis legends John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Martina Navratilova and Ilie Nastase authored an open letter to the ITF claiming that serve-and-volley tennis was dead, and that new rules needed to be implemented to save the beauty of tennis. Roger answered their charges in eye-opening fashion, demolishing Roddick in straight sets with a masterful display of all-court tennis. Roddick played well and served bullets, but had no answer for the game Roger brought to centre court that day. In the final, Roger faced the only guy on the tour with a serve harder than Roddick’s, Mark Philippoussis. The Aussie held serve most of the time, but was overmatched by Roger once points went into play. The final score of 7-6, 6-2, 7-6 made the match look closer than it was.

At no point was the outcome really in doubt. With the Grand Slam monkey off his back, Roger set his sights on a #1 ranking. Roger reached the final in his next tournament, in Gstaad, but lost to Jiri Novak, ending his unbeaten streak at 15 matches. At the U.S. Open, he lost in the fourth round to David Nalbandian. So much for #1. After the tournament, Roger sucked it up for what he knew would be an emotional meeting with the Australian Davis Cup team. The winner of this competition would not only get to the finals, it would claim the first Carter Cup, named in honor of Roger's old coach. Anytime Switzerland and Australia compete in tennis, the trophy is on the line. Roger won his first match, but by the time he faced Hewitt, the Swiss were down 2-1. He played inspired tennis and took the first two sets. Up 5-3 in the third set, Roger failed to chase after a pretty shot by Hewitt that he assumed was going out. This one point turned the match around, giving Hewitt extra fire in his belly andRoger too much to think about.

He lost the third and fourth sets, and then Hewitt ran him off the court in the fifth, 6-1. Roger rushed to the locker room sobbing. Carter’s parents met with Roger privately after the match and tried to console him. They told him that in Roger’s tennis, they saw their son living on—that when they pulled for Roger, it was like pulling for Peter. This meeting enabled Roger to appreciate Carter’s life lessons on a much deeper level. Some say Roger finally transitioned from boy to man after this meeting in Melbourne. Prior to the season-ending Masters Cup in Houston, Roger got on the wrong side of tournament chairman “Mattress Mac” McIngvale and endured a tongue-lashing that might have sent him packing in the past. Choosing to stay, he unleashed his anger on Agassi in front of a rabidly pro-Agassi crowd. Roger also destroyed Nalbandian and the new world #1 Roddick on his way to the final, where he beat Agassi again. It was a nice way to end the season. Despite having just completed the finest year of his career, Roger fired his coach, Lundgren. Their relationship, he felt, had become too cozy.

Roger needed someone who could rattle his cage when necessary. He believed he and Lundgren had been through too much together for that to happen. Roger started the 2004 campaign with his second Grand Slam title, at the Australian Open. He was on top of his game, as he cruised through the draw and defeated Safin in the final. The victory convinced any remaining disbelievers that Roger had arrived, and vaulted him to the tour’s #1 ranking for the first time. Roger held that ranking with tournament wins in Dubai, Indian Wells and Hamburg. The victory on clay in Germany was a significant one. Unlike the players to whom he was now increasingly being compared—Sampras and McEnroe—Roger was a killer on clay. For this reason, he was installed as the favorite at Roland Garros. But a tough loss to Gustavo Kuerten in the third round derailed his dream of winning four Grand Slams. After the French Open, however, the Federer Express just kept rolling. Roger Federer, 2003 NetPro Roger took his next four tournaments, including Wimbledon. He outplayed Roddick and out-strategized his coach, Brad Gilbert, during a rain-interrupted final.

The two young stars sparred for two-plus sets and sat through two delays before Roger finally found his rhythm and began playing his A Game. Even so, Roddick gained several break points in the third and fourth sets, but Roger did a great job fighting them off. He won 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. After the match, all Roddick could do was shake his head in admiration. He had thrown everything he had at Roger, to no avail. At Wimbledon, Roger showed the tennis world two things it had been waiting to see: he could win against a Top 10 player when he wasn’t at his best, and he could adjust to changing strategies and conditions. It was a truly artistic victory against an overpowering player and a coach who delighted in “winning ugly.” Prior to the U.S. Open, Roger joined the Swiss team in Athens for the Olympics. He lost in the second round to Tomas Berdych, but had a good time at the games. The defeat turned out to be the last one of the year for Roger. Incredibly, he ran the table the rest of the way.

Roger’s sternest test came in the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows against Agassi, as wind, rain and a vociferous home crowd threatened to throw him off. Yet just as he had at Wimbledon, Roger adjusted again and won. The semifinals brought a familiar nemesis in Henman, but this time it was barely a match, as Roger blew him off the court. In the final against Hewitt, Roger authored a near-perfect opening set. Stunning Hewitt and the crowd, he won 6-0 in under 20 minutes. Roger went up 5-2 in the second set but stumbled and let Hewitt back in the match. He recovered to take the tiebreak, and then blanked Hewitt in the third, 6-0. Those who knew both men were shocked. Hewitt’s greatest asset, his tenacity, had all but disappeared by the final set. Roger’s longtime flaw, his lack of grit, was all but absent during the match. Tennis fans were gushing about the tour’s first three-Slam champ since Mats Wilander in 1988.

Roger was not only hailed as the leader of the game’s new wave of male players, he was saluted for his “throwback” style. Roger ended the season at the Masters in Houston, winning the tournament without a hiccup. This was Hewitt’s chance to reassert his former dominance over Roger. Instead, Roger clobbered him in their round-robin match. He beat Hewitt again in the finals, in straight sets—the sixth victory against the Aussie in ’04 against no losses. Roger finished the season with only six losses and was a perfect 11-0 when he reached the finals of a tournament. In his final 23 matches against Top 10 players, he was perfect, too, going 23-0. It had been more than 30 years since a player had dominated the men’s tour to this degree. A few days after the conclusion of the ’04 season, Roger began thinking about 2005. He was determined to improve his stamina and mapped out a more rigorous regimen and diet plan. Roger's first test of the '05 season came at the Australian Open. He breezed through the early rounds, including a decisive victory over Agassi.

In the semis, he met Safin, who had his eye on the #1 ranking. The match was a classic, as the two slugged it out for nearly five hours. They split the first four sets, delighting the SRO crowd with their all-out effort on every point. Several times Roger showed the strain of keeping his 26-match unbeaten string intact as he screamed at himself in anger. Heading into the fifth set, he needed treatment on his right shoulder and elbow for pain that he later called more of a nuisance than anything else. Safin kept the pressure on, making Roger chase down balls all over the court. Trailing 8-7, Roger served to stay alive. With a chance for a break to win the match, Safin drove a shot deep to Roger's forehand. He lunged in desperation, but dropped his racket as he hit his return. With Roger totally defenseless, Safin ended the thrilling match with a simple putaway. The final line score read 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 9-7.

Roger Federer, 2004 SI for Kids Roger rebounded to win the big ATP Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami. In the latter, he fought back from two sets down in a spine-tingling final to win in five sets. His victim was an 18-year-old Spaniard named Rafael Nadal. The two had met in Miami a year before, and Nadal had cleaned Roger’s clock. As the two warriors left the court after their epic final in 2005, their mutual respect was obvious. A rivalry was beginning to bloom. Their next meeting came at the French Open. Clay was Nadal’s best surface, and he beat Roger in a four-set semifinal on his way to his first Grand Slam singles victory. At Wimbledon, Roger went through the draw like a buzzsaw, disposing of Fernando Ganzalez and Lleyton Hewitt in the quarters and semis. In the final against Roddick, Roger dominated the opening set, won the second in a tiebreaker, and closed the American out in the third 6–4. Roger was untouchable at the U.S. Open.

He did not lose a single set on his way to the semifinal against Hewitt, whom he beat in four sets. Roger bested Agassi in the final 6–3, 2–6, 7–6, 6–1. He finished the year at #1 again. There were really no weaknesses in his game at this point. Some were saying that he deserved to be mentioned among the greatest players of all time. Nothing in 2006 diminished this observation. Roger practically slept through the Australian Open, beating Nikolay Davydenko, Flag of Germany Nicolas Kiefer and Marcos Baghdatis in the final three rounds. He got his wakeup call when the clay court season began, as Nadal beat him in Monte Carlo and Rome. The match in Italy lasted five hours, and Roger saved two match points in the fifth-set tiebreaker. It added yet another chapter to what had quickly become the most compelling rivalry in tennis. When Nadal beat Roger in the French Open final, their story was one of the most talked-about in sports. Roger won Wimbledon again, taking every match in straight sets on his way to a final showdown with Nadal.

Roger wiped him out 6–0 in the first set, captured the second-set tiebreaker and then finished him off in the fourth set. Nadal may have been the master of clay, but on grass Roger was still the man. And on hard surfaces, too. Roger claimed the U.S. Open for the third year in a row, surviving a tough quarterfinal with James Blake and defeating Roddick again in the final. At the end of the year, he beat Blake in the finals of the Masters Cup, winning it for the third time in four seasons. Roger was number one again. Behind him at #2 was Nadal, but he was just a speck in the rearview, thousands of points behind. That would start to change in 2007. Roger began the year by winning his 10th Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open. Once again he cruised through a lackluster field, dispatching Fernando González in the final. Roger took the championship without the loss of a set. He ran his consecutive match streak to 41 before losing at Indian Wells to Guillermo Cañas.

He fell to Cañas again at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, leading some to speculate that either: a) Cañas knew something no one else did, or b) that something was wrong with Roger. Roger lost to Nadal in the finals at Monte Carlo and dropped a match to another journeyman in Rome. That made four tournaments in a row without a trophy. However, just when people were whispering he was vulnerable on clay, Roger beat Nadal in the final at the Hamburg Masters. It was the first time he had defeated the Spaniard on the slow stuff. Nadal bounced right back at Roland Garros, denying Roger the French Open for a third consecutive year. Heading into Wimbledon, Roger was well-rested. He skipped the warm-up tournament in Halle, which he had won each year since 2003, and tore through the draw at the All England Club. He defeated Richard Gasquet in the semis. In the finals, Roger met—who else?— Nadal. Their match lasted five grueling sets, with Roger winning two tiebreakers before taking the finale with relative ease, 6–2. The last time anyone had stretched Roger to the limit at Wimbledon was in 2001.

Roger won his 50th career singles championship in Cincinnati later that summer. Next, he captured the U.S. Open again, beating Novak Djokovic in the final. Roger finished another #1 season by beating Nadal in the Masters Cup semis on the way to the championship. Roger started 2008 as the prohibitive favorite in Australia, but was bumped out in the semis by Djokovic, who went on to win it all. It was later revealed that Roger had been the victim of food poisoning. Later he announced that he had been diagnosed with mononeucleosis. Predictably, he showed poorly in the other early season tournaments. Roger soon hired a new coach, Jose Higueras. In his first appearance under his tutelage, he won the Estoril Open in Portugal. His opponent in the final, Nikolay Davydenko, retired after suffering a leg injury in the second set. The previous year, Davydenko had pulled out of a match with a foot injury, triggering an investigation by the ATP. More than a million dollars had been bet against him by Russian gamblers in that match. Davydenko was ultimtely cleared of the charges.

Roger faced Nadal in the finals of two clay court tournaments that spring and lost both times. They also met in the finals of the French Open, where Nadal destroyed him. Roger lost one of the sets 6–0. The last time he had been bageled was in 1999. Roger tightened things up in the weeks before Wimbledon and was sharp throughout the tournament. The tennis world watched in delight as he and Nadal headed for a second straight clash in the final. Roger had a chance to break the modern record with a sixth consecutive championship. Rafael Nadal, 2005 SI for Kids The match went on all day—almost literally. Thanks to rain delays, it lasted over seven hours, with nearly five hours of breathtaking tennis. Nadal seemed to have the upper hand early on, taking the first two sets 6–4, 6–4. But Roger fought back in the third, winning in a tiebreaker. He took the fourth set in a tiebreaker too, saving two match points in the process. The fifth set featured one spine-tingling point after another. Nadal finally prevailed 9–7.

Most people who watched the two superstars battle said it was the greatest match they’d ever seen. A month later, Nadal surpassed Roger as the #1 player in the world. Roger had held that honor for a remarkable 237 consecutive weeks, easily eclipsing the men’s record (160, by Jimmy Connors) and women’s record (186, by Steffi Graf). After winning a gold medal in doubles at the Olympics, Roger put his stamp on the U.S. Open for the fifth year in a row. After survivng a tough match with Igor Andreev in the round of 16, he beat Gilles Muller, Djokovic and Andy Murray for the championship. Murray had stunned Nadal, denying fans in Flushing Meadows a chance to watch a 7th Federer-Nadal Grand Slam final. Roger finished 2008 in the unfamiliar #2 spot behind Nadal. He hit the courts in 2009 looking to reclaim the top spot. He reached his 19th straight Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open but lost in the finals to Nadal.

The match lasted more than four hours, and when it was over, Roger and his fans may have sensed the sun was starting to set on his marvelous career. He could barely summon the words to thank the crowd and congratulate his opponent. Injuries and mid-round losses clouded the picture for Roger during the early months of the season. By the French Open, however, he was firing on all cylinders again. Hoping to capture the one Grand Slam that had eluded him, he caught a break when Nadal was upended in the semifinals by Robin Soderling. Roger then took Soderling apart in the final to become the sixth player ever to complete a career Grand Slam. His 14th Grand Slam singles titles matched the record established seven years earlier by Pete Sampras. Roger broke that record in July when he won Wimbledon for the seventh time. Nadal was out of the draw with tendonitis, which meant that Roger would face either Andy Murray or Andy Roddick in the final. When Roddick upset Murray with a brilliant performance, Roger knew he would have all he could handle, despite the fact that he held an 18–2 career record against the Texan.

Roger dropped the first set and nearly lost the second, but salvaged a dramatic tiebreaker. He won the third set in a tiebreaker, too. As the fourth set began, Roger had yet to break Roddick’s serve. Fortunately he had been serving well himself, but it was Roddick who broke through to even the match 6–3. The fifth set went a record-setting 30-game epic. Both players were brilliant. Roddick showed incredible fortitude, while Roger kept trying to solve his serve. To his own credit, Roger was serving up aces at a remarkable rate, logging 50 for the match. He finally broke Roddick to win the match. With that victory, Roger regained the #1 world ranking from Nadal. Roger took a well-earned five-week break after Wimbledon. He returned to action in Canada at the Rogers Cup, where he lost in the quarters to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He bounced back at the next event, the Cincinnati Open, beating Djokovic in the finals. At the U.S.

Open, Roger scored a comeback win over Hewitt—his 14th match win in a row against his old nemesis—and beat Djokovic again to reach the finals. On the second-to-last point of the match, Roger hit a passing shot from between his legs. He later called it the greatest shot of his life. Two days later, the crowd at Flushing Meadows was stunned when Roger fell short of the title, losing to Juan Martin del Porto. It marked the first time he had lost a Grand Slam final to anyone other than Nadal. Roger looked spent after his U.S. Open loss. He played through aches and pains the rest of the season, losing to del Porto and (for the first time ever) Djokovic in the ATP World Tour Finals. He then lost to Robin Soderling and Nikolay Davydekno in his first 2010 tournaments. Those defeats spurred speculation that fatherhood—he and his wife Mirka had celebrated the birth of twin girls, Charline Riva and Myla Rose—may have cost him his edge, and that he was entering his waning years.

Those whispers ended in Mebourne, when Roger staged a great comeback against Davydekno in the quarterfinals and then beat Tsonga and Andy Murray in straight sets to capture the Australian Open—his 16th Grand Slam championship, and his first as a dad. Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal, 2008 Sports Illustrated As it turned out, this was Roger’s one and only Grand Slam final in 2010. He failed to reach the semis at the French for the first time in six years and relinquished the #1 ranking in the process. This was a huge deal. Roger had held the top spot for a combined 285 weeks—one short of Pete Sampras’s record. Roger sank to #3 after losing to Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. He looked to rebound at the U.S. Open but fell in a five-set thriller to rising star Novak Djokavic. Roger actually had match point against the 23-year-old Serb but let the victory slip away. Between the two Grand Slam events, Roger hired coach Paul Annacone to revitalize his game. The new partnership paid immediate dividends, as Roger won two European tournaments.

These wins pushed him ahead of Sampras on the career victories list, with a total of 65. After the U.S. Open, Roger won on the hard surface in Cincinnati. He rebounded from a first-set loss in the best-of-three final against Mardy Fish. In the season-ending World Tour Finals, he defeated Nadal in the final. In all, he won five of the nine events he entered—and was runner-up in two others—after teaming up with his new coach. It was enough to give Roger a #2 year-end ranking. Roger entered the 2011 Australian Open having failed to win at the previous three Grand Slams. It had been a long time—eight years, in fact—since he had gone winless in four straight. He advanced to the semis before running into a red-hot Djokavic, who took the matchin straight sets. He went on to win the title. At the Sony Ericcson in Miami, Roger advanced to the finals but lost to Nadal. He lost again that spring to Nadal in Madrid. Heading into the French Open, for the first time in nearly a decade, the tennis experts were not expecting to see Roger in a Grand Slam final.

He crossed them up by defeating Djokavic—previously unbeaten in a remarkable seven events in 2011—in four sets in the semifinals to earn another shot at Nadal. Alas, the Spaniard took the first two sets, dropped the third, and then blew Roger out in the fourth to claim supremacy on clay. Roger and Nadal have finished in the top two spots on the men’s tour each year since 2005. Coming out of the French Open, Roger was ranked #3—miles ahead of Andy Murray and right behind Nadal and Djokvic, who were neck-and-neck for #1. He faces his toughest battle trying to keep that streak going in 2011. The two leaders are on their game, and Roger is fighting Father Time as he approaches his 30th birthday. Those who claim Roger belongs in the same class with players like Bill Tilden, Rod Laver and Sampras no longer have to defend their view. When Roger is playing his best, he is as good as anyone who has ever taken the court.

He can do more to beat an opponent than anyone on the tour and isn't afraid to adjust his approach if the situation warrants—or if he just feels like it. In an era when rackets amount to little more than power tools, Roger hand-crafts his wins. That type of virtuosity was thought to be a thing of the past not too long ago. Hopefully, for Roger and the rest of tennis, it’s a sign of the future. ROGER THE PLAYER Though capable of overwhelming most of his opponents, Roger prefers to pick their games apart—sometimes exposing their weaknesses, sometimes finding ways to use their own strengths against them. These cat-and-mouse games used to be his undoing, but he has perfected his craft, and now it his opponents who look helpless at times, not him. Roger’s anticipation and footwork are as good an anyone’s on the pro tour—and maybe ever. His volleying skills are matchless among current ATP players, and the best the tour has seen since John McEnroe’s. Surrounded by super athletes who wield ultrapowerful rackets, Roger has reintroduced the slice to men’s tennis.

So few current players have experience with this “weapon” that it has become one of Roger’s most effective approach shots. Despite his reputation for finesse, Roger does not lack a power game. His strokes are so effortless, it seems impossible that he could generate the pace he does, but clean winners don’t lie—he hits as many as any top player. The same is true of Roger’s serve, which is well above average. Off the court, Roger’s courteousness and openness have endeared him to the tennis fans. There may not be a nicer guy on the tour. Those who believe Roger is as good at this age as anyone in history point to the fact that, unlike Laver and Borg, he is comfortable on hard surfaces, and can dominate on them. And unlike Sampras and McEnroe, his game is championship-caliber on clay.

Roger Federer, Roger Federer - Biography - IMDb Roger Federer Biography Showing all 34 items Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (2) | Trivia (26) | Personal Quotes (1) Overview (3) 6' 1¼" (1.86 m) Mini Bio (1) Federer is the former #1 ranked tennis player in the world, having held the number one position for a record 237 consecutive weeks. He won the Indesit ATP 2004 Race on September 14. The ATP confirmed that his lead was insurmountable, marking what is believed to be the earliest a player has locked up the year-end No. 1 position since the ATP Rankings were established in 1973. He won his third Grand Slam title of the year at the U.S. Open. That was his 9th title of the year, his 16th since the beginning of 2003, his 19th career title. No other male player had ever won his first four Grand Slam finals.

He is considered to have the talent to be the best tennis player of all time. His fellow players have nicknamed him "The Natural." He is the favorite tennis player of Anna Wintour, editor of American Vogue. She sometimes can be seen at his matches. He's frequently featured in American Vogue and once graced the cover of Men's Vogue. He has appointed former American tennis player Paul Annacone as his coach. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Kebrazza Spouse (1) ( 11 April 2009 - present) (4 children) Trade Mark (2) Single-handed backhand Trivia (26) Two days after winning his first Wimbledon, he was presented with a 1,760 lb. milking cow he named "Juliette" as a gift from tournament organizers in Gstaad, Switzerland. In July 2003, he launched his own fragrance called "RF-RogerFederer." During his youth, his idols were Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg . First Swiss man to win a Grand Slam singles title Born to Swiss-German Robert Federer and his South African wife Lynette, he has one older sister, Diana.

Has won 17 Grand Slam titles in the men's singles competition, making him the first man to win at least three separate Grand Slam tournaments four times: Australian Open (2004, 2006, 2007 and 2010), French Open (2009), Wimbledon (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2012) and US Open (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008). After surpassing Jimmy Connors , he holds the all-time record for most consecutive weeks as top-ranked male player (February 2007). Plays the piano. Speaks English, Swiss German, German and French. Plays squash and table tennis. His favorite vacation locations are the Swiss mountains, Dubai and Maledives.

Was chosen Swiss Sportsman of the Year in 2003, 2004 and 2006; European Sportsman of the Year from 2004 to 2006; Laureus World Sportsman of The Year in 2005 and 2006 and "L'Equipe" Magazine's Champion of Champions in 2006 and 2007. Was coached by Australian Tony Roche from 2005 to 2008. Supporter of FC Basel and A.S. Roma. In 2007, Forbes Magazine estimated his earnings for the year to be $29 million. Shares the record of straight 5 Wimbledon titles (2003-2007), with Björn Borg (1976-1980). Beaten by Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 at the 2008 French Open, the worst defeat by a Slam winner in a Slam final since John McEnroe defeated Jimmy Connors , 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 at the 1984 Wimbledon.

Announced on his web site that he married girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec in a small ceremony in his hometown. The couple are expecting their first child in the Fall. (11 April 2009). Good friends with Tiger Woods . Was coached by Swedish Peter Lundgren for 7 years. Twin daughters, Charlene Riva and Myla Rose, born on July 23, 2009. His 2009 Wimbledon final defeat of American Andy Roddick (5-7 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 16-14) lasted a record 77 games over a period of 4 hours and 16 minutes. Federer's loss to Rafael Nadal the previous year consumed 4 hours and 48 minutes of play, to date (2009), the longest men's singles final in Wimbledon history.

Question: What nationality is tennis player Roger Federer?
Answer: Swiss