Famous Tennis Players
Roger Federer
| Full name: Roger Federer Nickname: Federer Date of Birth: August 8, 1981 ATP Current Ranking: 2nd Nationality: Swiss Residence: Basel, Switzerland Career Tiles: 57 Singles, 8 doubles Career Prize Money: US$ 45,318,757 Game Style: Right-handed; one-handed backhand. Great serve. Profesional Career Titles: Grand Slams: 14 • Wimbledon 2003, '04, '05, '06, '07 • Australian Open 2004, '06, '07 • US Open 2004, '05, '06, '07, '08 • Roland Garros 2009 Tennis Masters Cup: 4 • Houston 2003, 2004 • Shanghai 2006, 2007 ATP Masters Series: 15 • Hamburg 2002, '04, '05, '07 • Indian Wells 2004, '05, '06 • Canada 2004, '06 • Miami 2005, '06 • Madrid 2006, 2009 • Cincinnati 2005, '07 ATP World Tour 500: 8 • Vienna, Austria 2002, '03 • Dubai, UAE 2003, '04, '05, '07 • Rotterdam, Netherlands 2005 • Tokyo, Japan 2006 ATP World Tour 250: 18 • Milan, Italy 2001 • Sydney, Australia 2002 • Marseille, France 2003 • Munich, Germany 2003 • Halle, Germany 2003, '04, '05, '06, '08 • Gstaad, Switzerland 2004 • Bangkok, Thailand 2004, '05 • Doha, Qatar 2005, '06 • Basel, Switzerland 2006, '07, '08 • Estotil, Portugal 2008 Olympic Games: 1 • Beijing 2008 - Doubles Gold Medal |
At the age of fourteen, he became the Swiss Junior champion for all age groups and subsequently relocated to the Swiss National Tennis Center in the French-speaking part of Switzerland for more focused training. The training continued until he finished school at the age of sixteen and began playing more international junior tournaments.
1998 was Federer's last year in the junior circuits; he won the Wimbledon Juniors title and the prestigious year-ending Orange Bowl. He finished the year as the ITF World Junior Tennis champion.
Later in February 2001, Federer won his first ATP tournament in Milan, Italy. He also won 3 matches for his country in the Davis Cup in a 3-2 victory over the United States. He advanced to the quarterfinals at both the French Open and Wimbledon and on his way to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon where he defeated Pete Sampras in the fourth round then finished the year ranked as 13th.
In 2002, Federer started with a tournament victory at Sydney. In February, he won both his Davis Cup singles against former world number ones, Russians Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov. He reached his first Masters Series final in Miami, only to be beaten by Andre Agassi in four sets.
In 2004, Federer had arguably one of the best years in modern men's tennis, winning three of the four Grand Slam titles and three Masters Series titles. He began by winning the Australian Open for the first time, defeating Marat Safin in straight sets. In March, he won his second career Masters Series title by beating Brit Tim Henman in the final at Indian Wells. In May, he won the Hamburg Masters on clay by beating Guillermo Coria. He then defended his Wimbledon crown, overcoming American Andy Roddick in a rain-affected final in four sets. Federer then moved to North America where he added another Masters Series title to his collection, this time in Toronto.
His win-loss record for the year was 74-6 with 11 tournament wins. Federer's remarkable year was recognized when he was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in early 2005, edging out the likes of Michael Schumacher, Valentino Rossi, Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps. He also was named "Player of The Year" by Tennis Magazine.
In 2005, Federer arranged for former Australian tennis player Tony Roche to coach him on a limited basis. To begin 2005, he reached the Australian Open semi-final before falling to Marat Safin in a five-set night match that lasted more than four hours passing midnight in the 4th set.
After his Wimbledon victory in early July, he put down his racquet until August, when he broke his vacation to play the Cincinnati Masters. Federer came into the tournament with a lifetime record of 1-4, and only the year before became the first No. 1 seed to lose his first match since John McEnroe in 1984. His toughest matches of the week came against two resurgent Americans -- James Blake the first round, and Robby Ginepri in the semifinals -- but Federer eventually found himself in the doubly familiar position of playing on a Final Sunday, and playing against Andy Roddick. Federer defeated Roddick in straight sets to take his fourth ATP Masters Series title of the year (a sweep of all the American AMS events) and become the first Swiss male champion in Cincinnati's 107-year history.