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| 2007 || $10 million earned in a season || [[Rafael Nadal]]
| 2007 || $10 million earned in a season || [[Rafael Nadal]]
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| 2004-2009 || 2 winning streaks of 35+ matches || [[Björn Borg]]
| 2005–2007 || 2 winning streaks of 35+ matches || [[Björn Borg]]
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| 2004-2009 || 6 winning streaks of 20+ matches || '''Stands alone'''
| 2004–2009 || 6 winning streaks of 20+ matches || '''Stands alone'''
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Revision as of 22:30, 3 April 2011

"Federer" redirects here. For other uses, see Federer (disambiguation).

Roger Federer
Australian Open 2010
Country (sports)  Switzerland
ResidenceBottmingen, Switzerland
Born (1981-08-08) 8 August 1981 (age 43)
Basel, Switzerland
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro1998[1]
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$ $62,037,032
Singles
Career record765–178 (81.12%)
Career titles67 (4th in overall rankings in Open era)
Highest rankingNo. 1 (2 February 2004)
Current rankingNo. 3 (26 March 2011)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenW (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010)
French OpenW (2009)
WimbledonW (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)
US OpenW (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsW (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010)
Olympic Games4th place (losing bronze-finalist) (Template:OlympicEvent)
Doubles
Career record114–74 (60.6%)
Career titles8
Highest rankingNo. 24 (9 June 2003)
Current rankingNo. 99 (21 March 2011)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open3R (2003)
French Open1R (2000)
WimbledonQF (2000)
US Open3R (2002)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic Games Gold Medal (Template:OlympicEvent)
Last updated on: 7 November 2010.
Olympic medal record
Representing  Switzerland
Men's Tennis
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Doubles

Roger Federer (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP number one position for a record 237 consecutive weeks.[2] As of 28 March 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Federer has won a male record 16 Grand Slam singles titles, holding at least one Grand Slam title every single week from Wimbledon 2003 until the Australian Open in 2011. 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). Many sports analysts, tennis critics, former and current players consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 22 career Grand Slam finals, of which 10 were consecutive appearances, and appeared in 18 of 19 finals over the four and a half years from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open, excluding the 2008 Australian Open. 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] In the 2011 Australian Open he reached his 27th consecutive quarter-finals in the grand slam tournaments, equalling the record set by Jimmy Connors.[10]

Federer has won a record five ATP World Tour Finals (shared with Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras) 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. For the past eight years (2003–2010) he has been in the top two in the year-end rankings.

As a result of Federer's successes in tennis, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record four consecutive years (2005–2008).[11] He is often referred to as The Federer Express[12] or abbreviated to Fed Express, the Swiss Maestro[12] or simply Maestro.[12][13][14][15]

Childhood and personal life

Federer was born in Binningen, near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South African-born Lynette.[16] He holds both Swiss and South African citizenships.[17] He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, near Basel, close to the French-German borders and Federer speaks Swiss German, German, French and English fluently.[16][18][19] He was raised as a Roman Catholic and met Pope Benedict XVI while playing the 2006 Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome.[20] 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."[21]

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.[22] 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).[23] On 23 July 2009, Mirka gave birth to twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva.[24]

Outreach and charitable efforts

Federer supports his charities. He established the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to help disadvantaged people and to promote sports.[25][26] In 2005, he auctioned his racquet from his US Open championship to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.[27] He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF in 2006.[28] At the 2005 Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Federer arranged an exhibition involving several top players from the ATP tour and WTA tour called Rally for Relief. The proceeds from the event went to the victims of the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake . Since then, he has visited South Africa and Tamil Nadu, one of the areas in India most affected by the tsunami.[29] 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.[30] He was named as a 2010 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in recognition of his leadership, accomplishments and contributions to society.[31]

Similar to the 2010 event, Hit for Haiti, Federer organised and participated in a charity match called Rally for Relief on 16 January 2011, to benefit those that were affected in the 2010-2011 Queensland floods.

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[32] and in doubles teamed up with Olivier Rochus, in which they defeated the team of Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram 6–4, 6–4.[33] 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.[34] 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.[35] 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).[36] Federer won in 2001 the Hopman Cup representing Switzerland, with Martina Hingis. 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.[36] 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.[37] 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.[37] Federer made ten singles finals during this time in his career between 1998 and 2002, of which he won four and lost six.[35][36][37][38][39] 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.[37][39]

2003–2006: Breakthrough and dominance

Main articles: Roger Federer in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006

In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, beating Mark Philippoussis 7–6(5), 6–2, 7–6(3).[40] Federer won his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 Event in Miami with Max Mirnyi,[41] and made it to one singles Masters Series 1000 Event in Rome on clay, which he lost.[40] Federer made it to nine finals on the ATP Tour and won seven of them, including the 500 series events at Dubai and Vienna.[40] Lastly, Federer won the Year-End Championships over Andre Agassi.[40]

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.[42] 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.[42] 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.[42] Federer took the ATP 500 series event at Dubai, and wrapped up the year by winning the year-ending championships for the second time.[42]

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.[43] 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.[43] Federer would also take four ATP Masters Series 1000 wins: Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati (on hard court) and Hamburg (on clay).[43] Furthermore, Federer won two ATP 500 series events at Rotterdam and Dubai.[43] Federer lost the year-ending championships to David Nalbandian in the final.[43]

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.[44] 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[44] and at the US Open, Federer defeated Roddick (2003 champion) 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1.[44] 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.[44]

2007 to present: Becoming the greatest

Main articles: Roger Federer in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, Roger Federer in 2011, and 2011

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.[45] Federer made five ATP Masters Series 1000 finals, but won only in Hamburg and Madrid.[45] Federer won one 500 series event in Dubai and won the year-ending championships.[45]

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.[46] 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.[46] In the Australian Open, Federer lost in the semifinals to Djokovic, which ended his record of 10 consecutive finals.[46] Federer lost twice in Master Series 1000 Finals on clay to Nadal at Monte Carlo and Hamburg.[46] 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.[47]

External image
image icon Federer on the Cover of Sports Illustrated After 2009 French Open Victory

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.[48] 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.[48] Federer won two more events, the first at the Madrid Masters over Nadal in the final, which was on clay, 6–4, 6–4.[48] 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.[48] 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.[48]

In 2010, Federer continued to reach milestones and achievements. He won the Australian Open.[49] In the final, Federer defeated Andy Murray 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(11), whom he also beat in the 2008 US Open final.[46][49] 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 in the quarterfinals, and losing his number 1 ranking.[49] Since Söderling eventually lost in the final to Nadal, this tournament also marked first time since the 2004 French Open that Federer was defeated in a Grand Slam tournament by someone other than the eventual champion. However, at the French Open Federer won his 700th tour match and 150th tour match on clay.[49][50] Federer was just one week away from equalling Pete Sampras's record of 286 weeks as World No. 1. This is the first time since 2001 that Federer has entered Wimbledon having won only one title for the year. 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, but he did win his 200th grand slam match in the first round.[49][51][52] At the 2010 U.S. Open, Federer reached the semifinals, avenging his French Open loss to Söderling in the quarterfinals. 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.[49] Federer made it to four Masters 1000 finals, losing three of them and winning one. At the Madrid Open, he lost to Nadal 6–4, 7–6.[49] At the Canadian Masters, Federer lost to Murray.[53] 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.[54] He also equaled Agassi for the number of Masters wins at 17 and tied Borg's mark for number of total titles won and moved to just one behind Sampras. His next appearance was in Shanghai, where he lost to Andy Murray for the second time this year in a Masters' Series final. Towards the middle of July, Federer hired Pete Sampras' old coach Paul Annacone to put his tennis game and career on the right path on a trial period basis.[55] Federer won two straight titles at the Stockholm Open a ATP-250 level event, and in Basel, an ATP-500 level contest, which brought his tally to 65 career titles, equaling and surpassing Pete Sampras' total of 64 titles on the ATP Tour. Lastly, Federer won the Year-End Championships (now known as the World Tour Finals) by beating rival Rafael Nadal, for his fifth title at the event. He showed much of his old form, beating all contenders except Nadal in straight sets. After hiring Paul Annacone as his coach, Federer has entered nine tournaments, won five of them, was runner up in two, and reached the semifinals of the other two. Since Wimbledon 2010, Federer has a win loss record of 34–4, and has had multiple match points in two of his losses: to Novak Djokovic in the semifinal of the US Open, and Gael Monfils in the semifinal of the Paris Masters. Federer did not play in the 2010 Davis Cup.

At the start of the 2011 season, Federer defeated Nikolay Davydenko 6–3 6–4 to win the Qatar ExxonMobil Open without dropping a set, it was his third title following wins in 2005 and 2006. Federer was defeated in straight sets during the semi-finals of the 2011 Australian Open by Novak Djokovic, marking the first time since July 2003 that he did not win any four of the Grand Slams he appeared in consecutively. He went on to make it to the final in Dubai, losing 3–6 3–6 to Djokovic. Federer then entered the first Masters 1000 event of the year, the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, receiving a first round bye, he faced Igor Andreev of Russia in the first round 7-5 7-6(4), he blitzed 29th seed Juan Ignacio Chela in the third round 6-0 6-2, in the fourth round, he beat american qualifier Ryan Harrison 7-6(4) 6-3, in the quarter-finals, he beat compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3 6-4. He then fell to world number 3, Novak Djokovic, 6-3 3-6 6-2 relinquishing the number 2 ranking. Federer also reached the doubles final along side Swiss compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka, beating rival Rafael Nadal along the way. Federer and Wawrinka lost to Dolgopolov and Xavier Malisse 6-4 6-7 10-7 in the doubles final. Federer then entered the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. He defeated Radek Stepanek in the second round 6-3 6-3. He beat Juan Monaco 7-6 6-4 and then Olivier Rochus 6-3 6-1. He then beat Gilles Simon 3-0 retired due to Simon's neck injury. This set up a 23rd match up with arch-rival, Rafael Nadal. Nadal dominated the match and beat Federer 6-3 6-2 which made the hard court head to head between Federer and Nadal 4-4.

Rivalries

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.[56][57][58][59][60]

They 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).[61] 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.[62]

Nadal leads their head-to-head 15–8.[63] Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 18 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record 7 Grand Slam finals.[64] 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.[65][66][67][68] 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. 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.[69] 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. Nalbandian

David Nalbandian was Federer's biggest rival earlier in his career. Both players had an outstanding junior career, Federer won the Wimbledon junior title and Nalbandian won the US Open junior title (beating Federer). Even though Federer has a narrow advantage against Nalbandian, leading their meetings 10–8, Nalbandian beat Federer in their first five meetings after turning professional, including the fourth round of both the Australian Open and US Open in 2003. Their most impressive match was in the 2005 Shanghai Tennis Master Cup, where Nalbandian came back from being two sets to love down against Federer and ultimately prevailed in a fifth set tiebreak. The loss prevented Federer from tying John Mcenroe's 82–3 all-time single year record, set in 1984. Nalbandian, Lleyton Hewitt, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray share the record of having beaten Federer 8 times; only Rafael Nadal has more victories over Federer.

Federer vs. Djokovic

These two have met 22 times with Federer leading 13–9, and 4–3 in grand slam events. Djokovic is the only player besides Nadal to have defeated Federer more than once in a Grand Slam tournament since 2004, and the only player besides Nadal to defeat Federer in consecutive grand slam tournaments (2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open). Djokovic is one of two (the other again being Nadal) player currently on tour to have defeated Federer in straight sets at a Grand Slam (Australian Open 2008 and Australian Open 2011). Due to the rising game of Djokovic in the last 3 years, many experts include Djokovic when talking about Nadal and Federer (all 3 have played each other more than 20 times) and Federer has cited his rivalry with Djokovic as his second favorite after his rivalry with Nadal. Djokovic's recent back-to-back wins against Federer at the Australian Open, Dubai and Indian Wells tournament have made this rivalry even more heated.

Federer vs. Murray

These two have met 14 times, all hard courts, with Murray leading 8–6.[70] Federer has won each of their Grand Slam matches in straight sets (2008 US Open[71] and 2010 Australian Open[72]), but Murray leads 5–1 in ATP 1000 tournaments. They have met three times in the ATP World Tour Finals, with Murray winning in 2008[73] and Federer in 2009 and 2010.[74] Apart from Nadal, Murray is the only other current top ten player to have a positive head to head record against Federer.

Federer vs. Roddick

One of Federer's longest rivalries, although very much a one-way affair, is with Andy Roddick. Having met on many occasions, including four Grand Slam finals, Federer leads 20–2. Federer's dominance on the tour emerged as Roddick rose to World No. 1 ranking.

Arguably the most notable encounter was the 2009 Wimbledon final, where Roddick took Federer to five sets, including a fifth-set thriller, with the match lasting over 4 hours.

Playing style

Federer at the 2007 Davidoff Swiss Indoors

Federer's versatility was summarized 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."[75]

Federer is an all-court, all-round player known for his style of play and shot making.[citation needed] 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,"[76] while John McEnroe has referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport."[77] 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.[76] His serve is difficult to read because he always uses a similar ball toss regardless of what type of serve he is going to hit and where he aims to hit 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),[78][79][80] however, he is capable of serving at 220 km/h (137 mph).[78][79] Federer is accomplished at serve and volleying,[81] and used this tactic especially frequently in his early career.[82] 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 bounce, thus giving his opponents less time to react on his shot.[citation needed] 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, referred to as a "tweener," as was shown in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open against Novak Djokovic, bringing him match point. Also, recently, he tends to chip and charge, with mixed results.[citation needed]

Equipment, apparel, endorsements

Federer currently plays with a customised Wilson Six.One Tour BLX tennis racquet,[83] 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).[84] 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.[84] 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."[85]

Federer is one of the highest earning athletes in the world. He has a contract with Nike footwear and apparel.[86] 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.[87] In Wimbledon 2008 and again in 2009, Nike continued this trend by making him a personalised cardigan.[88] He also has his own logo, an R and F joined together.[89] Federer endorses Gillette,[90] Jura, a Swiss-based coffee machine company,[91] as well as Mercedes Benz and NetJets. Federer also endorses Rolex watches,[92] although he was previously an ambassador for Maurice Lacroix.[93] Also in 2009 Federer became brand ambassador for Swiss chocolate makers Lindt.[94] In 2010 his endorsement by Mercedes-Benz China was extended into a global Mercedes-Benz partnership deal.[95]

Grand Slam performance timeline

Main article: Roger Federer career statistics
Tournament 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Career SR Career W-L Career %
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A LQ 3R 3R 4R 4R W SF W W SF F W SF 4 / 12 59–8 88.05
French Open A 1R 4R QF 1R 1R 3R SF F F F W QF 1 / 12 43–11 79.63
Wimbledon A 1R 1R QF 1R W W W W W F W QF 6 / 12 55–6 90.16
US Open A LQ 3R 4R 4R 4R W W W W W F SF 5 / 11 56–6 90.32
Win–Loss 0–0 0–2 7–4 13–4 6–4 13–3 22–1 24–2 27–1 26–1 24–3 26–2 20–3 5–1 16 / 47 213–31 87.29

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only after the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.

"A" means that the player did not play at the event.

"LQ" means that the player lost in the qualifying rounds of the tournament.

Finals (16 titles, 6 runner-ups)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 2003 Wimbledon (1) Grass Australia Mark Philippoussis 7–6(5), 6–2, 7–6(3)
Winner 2004 Australian Open (1) Hard Russia Marat Safin 7–6(3), 6–4, 6–2
Winner 2004 Wimbledon (2) Grass United States Andy Roddick 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(3), 6–4
Winner 2004 US Open (1) Hard Australia Lleyton Hewitt 6–0, 7–6(3), 6–0
Winner 2005 Wimbledon (3) Grass United States Andy Roddick 6–2, 7–6(2), 6–4
Winner 2005 US Open (2) Hard United States Andre Agassi 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(1), 6–1
Winner 2006 Australian Open (2) Hard Cyprus Marcos Baghdatis 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2
Runner-up 2006 French Open (1) Clay Spain Rafael Nadal 6–1, 1–6, 4–6, 6–7(4)
Winner 2006 Wimbledon (4) Grass Spain Rafael Nadal 6–0, 7–6(5), 6–7(2), 6–3
Winner 2006 US Open (3) Hard United States Andy Roddick 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1
Winner 2007 Australian Open (3) Hard Chile Fernando González 7–6(2), 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up 2007 French Open (2) Clay Spain Rafael Nadal 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Winner 2007 Wimbledon (5) Grass Spain Rafael Nadal 7–6(7), 4–6, 7–6(3), 2–6, 6–2
Winner 2007 US Open (4) Hard Serbia Novak Djokovic 7–6(4), 7–6(2), 6–4
Runner-up 2008 French Open (3) Clay Spain Rafael Nadal 1–6, 3–6, 0–6
Runner-up 2008 Wimbledon (1) Grass Spain Rafael Nadal 4–6, 4–6, 7–6(5), 7–6(8), 7–9
Winner 2008 US Open (5) Hard United Kingdom Andy Murray 6–2, 7–5, 6–2
Runner-up 2009 Australian Open (1) Hard Spain Rafael Nadal 5–7, 6–3, 6–7(3), 6–3, 2–6
Winner 2009 French Open (1) Clay Sweden Robin Söderling 6–1, 7–6(1), 6–4
Winner 2009 Wimbledon (6) Grass United States Andy Roddick 5–7, 7–6(6), 7–6(5), 3–6, 16–14
Runner-up 2009 US Open (1) Hard Argentina Juan Martín del Potro 6–3, 6–7(5), 6–4, 6–7(4), 2–6
Winner 2010 Australian Open (4) Hard United Kingdom Andy Murray 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(11)

Year-End Championship performance timeline

Tournament 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Career SR Career W-L Career %
Year-End Championship tournaments
YEC NQ NQ NQ NQ SF W W F W W RR SF W 5 / 9 34–7 82.93
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 3–1 5–0 5–0 4–1 5–0 4–1 1–2 2–2 5–0
Finals (5 titles, 1 runner-up)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 2003 United States Houston Hard United States Andre Agassi 6–3, 6–0, 6–4
Winner 2004 United States Houston Hard Australia Lleyton Hewitt 6–3, 6–2
Runner-up 2005 China Shanghai Carpet (i) Argentina David Nalbandian 7–6(4), 7–6(11), 2–6, 1–6, 6–7(3)
Winner 2006 China Shanghai Hard (i) United States James Blake 6–0, 6–3, 6–4
Winner 2007 China Shanghai Hard (i) Spain David Ferrer 6–2, 6–3, 6–2
Winner 2010 United Kingdom London Hard (i) Spain Rafael Nadal 6–3, 3–6, 6–1

Olympic games

(1 gold medal)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score in the final
Winner 2008 China Beijing Hard Switzerland Wawrinka Sweden Aspelin
Sweden Johansson 		6–3, 6–4, 6–7(4), 6–3


Records

Main article: List of career achievements by Roger Federer
  • These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.
  • Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.
  • Records in italics are currently active streaks.

See also

References and notes

  1. ^ "ATP website profile of Roger Federer". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
  2. ^ "Profile: Roger Federer – The greatest ever". CNN. 6 July 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
  3. ^ Richard Evans (24 June 2007). "Jack the Lad". London: The Observer. Retrieved 15 February 2009. Jack Kramer "is ready to anoint Roger Federer as the best he has seen".
  4. ^ "Federer the greatest ever — Lloyd". BBC Sport. 7 June 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  5. ^ Jago, Richard (5 June 2009). "'Roger Federer is the greatest' says Pete Sampras after record broken". London. The Guardian. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  6. ^ Barnes, Simon (8 June 2009). "Roger Federer, greatest of all time, ensures statistics back up unrivalled artistry". Times Online. London. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  7. ^ "Is Roger Federer the greatest?". BBC Sport. 4 July 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
  8. ^ "Top 10 Men's Tennis Players of All Time". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  9. ^ Greg Garber. "Soderling rocks tennis world again". ESPN. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  10. ^ Jim Courier interviewing Federed after the latter’s fourth-round win over Tommy Robredo, Eurosport broadcast, 23 January 2011.
  11. ^ "Winners Archive Roger Federer". Laureus World Sports Awards. Retrieved 10 July 2008.
  12. ^ a b c "Federer Express Cruises To 16th Grand Slam Title, Tops Murray In Australia". All Headline News. 31 January 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  13. ^ Walsh, Courtney (26 January 2010). "Roger Federer express rolls Lleyton Hewitt". The Australian. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  14. ^ Cohen, Brandon (25 January 2010). "Fed Express steamrolls Lleyton". Sportal.com.au. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  15. ^ "Fed Express powers though". ESPN.co.uk. 23 January 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  16. ^ a b Rene Stauffer (2007). The Roger Federer Story: Quest for Perfection. New Chapter Press. p. 4. ISBN 0942257391.
  17. ^ Für wen schlägt Federers Fussball-Herz, Blick.ch, 11 September 2009
  18. ^ "Ask Roger — Official website". Roger Federer Official Website. Retrieved 2 March 2007.
  19. ^ Roger Federer. "Ask Roger". Roger Federer Official Website. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  20. ^ "Roger Meets With Pope". Roger Federer Official Website. Retrieved 19 November 2007.
  21. ^ Fabian Muhieddine (13 July 2009). "Roger Federer: le voici exempté de PC..." (in French). Le Matin. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
  22. ^ Brian Viner (2 July 2005). "Roger Federer: A Smashing Guy". The Independent. London. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  23. ^ "Off Court — Mr. and Mrs. Federer". Roger Federer Official Website. 11 April 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  24. ^ "Roger Federer and wife are proud parents of twins". OneIndia. 24 July 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2009..
  25. ^ "Roger Federer Foundation To Support Children And Young People In South Africa". Roger Federer Official Website. 28 May 2004. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  26. ^ "Mission statement". Roger Federer Foundation. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  27. ^ "Off Court – Racquets Net $40,000 For Victims Of Hurricane". Roger Federer Official Website. 20 September 2005. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  28. ^ "UNICEF's newest Goodwill Ambassador, tennis star Roger Federer, hits an ace for children". UNICEF. 3 April 2006. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  29. ^ "Federer visits tsunami victims in India". SwissInfo. 23 December 2006. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  30. ^ "Stars rally for a common cause". Tennis Australia. 16 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  31. ^ World Economic Forum – Latest News Releases. Weforum.org (3 March 2010). Retrieved on 18 March 2010.
  32. ^ AELTC. "Boys' Singles honour roll". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  33. ^ AELTC. "Boys' Doubles honour roll". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  34. ^ ITF Junior. "Federer Junior Activity". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  35. ^ a b ATP. "Roger Federer Playing Activity 1998". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  36. ^ a b c ATP. "Roger Federer Playing Activity 2000". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  37. ^ a b c d ATP. "Roger Federer Playing Activity 2002". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  38. ^ ATP. "Roger Federer Playing Activity 1999". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  39. ^ a b ATP. "Roger Federer Playing Activity 2001". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  40. ^ a b c d ATP. "Roger Federer Playing Activity 2003". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  41. ^ ATP. "Roger Federer 2003 Doubles". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  42. ^ a b c d ATP. "Roger Federer Playing Activity 2004". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  43. ^ a b c d e ATP. "Roger Federer Playing Activity 2005". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  44. ^ a b c d ATP. "Roger Federer Playing Activity 2006". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  45. ^ a b c ATP. "Roger Federer Playing Activity 2007". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  46. ^ a b c d e ATP. "Roger Federer Playing Activity 2008". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  47. ^ ATP. "Roger Federer 2008 Doubles". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  48. ^ a b c d e ATP. "Roger Federer Playing Activity 2009". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  49. ^ a b c d e f g ATP. "Roger Federer Playing Activity 2010". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  50. ^ Tennis - ATP World Tour - Roland Garros Friday - Federer Joins 700 Match Wins Club
  51. ^ Tennis - ATP World Tour - The Championships - Berdych Sends Federer Spinning Out
  52. ^ Federer joins an elite club - Rediff Sports
  53. ^ "Murray beats rain and Federer to defend title". ATP. 15 August 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  54. ^ "Federer back to winning ways with fourth Cincinnati crown". ATP. 22 August 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  55. ^ "Federer hires Annacone". Daily Telegraph. London. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2010. [dead link‍]
  56. ^ "Federer-Nadal rivalry as good as it gets". International Herald Tribune (Associated Press). 7 July 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  57. ^ Weaver, Paul (7 July 2008). "Move over McEnroe and Borg, this one will run and run in the memory". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  58. ^ Flanagan, Martin (12 July 2008). "Federer v Nadal as good as sport gets". Melbourne: The Age. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  59. ^ Bodo, Peter (30 January 2009). "Rivalry!". Peter Bodo's Tennisworld. Tennis.com. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  60. ^ MacGregor, Jeff (3 February 2009). "Greatest rivalry of the 21st century?". ESPN.com. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  61. ^ Jago, Richard (15 August 2009). "Murray reaches world #2". Observer. London. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  62. ^ "It's official: Nadal will pass Federer for No. 1". NBC Sports (Associated Press). 1 August 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  63. ^ "Head to Head player details". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  64. ^ "Rafa & Roger: The Rivalry". ATP World Tour. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009. [dead link‍]
  65. ^ Jenkins, Bruce (7 July 2008). "The Greatest Match Ever". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  66. ^ Alleyne, Richard (7 July 2008). "Wimbledon 2008: John McEnroe hails Rafael Nadal victory as greatest final ever". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  67. ^ Wertheim, Jon (9 July 2008). "Without a doubt, it's the greatest". Tennis Mailbag. SI.com. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  68. ^ Tignor, Steve (8 July 2008). "W: Report Cards". Concrete Elbow. Tennis.com. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  69. ^ Federer versus Hewitt Head-to-Head
  70. ^ "Federer v Murray Head to Head". atpworldtour.com. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  71. ^ "Superb Federer ends Murray dream". BBC Sport. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  72. ^ "One more equals four" australianopen.com. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  73. ^ "Murray beats Federer in 3 sets". Guardian. 14 November 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  74. ^ "Federer crushes lacklustre Murray". 23 November 2010.
  75. ^ www.sportsfeelgoodstories.com (20 February 2009). "Roger Federer, a class act on and off the court, leads tennis revival". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  76. ^ a b David Foster Wallace (20 August 2006). "Federer as Religious Experience". Play Magazine. New York Times. Retrieved 21 June 2007.
  77. ^ Kevin Hench (7 May 2007). "Who's the best athlete in the world right now?". Fox Sports. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
  78. ^ a b Australianopen.com. "Match Statistics: Federer vs. Murray". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  79. ^ a b Wimbledon.org. "Match Statistics:Federer vs. Roddick". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  80. ^ Ubha, Ravi (2 July 2008). "Federer's serve allowing him to manufacture easy points". ESPN.com. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  81. ^ Stephen Bierley (8 July 2003). "Serve-volley dead? No one told Federer". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  82. ^ Charles Lin (11 July 2010). "Best Serve and Volleyer in the World". Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  83. ^ "Wilson Sports". Wilson Sporting Goods. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  84. ^ a b "Ask Roger — Equipment". Roger Federer Official Website. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  85. ^ "Ask Roger; Official website". Roger Federer Official Website. Retrieved 2 March 2007.
  86. ^ "Roger Federer Sponsors". Roger Federer Official Website. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  87. ^ Hodgkinson, Mark (27 June 2006). "More than a jacket for Federer". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  88. ^ Mark Hodgkinson (27 June 2006). "More jacket than racket for Federer". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
  89. ^ Bruback, Holly (29 August 2009). "The Main Characters of Tennis, and Style". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  90. ^ "Federer beats Nadal and Sharapova — in endorsement deals". Business Insider. 25 August 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  91. ^ "Gillette Winners". Gillette Winners. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  92. ^ "Federer's on-court dominance still not attracting sponsors". CNNMoney.com. 1 July 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  93. ^ "Roger Federer Chronometer". Europa Star. 2 April 2005. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  94. ^ Company > Lindt & Sprüngli, Maître chocolatier suisse depuis 1845
  95. ^ "Mercedes-Benz Announces Global Partnership with Roger Federer". PRNewsWire.com. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
  96. ^ "Federer to Record 27th Straight Quarterfinal". CBS News. 23 January 2011.
  97. ^ Federer sets new Australian Open record - News - Australian Open Tennis 2011

Further reading

  • Bowers, Chris (2007). Fantastic Federer: The Biography of the World's Greatest Tennis Player. John Blake. ISBN 1-84454-407-9.
  • Stauffer, Rene (2007). The Roger Federer Story: Quest for Perfection. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. ISBN 0-942257-39-1.

Video

  • Wimbledon Classic Match: Federer vs Sampras Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 31 October 2006, Run Time: 233 minutes, ASIN: B000ICLR98.
  • Wimbledon 2007 Final: Federer vs. Nadal (2007) Kultur White Star, DVD Release Date: 30 October 2007, Run Time: 180 minutes, ASIN: B000V02CU0.
  • Wimbledon — The 2008 Finals: Nadal vs. Federer Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 19 August 2008, Run Time: 300 minutes, ASIN: B001CWYUBU.
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