Full Name: Roger Federer
Date of Birth: August 8th, 1981
Place of Birth: Basel, Switzerland
Nationality: Swiss
Height: 6ft 1in
Turned Professional: 1998
Photo of Roger Federer by togo
Roger Federer is widely recognised as one of the true all-time greats in world tennis. His record speaks for itself. He has held the position of world number one for a total of 302 weeks including a totally dominent spell from 2004 to 2008. He has won an incredible 17 Grand Slam singles titles and has been in the final of each Grand Slam tournament on at least five times. He has won Wimbledon seven times, five consecutive US Open titles, four Australian Opens and one French Open. Federer’s consistency has been almost miraculous, appearing in 24 Grand Slam finals including ten in succession. Between Wimbledon 2005 and Australia 2010, he reached all but one Grand Slam final.
Federer made his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the French Open in 2001 and made an even bigger splash at Wimbledon, beating defending champion Pete Sampras to reach the last eight. Victory in the 2002 Hamburg Masters on clay saw him enter the top ten for the first time. The following year he won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon when he beat Mark Philippoussis. Federer also played in nine finals on the ATP Tour that season, winning seven an dclosed out the year as world number 2.
In 2004, Federer dominated tennis with three Grand Slam singles titles. His victory at the Australian Open gave him the world number 1 spot for the first time. He then defeated Andy Roddick to claim his second Wimbledon crown and went on to win the US Open. Federer made it three in a row at Wimbledon in 2005 after falling in the semi-finals of both the Australian and French Opens. Federer then beat Andre Agassi in the final of the US Open and held his position as world number one.
In 2006, Federer won three more Grand Slam titles and only defeat at the hands of Rafael Nadal in the final of the French Open denied him a clean sweep. Federer proved too strong for Nadal at Wimbledon, defeated Marcos Baghdatis in the Australian Open final and beat Roddick at the US Open. Federer appeared in six ATP Masters Series 1000 finals, winning four to cement his position as world number one. It was a similar story in 2007, the Swiss winning three Grand Slams and losing out in the French Open final to Nadal. He finished the season as world number 1 for the fourth year in a row.
In 2008, Federer found it slightly tougher in the Grand Slam events. His only success came in the US Open where he defeated Andy Murray. Nadal beat him at the French and again at Wimbledon and he was defeated in the semi-finals of the Australian by Novak Djokovic. Federer ended the year as world number two.
Federer finally won his first French Open in 2009 with victory over Robin Söderling and defeated Roddick again at Wimbledon. Nadal beat him in the Australian Open final and he was surprisingly beaten by Juan Martín del Potro at the US Open after a gruelling five-set match. 2010 began well with victory at the Australian Open, again accounting for Britain’s Andy Murray in the final. In France, Federer was beaten in the quarter-finals, the first time he had not reached a Grand Slam semi-final since 2004. He was stunned again at Wimbledon when losing to Tomáš Berdych in the quarter-finals, dropping to world number three. Djokovic beat him in five sets in the semi-finals of the US Open.
The Serbian again accounted for Federer in the semi-finals of the 2011 Australian Open and he was beaten by Rafael Nadal in the final of the French. At Wimbledon, Federer was beaten by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals after taking the first two sets. He also held two match points over Djokovic at the US Open in the semi-finals but was eventually beaten. It was the first time that Federer had not won a Grand Slam since 2002. However, he ended the season on a high in the ATP World Tour Finals, Federer defeated Tsonga to clinch a record sixth ATP World Tour Finals title and finish the year ranked third in the world.
Federer reached the semi-finals in the 2012 Australian Open before losing to Nadal. In the French Open, Federer lost in the semifinal to Djokovic but gained his revenge on the world number one in the semi-finals at Wimbledon. Federer defeated Andy Murray in four sets to regain the world number one ranking and equalling Pete Sampras' Open Era record of seven Wimbledon titles. Murray turned the tables on Federer in the London Olympic final and Tomáš Berdych beat him in the quarter-finals of the US Open. Murray beat Federer in five sets in the semi-final of the Australian Open to kick off 2013 with Federer remaining as world number two.
