Roger Federer Biography

Roger Federer is Swiss tennis player and regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. This biography provides detailed information on his childhood, life, tennis career, major wins, achievements and timeline.

Quick Facts

Birthday: August 8, 1981

Nationality: Swiss

Famous: Humanitarian Philanthropists

Age: 37 Years, 37 Year Old Males

Sun Sign: Leo

Born in: Basel, Switzerland

Famous as: Tennis Star

Height: 1.85 m

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Mirka Federer (m. 2009)

father: Robert Federer

mother: Lynette Federer

children: Charlene Riva Federer, Myla Rose Federer

More Facts

awards: 1998 - ITF World Junior Champion
2003 - ATP European Player of the Year
2003 - Swiss Sportsman of the Year

2003 - Swiss of the Year
2003 - Michael-Westphal Award
2004 - ATP European Player of the Year
2004 - ITF World Champion
2004 - Sports Illustrated Tennis Player of the Year
2004 - Swiss Sportsman of the Year
2004 - Reuters International Sportsman of the Year
2004 - BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year
2004 - International Tennis Writers Association (ITWA) Player of the Year
2004 - Golden Bagel Award
2004 - European Sportsman of the Year
2005 - Ambassador of United Nations' Year of Sport and Physical Education
2005 - Goldene Kamera Award
2005 - ATP Player of the Year
2005 - Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
2005 - ATPTennis.com Fans' Favourite
2005 - Laureus World Sportsman of the Year
2005 - Michael-Westphal Award
2005 - International Tennis Writers Association (ITWA) Player of the Year
2005 - International Tennis Writers Ambassador for Tennis
2005 - Most Outstanding Athlete by the United States Sports Academy
2005 - Freedom Air People's Choice Sports Awards International Sportsperson of the Year
2005 - ITF World Champion
2005 - ESPY Best Male Tennis Player
2005 - European Sportsman of the Year
2005 - The 'Prix Orange' Award
2006 - L'Equipe Magazine's Champion of Champions
2006 - ATP Player of the Year
2006 - Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
2006 - ATPTennis.com Fans' Favourite
2006 - Laureus World Sportsman of the Year
2006 - ESPY Best Male Tennis Player
2006 - International Tennis Writers Association (ITWA) Player of the Year
2006 - International Tennis Writers Ambassador for Tennis
2006 - ITF World Champion
2006 - BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year
2006 - Swiss Sportsman of the Year
2006 - EFE's Sportsman of the Year
2006 - Golden Bagel Award
2006 - Most Outstanding Athlete of the Year by The United States Sports Academy
2006 - European Sportsman of the Year
2006 - The 'Prix Orange' Award
2006 - Baccarat Athlete of the Year
2007 - L'Equipe Magazine's Champion of Champions
2007 - ATP Player of the Year
2007 - Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
2007 - ATPTennis.com Fans' Favourite
2007 - Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year
2007 - Laureus World Sportsman of the Year
2007 - ESPY Best Male Tennis Player
2007 - ESPY Best Male International Athlete
2007 - ITF World Champion
2007 - BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year
2007 - Tennis magazine's 2007 player of the year
2007 - Swiss Sportsman of the Year
2007 - The 'Prix Orange' Award
2008 - L'Equipe Magazine's Champion of Champions
2008 - European Sportsman of the Year
2008 - Laureus World Sportsman of the Year-First ever winner of four Laureus World Sports Awards
2008 - ATP Player of the Year
2008 - Men's Doubles gold medalist partnering Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Olympic Games held in Beijing
China
2008 - Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
2008 - ATPTennis.com Fans' Favourite
2008 - ESPY Best Male Tennis Player
2008 - Swiss Team of the Year
2008 - The 'Prix Orange' Award
2009 - Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
2009 - ATPWorldtour.com Fans' Favourite
2009 - Talksport Hall of Fame
2009 - ESPY Best Male Tennis Player
2009 - Ehrespalebaerglemer award. An award given to outstanding citizens of the city of Basel
2009 - ATPWorldtour.com Player of the Decade
2009 - ITF World Champion
2009 - European Sportsman of the Year
2009 - One of Sports Illustrated's Athletes of the Decade
2009 - European Sportsman of the Year
2009 - The 'Prix Orange' Award
2009 - Best Match of the Yea
2010 - International Tennis Writers' Association's Ambassador of the Year
2010 - ESPY Best Male Tennis Player
2010 - ATP Player of the Year
2010 - ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favourite
2010 - MARCA magazine's Sportsman of the Decade
2010 - Listed at #29 on the Forbes Celebrity
2010 - Compeed Elegance Award
2011 - Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
2011 - ATPWorldtour.com Fans' Favourite
2011 - Listed at #25 on the Forbes Celebrity 100
2011 - Best Grand Slam/Davis Cup Match of the Year
2012 - Listed at #1 in 100 Greatest of All Time by Tennis Channel
2012 - Listed at #5 in Forbes list of 100 richest athletes of the world.
2012 - Men's Singles silver medalist at 2012 Olympic Games held in London
England.
2012 - Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
2012 - ATPWorldtour.com Fans' Favourite
2012 - Swiss Sportsman of the Year
2012 - Hello Magazine's Most Attractive Man of 2012

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Deemed by tennis pundits as the greatest player of all time, Federer is known for his prompt speed, fluid play and exceptional shot making. His power packed smashes, excellent footwork and efficient techniques not only made him win matches but create history. He holds a record of being the only player to hold the no. 1 position for 302 weeks overall, out of which 237-weeks were for a stretch from 2004 until 2008. He remained in the Top 2 for eight years on the run, from 2003 to 2010 and at Top 3 from 2003 until 2012. He has the distinction of being one amongst the seven tennis players in the world to have a career Grand Slam. Furthermore, he has bagged a total of 17 Grand Slam titles till date. This apart, he is the proud recipient of an Olympic gold medal and silver medal for doubles and singles respectively.

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Roger Federer

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Childhood & Early Life

Roger Federer was born to Swiss father Robert Federer and South African mother Lynette Federer at Basel, Switzerland. His mother had a Dutch and French ancestry.
Since young, Federer spent most of his early life near the French and German border, which made him fluent in German, French and English. Raised as a Roman Catholic, he took to playing tennis and soccer at an early age.
Though everyone in his family enjoyed the game, it was young Federer who showed promise of making it big. By the time he turned 11, he became one of the Top 3 Junior Tennis Players in Switzerland.
He concentrated his energies on tennis alone, leaving behind all other sports. At the age of 14, he started playing tournaments, practicing and conditioning himself to become a professional. Thereafter, he clinched the National Junior Championship in Switzerland.
His prodigious talent and playing skills earned him a sponsorship at the Swiss National Tennis Center in Ecublens. No sooner than in 1996, he was a part of the International Tennis Federation junior tennis circuit.
In 1998, before launching himself professionally, he left his mark as an amateur by winning the junior Wimbledon title and the Orange Bowl, thus becoming recognized as the ITF World Junior Tennis Champion of the Year.
Quotes: Me
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Career

Turning professional, his first match was against Lucas Arnold Ker in Gstaad, Switzerland which he lost. Though he had already established himself in amateur tennis, replicating the success professionally required time and experience.
After a couple of losses, he won the Hopman Cup in 2001 along with Martina Hingis defeating American contenders, Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill. The same year, he recorded his first singles victory defeating Julien Boutter at the Milan Indoor Tournament.
The series of victories continued to bloom and blossom as he displayed a power packed performance both at the French Open and Wimbledon reaching the quarter finals in these tournaments. His performance against reigning champion Pete Sampras at Wimbledon left everyone amused.
Throughout 2002, he levelled his performance and displayed exceptional skills and talent for the game, getting better with each passing game. He bettered his own record by finishing the year at no.6 in the ATP ranking – this was the first time he finished under 10.
The year 2003 was a breakthrough one for him as he made it to the nine finals in the ATP tour winning seven of them. He won his first Wimbledon singles victory. Riding strong on his talent, he moved past other players to reach the no.2 position at the ATP ranking.
Taking the success legacy forward, he struck gold in the Grand Slams, winning three singles titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Additionally, he won ATP Masters Series 1000 and ATP 500 series. It was his expertise at the game and streak of victories that earned him a top spot at the world ranking.
Year 2005 started on a bad note as he lost two Grand Slam titles. However, he soon recuperated, winning the Wimbledon and the US Open. Furthermore, his winning streak at the four ATP Masters Series 1000 and two ATP 500 series continued, which helped him retain his no.1 position.
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In 2006, his proficiency at the game rose above the expertise of his competitors, as he went onto win three Grand Slam singles titles. What’s more, he won four of the ATP Masters Series 1000 finals and one out of the two ATP 500 series. He made a hat-trick by making it to the World no. 1 position for a third time in a row.
2007 was a replica of 2006 as far as his performance in the Grand Slam were concerned, as he yet again made it to the finals of all four, winning three at the end. As far as ATP Masters Series 1000 is concerned, he won five while in the ATP 500 series he won one. He secured the no. 1 status for a fourth time, thus virtually dominating the game.
His ostentatious records somewhat dwindled in 2008 as he won a single Grand Slam singles title for the year at the US Open. His performance at the ATP was also affected as he won one title in a 500 level event and two titles in 250-level events. He descended to the no.2 position in the world ranking.
He bettered his performance at the 2009 Grand Slams, wherein he reached the final of all four, winning the French Open and Wimbledon. He created history by winning his first ever French Open thus completing a career Grand Slam. Furthermore, he became the only tennis player in the world with a Grand Slam victories record standing at 15.
2010 was a year of disappointment. Though it started on a good note with him winning the Australian Open, his performance at the French Open and Wimbledon shocked fans across the world as he failed to reach the semi-finals in both the games. At the US Open, he managed to reach the semi-final but could not take it further. His world ranking slipped at no.2 position.
The downfall in his career graph continued as he failed to bag a single title at the four Grand Slams for the year 2011, his first time since 2002. His world ranking slowly glided further as he was dropped out of the top 3. What seemed to be a title-less year however ended on a high note as he eradicated the drought caused by winning the Swiss Indoors his fifth time and his debut Paris Masters title!
During the 2011 ATP tour, he revived his sinking career by defeating David Ferrer to reach the final at the year-end championships for the seventh time, which was his 100th final. It was his performance at the ATP Tour that helped him regain the no.3 ranking.
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In the 2012 Grand Slams, he won the Wimbledon defeating Andy Murray. He also participated in the various other international games including, Davis Cup representing Switzerland, the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, 2012 Dubai Tennis Championship and Indian Wells Masters. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won a silver medal losing to Murray.
Year 2013 was a year of disappointments and shock. Not only did he fail to bag a Grand Slam title, he has failed to reach a single final in the first four months. Furthermore, he could not defend his title in Madrid. The only victory for the year was at the Gerry Weber Open.
Quotes: Life, Like

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Awards & Achievements

From 2003 until 2012, he was felicitated by the Fans' Favorite Award from the ATPWorldTour.com.
His colleagues, rivals and competitors have voted him for the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for a record eight times, from 2004 until 2009, in 2011 and 2012.
He is the proud recipient of the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award for a record four times, from 2005 to 2008.
In 2006, he was conferred with the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award.

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Personal Life & Legacy

He tied the nuptial knot with tennis player, Mirka Vavrinec, a former member of the Women’s Tennis Association on April 11, 2009. The two had first met during the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
The couple was blessed with identical twins, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva on July 23, 2009.

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Trivia

This professional tennis player is popularly referred to as Fed Express or FedEx. People even call him Swiss Maestro or simply Maestro for his exceptional skills at the game.

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See the events in life of Roger Federer in Chronological Order