Childhood & Early Life
Roger Federer was born on 8 August 1981, in Basel, Switzerland, to Swiss father Robert Federer and South African mother Lynette Federer. His mother was of Dutch and French ancestry.
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 invested 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. In 1996, he was 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.’ Subsequently, he was recognized as the ‘ITF World Junior Tennis Champion of the Year.’
Continue Reading Below
Career
After 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’ along with Martina Hingis by defeating American contenders Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill in 2001. The same year, he recorded his first singles victory by defeating Julien Boutter at the ‘Milan Indoor Tournament.’
A series of victories continued to blossom as he displayed powerful performances at the ‘French Open’ and ‘Wimbledon,’ reaching the quarter-finals in both the tournaments. His performance against the reigning champion Pete Sampras at ‘Wimbledon’ left everyone amused.
Throughout 2002, he displayed exceptional skills, getting better with each game. He bettered his own record by finishing the year at number six in the ‘ATP’ ranking – this was the first time he finished under top 10.
2003 was a breakthrough year for him as he made it to nine finals in the ‘ATP’ tour, winning seven of them. He also won his first ‘Wimbledon’ singles. Riding on his talent and skills, he moved past other players to reach the number two position on ‘ATP’ ranking.
He struck gold in the 2004 ‘Grand Slams,’ winning the ‘Australian Open,’ ‘Wimbledon,’ and the ‘US Open.’ Additionally, he also won ‘ATP Masters Series 1000’ and ‘ATP 500’ series. It was his expertise at playing the game that earned him the top spot at the world ranking.
The year 2005 started on a bad note as he lost two ‘Grand Slam’ titles. However, he made a strong comeback, winning the ‘Wimbledon’ and the ‘US Open.’ Furthermore, his winning streak continued as he won four ‘ATP Masters Series 1000’ and two ‘ATP 500’ series, which helped him retain his number one position.
In 2006, he played awe-inspiring tennis, as he went on to win three ‘Grand Slam’ singles titles. What’s more, he won four ‘ATP Masters Series 1000’ finals and an ‘ATP 500’ series. He completed a hat-trick by making it to the number one position for a third time in a row.
2007 was a replica of 2006 as far as his performances in ‘Grand Slams’ were concerned. Once again, he made it to the finals of all four ‘Grand Slams,’ winning three. As far as ‘ATP Masters Series 1000’ is concerned, he won two finals, and went on to win one ‘ATP 500’ series final. He secured the number one position for a fourth time, showcasing his mastery over the game.
Continue Reading Below
His ostentatious records dwindled in 2008 as he won only one ‘Grand Slam’ title for the year (US Open). His performance at the ‘ATP’ also went down as he won only three titles in the 250-level events. He descended to the number two position in the world ranking.
He bettered his performance at the 2009 ‘Grand Slams,’ wherein he reached the final of all four ‘Grand Slams,’ 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 to have 15 ‘Grand Slam’ singles titles.
2010 was a year of disappointment for Federer. 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 on both the occasions. At the ‘US Open,’ he managed to reach the semi-final but could not take it further. His world ranking once again slipped to number two position.
The downfall in his career graph continued as he failed to secure even a single title at the four ‘Grand Slams’ for the year 2011, his first since 2002. His world ranking glided down further as he was dropped out of the top three. However, what seemed to be a title-less year ended on a high note as he won the ‘Swiss Indoors’ for the fifth time and also won his debut ‘Paris Masters’ title.
During the 2011 ‘ATP’ tour, he revived his career by defeating David Ferrer to reach the final at the year-end championships for the seventh time. It was his performance at the ‘ATP’ tour that helped him regain the number three ranking.
In 2012, he won the ‘Wimbledon’ by defeating Andy Murray. He also participated in various other international games, including ‘Davis Cup,’ the ‘ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament,’ ‘Dubai Tennis Championship,’ and ‘Indian Wells Masters.’ At the 2012 ‘Summer Olympics,’ he won a silver medal, losing to Murray in the finals.
2013 was a year of disappointment and shock. Not only did he fail to win a ‘Grand Slam’ title, he also failed to reach even 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.’
2014 was better than the previous year as he reached the finals at ‘Wimbledon.’ However, he could not win the ‘Grand Slam’ as he lost to Djokovic. He then went on to win two ‘ATP Masters 1000’ and ‘ATP 500’ series, and finished the season on a high by winning the ‘Davis Cup’ for Switzerland. Consequently, he was ranked number two, according to the ‘ATP’ ranking for the year.
Federer started the 2015 season with a victory at the ‘Brisbane ATP Tour.’ This victory was his 1000th win overall. He reached the finals of two ‘Grand Slams’ but could not win the titles. However, he defended his title successfully against Djokovic at the ‘Dubai Tennis Championship.’
Continue Reading Below
Suffering from knee injury the entire season, he was mostly out of action in 2016. His ‘ATP’ ranking dropped to an all-time low at 16 as he did not win even a single title that year.
Federer was back in form in 2017, winning ‘Grand Slam’ titles in Australia and Wimbledon. He won three ‘ATP Masters 1000’ titles and two titles in the ‘500 series.’ His ranking improved substantially, and he ended the season as one of the top two players in the world.
The following season saw Federer winning the ‘Australian Open’ at the ‘Grand Slam’ and the ‘Hopman Cup’ for Switzerland. Losing the semi-finals in the ‘ATP Finals,’ his rank slipped to number three.
In the 2019 season, Federer finished third at the ‘Australian Open.’ At the ‘Dubai Tennis Championship,’ he won his career 100th single. Winning one of the two ‘Masters Series 1000’ and two of ‘500 series,’ he reached the ‘Wimbledon’ finals to face Djokovic. Though he lost the match, which was a five-set thriller, it created history in becoming the longest men’s final in ‘Wimbledon.’
