- Born: 8 August 1981
- Birthplace: Basel, Switzerland
- Best Known As: The men's champion at Wimbledon five straight times in 2003-2007
Roger Federer career:
Roger Federer is the Swiss tennis player whose five consecutive titles at Wimbledon (2003-07) and the U.S. Open (2004-08) helped make him the dominant men's player of his time and one of the greatest ever. Federer turned pro in 1998 after a stellar career in junior competition. He made a name for himself in 2001 by beating defending champion Pete Sampras in a match at Wimbledon, before being knocked out himself in the quarterfinals. Federer won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 2003, and in 2004 he again won Wimbledon and added the Australian and U.S. Opens, with only a third-round loss in the French Open keeping him from the Grand Slam. In 2005 Federer won his third consecutive Wimbledon (defeating Andy Roddick in the finals for the second year in a row) and then defeated Andre Agassi for his second straight U.S. Open title. In 2006 he lost to Rafael Nadal in the finals of the French Open, beat Nadal in the finals at Wimbledon and defeated Andy Roddick to win the U.S. Open. Federer passed Sampras's record for most Grand Slam titles in 2009, earning his 15th when he beat Roddick at Wimbledon. Federer married his longtime girlfriend, Mirka Vavrinec, on 11 April 2009.
Rafael Nadal broke Federer's streak at Wimbledon in 2008, beating him in a five-set thriller for the men's singles championship... Federer's father is Swiss, but his mother is from South Africa... Federer had no coach during 2004, the year he was first ranked as the world's best tennis player... Nike first approached Federer with a sponsorship deal in 1996, two years before he turned pro... Federer has won a single French Open, but has won each of the other three tennis majors at least three times: the Australian Open in 2004, 2006 and 2007, the U.S. Open from 2004-2008, and Wimbledon in 2003-2007.
Roger Federer personal life:
Federer was born in Binningen, near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South Africa-born Lynette Du Rand.
He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, near Basel, close to the French and German borders.Federer speaks Swiss German with his family.He also speaks German, French and English fluently,and conducts press conferences in all three. He was raised Catholic and met Pope Benedict XVI while playing the 2006 Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome.
In addition to tennis, he also played football (soccer) as a boy and considered becoming a professional footballer before deciding to pursue a tennis career. He remains a fervent supporter of his hometown club FC Basel. Federer also appears to be somewhat of a cricket fan, and played the game in 2006 with children displaced by the 2004 Tsunami in Tamil Nadu.
Federer supports various charities. He established the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to help disadvantaged people and to promote sports. In 2005, he auctioned his racquet from his U.S. Open championship to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina. He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF in 2006. Since then, he has visited South Africa and Tamil Nadu, one of the worst tsunami-affected areas in India. He has also appeared in UNICEF public messages to raise public awareness of AIDS.
In 2007, Federer was photographed by Annie Leibowitz as King Arthur. This was part of a series of photographs of celebrities for Disney's Year of a Million Dreams project. The Swiss Post honoured Roger Federer as an extraordinary sportsman with a special stamp.
Like all Swiss males, Federer is subject to compulsory military service in the Swiss Armed Forces. Unfortunately, long-standing back trouble led him to be declared inapt in 2003 and he was unable to fulfill his obligations. Nevertheless, he did not let it affect his tennis and bounced back to win Wimbledon that year.
Roger Federer marriage:
Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Miroslava "Mirka" Vavrinec. They met while competing for Switzerland in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Vavrinec retired from the tour in 2002 because of a persistent foot injury and has since been working as Federer's public relations manager.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). On July 24, 2009, Federer announced on his Facebook page that Mirka had given birth to twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva, on July 23, 2009
Roger Federer money earnings:
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 -- The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) announced Thursday, October 22, that a new player has broken American player Pete Sampras’ record for prize money earnings. The new record holder is the 27-year old Swiss player Roger Federer. The young player currently ranks as world number two, but he has held the number one spot since 2004. He has also won five US Open Championships.
Federer beat Sampras’ record of $43,280,489 in earnings by accumulating a whopping $43.3 million. His latest cash prize came from his wins in the recent Madrid Masters tournament. The Swiss player also has 13 grand slam titles under his belt – only one title away from Sampras’ record of 14.
“Obviously it’s nice to have records. I didn’t play tennis because of money, that was never my drive but I have been very successful,” said Federer after he reached the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters on Thursday.
He also explains that his earnings have come from his recent run of wins.
Federer also adds, “I guess this is also the moment when you can thank the all-time greats from back in the day when it was still amateur to have brought the game to where it is today. They have created the platform for us players today.”
information take from answer.com
