Tennis Legend Roger Federer

Roger Federer was born in 1981 and is of Swiss heritage and professional tennis player. He is currently ranked as No. 1 in the world by the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals), which he held previously for 237 consecutive weeks. He is considered by some professionals to be the greatest tennis player ever.

Roger Federer, super sports star, has gone on to win 15 Grand Slam singles titles, more than any other player has achieved. He is one of only six male tennis players to capture the career Grand Slam. As at July 2009, he has managed to reach the semi-finals or better of the last 21 Grand Slam tournaments.

In 2009, Roger Federer won for the first time the French Open, by beating Robin Söderling in the final, and by doing so he equaled Pete Sampras by winning 14 Grand Slam titles. Because of overwhelming fatigue and emotions, he withdrew from his usual pre-Wimbledon tournament playing in the Gerry Weber Open. He then went on to win Wimbledon defeating Andy Roddick in the finals. Roger and Andy have played against each other in four Grand Slam finals, but they have also played each other on many other occasions. They have played each other in the Wimbledon finals in 2004, 2005 and 2009. The fourth Grand Slam was the US Open in 2006.

With the Wimbledon win in 2009, Roger Federer became the fourth tennis sports star in the open era, to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. The other three were Nadal (2008), Borg (1978-1980) and Laver (1969). He and Nadal are the only players to hold Grand Slams at the same time on grass, clay and hard courts (US Open 2008-Wimbledon 2009).

Not only is Roger Federer a great sports star and tennis player, but he also played football as a boy and he even considered playing football professionally but chose tennis instead. Roger has a lifetime contract with Wilson tennis racquets and accessories and also contracts with Nike footwear and apparel, Gillette, Jura, Rolex watches and Mercedes Benz.

In news other than tennis news, Roger Federer supports numerous charities, and set up the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to promote sports and help underprivileged people. In 2005 he gave his racquet from the US Open championship to be auctioned, so that proceeds could be used to help the victims from Hurricane Katrina. He was also appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador to UNICEF in 2006, and he has since visited South Africa and Nadu, which was devastated during the tsunami in India in 2004. He has also appeared in public messages to raise awareness for AIDS.

Roger Federer was photographed in 2007 for Disney’s Year of a Million Dreams project. He was photographed posing as King Arthur by renowned photographer Annie Leibowitz.

Roger Federer married former Women’s Tennis Association player Miroslava “Mirka” Vavrinec in April 2009. They met at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 while competing for Switzerland. She retired from the tour in 2002 because of a foot injury and has worked ever since as Roger Federers’ public relations manager. It was recently announced that they are expecting their first child.