Biography of Roger Federer A Tennis Player

 

Roger Federer

Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who is ranked world No. 4 in men's singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals. 

Born: 8 August 1981 (age 39 years), Basel, Switzerland

Grand slams won (singles): 20

Height: 1.85 m

Spouse: Mirka Federer (m. 2009)

Children: Myla Rose Federer, Lenny Federer, Charlene Riva Federer, Leo Federer.

Federer has won a record eight Wimbledon men's singles titles, six Australian Open titles, five US Open titles (all consecutive, a record), and one French Open title. He is one of eight men to have achieved a Career Grand Slam. Federer has reached a record 31 men's singles Grand Slam finals, including 10 consecutively from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships to the 2007 US Open. Federer has also won a record six ATP Finals titles, 28 ATP Tour Masters 1000 titles, and a record 24 ATP Tour 500 titles. Federer was a member of Switzerland's winning Davis Cup team in 2014. He is also the only player after Jimmy Connors to have won 100 or more career singles titles, as well as to amass 1,200 wins in the Open Era.

Federer's all-court game and versatile style of play involve exceptional footwork and shot-making. Effective both as a baseliner and a volleyer, his apparent effortlessness and efficient movement on the court have made Federer highly popular among tennis fans. He has received the tour Sportsmanship Award 13 times and been named the ATP Player of the Year and ITF World Champion five times. He has won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award a record five times, including four consecutive awards from 2005 to 2008. He is also the only person to have won the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award four times.

Federer was born in Basel, Switzerland. His father, Robert Federer, is a Swiss-German from Berneck in the Canton of St. Gallen, and his mother, Lynette Federer (née Durand), is an Afrikaner from Kempton Park, Gauteng, in South Africa. Federer has one sibling, his older sister, Diana, who is the mother of a set of twins. Since his mother is South African, he holds both Swiss and South African citizenship. He grew up in nearby Birsfelden, Riehen, and then Münchenstein, close to the French and German borders, and he speaks Swiss German, Standard German, English, and French fluently, as well as functional Italian and Swedish; Swiss German is his native language. Federer served as a ball boy at his hometown Basel tournament, the Swiss Indoors, in 1992 and 1993.

Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer was subject to compulsory military service in the Swiss Armed Forces. However, in 2003 he was ruled "unsuitable" and was subsequently not required to fulfill his military obligation. Instead, he served in the civil protection force and was required to pay 3% of his taxable income as an alternative. He grew up supporting FC Basel and the Swiss national football team. Federer also credits his hand-eye coordination to the wide range of sports he played as a child, including badminton and basketball.

Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Miroslava Federer (née Vavrinec), whom he met while they were both competing for Switzerland at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Usually called Mirka, she retired from the tour in 2002 because of a foot injury. They were married at Wenkenhof Villa in Riehen near Basel on 11 April 2009, surrounded by a small group of close friends and family. In 2009, Mirka gave birth to identical twin girls. The Federers had another pair of identical twins in 2014, this time boys.