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Born in 1981 in Switzerland, Roger
Federer was among his country's top junior tennis players
by age 11. He turned pro in 1998,
and with his victory at Wimbledon in 2003 he became the
first Swiss man to win a Grand Slam singles title. Federer
has won
a record-setting 20 Grand Slam singles
championships. In July 2017, the tennis star won a
record-breaking eighth Wimbledon title, at the age of
35.
He was born
in 1981, Basel, Switzerland.
Tennis was
Federer’s passion when he was young.
In
1994, he accept an invitation to Switzerland’s national
training center.
By 14, he was playing two
or three tournaments per month and practicing six hours a
week to perfect his technique,
he often imitated his idols, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg.
Federer became the national junior champion in Switzerland,
He joined the International Tennis Federation junior tennis
circuit in July 1996, and had his first sponsorship by age
16. In 1998, shortly before he turned pro, Federer won the
junior Wimbledon title and the Orange Bowl. He was
recognized as the ITF World Junior Tennis champion of the
year.
Historic Tennis Career
Federer won the
Wimbledon boys' singles and doubles titles in 1998, and turned
professional later that year. At Wimbledon in 2001, he caused
a sensation by knocking out reigning singles champion Pete
Sampras in the fourth round. In 2003, following a successful
season on grass, Federer became the first Swiss man to win a
Grand Slam title when he emerged victorious at Wimbledon.
At the beginning of
2004, Federer had a world ranking of No. 2, and that same
year, he won the Australian Open, the U.S. Open, the ATP
Masters and retained the Wimbledon singles title. He was
ranked No. 1 at the start of 2005, and his successes that year
included the Wimbledon singles title (for a third successive
year) and the U.S. Open.
The 2009 season was a memorable one for the Swiss star. He
beat Robin Soderling to win the French Open and complete the
career Grand Slam, and defeated Andy Roddick in an epic
Wimbledon final to surpass Sampras for a record 15th Grand
Slam singles title. Federer also reached the finals of the two
other major tournaments, falling in five sets to Nadal at
the Australian Open and to Juan Martin del Potro at the U.S.
Open. His brilliant all-around play enabled him to regain the
world's No. 1 ranking.
Federer's career escalated once again in 2012, when he
defeated Andy Murray for a record-tying seventh Wimbledon
singles title. The victory helped the 30-year-old tennis star
return to the No. 1 spot, and by the end of the year he had
established a record with a total of 302 weeks atop the world
rankings.
In 2013 Federer made a
surprise departure from Wimbledon. He was knocked out of the
singles competition in the second round by Sergiy Stakhovsky,
who was ranked 116th at the time. At the U.S. Open, Federer
again struggled on the court. He was beaten by Spain's Tommy
Robredo in the fourth round, losing in three straight sets.
According to the U.S. Open website, Federer admitted that he
"struggled throughout, which is not very satisfying." His
confidence seemingly shaken by the loss, he lamented how he
"missed so many opportunities" and that his "rhythm was off"
during the match.
Federer battled Djokovic in the 2014 men’s singles final at
Wimbledon, but was denied a record eighth championship on the
famed grass courts in a five-set loss. He then lost in the
semifinals of the U.S. Open to hard-hitting Croatian Marin
Cilic, who went on to win the tournament.
Federer's 2015 season
began on a disappointing note with a loss to Italy's Andreas
Seppi in the third round of the Australian Open. He proved he
could still compete with the sport's elite players by
defeating Djokovic to win the Dubai Championships in February,
but his quest for a second French Open crown was thwarted with
a quarterfinal loss to countryman Stan Wawrinka.
In July 2016, Federer
didn’t make it to the Wimbeldon finals, either. He was
defeated in five sets by Milos Raonic in a historic victory
for Raonic, who became the first Canadian man to reach a grand
slam final. Earlier that year Federer lost the Australian Open
to Novak Djokovic, and after their match Federer was sidelined
with a knee injury. Later in the season, Federer suffered back
problems, and he was forced to withdraw from the French Open
to avoid further injury.
After six months spent
recuperating from his injuries, Federer made a triumphant
comeback, defeating Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open to win
his 18th Grand Slam title. After his win, Federer graciously
paid tribute to his opponent Nadal. “I’d like to congratulate
Rafa on an amazing comeback, too,” he said. “I don’t think
either one of us thought we would be in the final at the
Australian Open this year. I am happy for you. I would’ve been
happy to lose to you tonight, too, really.”
In July 2017, Federer
set a new record, winning his eighth Wimbledon title in
a 6-3 6-1 6-4 defeat of Marin
Cilic. Thirty-five-year-old Federer also became the
oldest men’s champion of the tournament in the Open era. "I
wasn't sure if I was ever going to be here again in another
final after last year," he said. "I've had some tough
ones here, losing to Novak in 2014 and 2015. But I always
believed that maybe I could come back and do it again. And if
you believe, you can go really far in your life."
At the Australian Open in January 2018, Federer again defeated
Cilic, this time in five sets, to claim a record-tying six
Aussie titles and extend overall trophy haul to an astounding
20 Grand Slam singles championships. After sitting out the
clay court season for the second consecutive year, he returned
to the grass courts of Wimbledon, where he again added to a
personal record by reaching the tournament's quarterfinals for
the 16th time in his career, before bowing out with a five-set
loss to South Africa's Kevin Anderson.
The following month, after his first-round victory at the U.S.
Open, the tennis icon drew attention for his comment that it
was "almost time to retire," before clarifying that he was
only joking.
Wife and
Family
In 2009, Federer married Mirka Vavrinec, a former professional
tennis player.
That July, the couple became the parents of identical twin
girls, Myla and Charlene. On May 6, 2014, the couple welcomed
t
heir second set of twins, boys Leo and Lenny. Federer lives
with his family in Bottmingen, Switzerland.
Philanthropy
In 2003, Federer established the Roger Federer Foundation,
which helps provide grants to poor countries that
have child mortality rates of more
than 15 percent, for education- and sports-related
projects, among others.
Networth
As of 2018, Federer
rakes in $70 million per year and has a total estimated net
worth of $450 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Works Cited
https://www.biography.com/athlete/roger-federer