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Roger Federer (pronounced /ˈrɒdʒə ˈfɛdərər/; born August 8, 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player, ranked World No. 1 for a record 232 consecutive weeks.
Federer has won twelve Grand Slam singles titles (three Australian Open, five Wimbledon, four US Open), four Tennis Masters Cup titles, and fourteen ATP Masters Series titles. Federer holds many records in the game, including having appeared in ten consecutive Grand Slam men's singles finals (2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2007 US Open) and 17 consecutive Grand Slam singles semifinals (2004 Wimbledon - present). He also holds the open era records for consecutive wins on both grass courts (65) and hard courts (56).
Federer's success has prompted a number of tennis critics, legendary players, and current players to consider him to be the greatest tennis player in history. In 2008, he was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record fourth consecutive time.
Personal life
Roger Federer was born in Basel, Switzerland, to Swiss-German Robert Federer and South African Lynette Federer (née Durand). He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, ten minutes from Basel and close to the borders of France and Germany. In addition to tennis, he also played football as a boy and considered becoming a professional footballer before deciding to pursue a career in tennis. He continues to support FC Basel, his hometown club and is a fan of Italian club AS Roma.As a youngster, he enjoyed watching Marcelo Ríos in action.Federer especially liked Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Marcelo Rios and has cited them as idols.
Federer is currently dating former WTA player Miroslava "Mirka" Vavrinec, who retired from tennis in 2002 after a foot injury. The two met at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Federer launched a fragrance called RF Cosmetics in October 2003. He considers Swiss German his first language, but also speaks German, French, and English fluentlyand conducts press conferences in all three. His favorite vacation spots are Dubai, the Maldives and the Swiss mountains. He is also a good friend of golf superstar Tiger Woods. Federer is Roman Catholic, and met Pope Benedict XVI while playing the Rome Masters in 2006.
Roger Federer is highly involved in various charities. He established the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to help disadvantaged people and to promote sports to youth. He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF from 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.
Time Magazine named Roger Federer as one of the 100 most influential people in 2007.
In 2007 Roger Federer was photographed by Annie Leibowitz as King Arthur. This was part of a series of photographs taken by her of many different celebrities for Disney's 'Year of a Million Dreams' project.
Tennis career
Federer started playing tennis at the age of six. He began participating in group lessons at the age of nine and began weekly private coaching when he was ten. He also played football until the age of twelve when he decided to focus solely on tennis. At fourteen, he became the national champion of all groups in Switzerland and was chosen to train at the Swiss National Tennis Center in Ecublens. He joined the ITF junior tennis circuit in July 1996. In 1998, his final year as a junior, Federer won the junior Wimbledon title and the prestigious year-ending Orange Bowl. He was recognized as the ITF World Junior Tennis champion of the year. In July 1998, Federer joined the ATP tour at Gstaad. The following year he debuted for the Swiss Davis Cup team against Italy and finished the year as the youngest player (for the year) inside ATP's top 100 ranking. In 2000, Federer reached the semifinals at the Sydney Olympics and lost the bronze medal match to Arnaud di Pasquale of France. Federer reached his first final in Marseille which he lost to Marc Rosset and was also the runner-up in Basel. He failed to make an impression at Grand Slams and Masters Series tournaments, and ended the year ranked 29th.
(All results and ranking history from ATP).
Victor Lamm says about him: "Roger is a tremendous competitor. He's got talent, work-ethic, passion and style. His contribution to tennis is already priceless. He's got what it takes to become the best player of all time."
Career statistics
Grand Slam singles finals (16)
Wins (12)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 2003 | Wimbledon |  Mark Philippoussis | 7–6(5), 6–2, 7–6(3) |
| 2004 | Australian Open |  Marat Safin | 7–6(3), 6–4, 6–2 |
| 2004 | Wimbledon (2) |  Andy Roddick | 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(3), 6–4 |
| 2004 | US Open | Lleyton Hewitt | 6–0, 7–6(3), 6–0 |
| 2005 | Wimbledon (3) | Andy Roddick | 6–2, 7–6(2), 6–4 |
| 2005 | US Open (2) | Andre Agassi | 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(1), 6–1 |
| 2006 | Australian Open (2) |  Marcos Baghdatis | 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2 |
| 2006 | Wimbledon (4) |  Rafael Nadal | 6–0, 7–6(5), 6–7(2), 6–3 |
| 2006 | US Open (3) | Andy Roddick | 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1 |
| 2007 | Australian Open (3) |  Fernando González | 7–6(2), 6–4, 6–4 |
| 2007 | Wimbledon (5) | Rafael Nadal | 7–6(7), 4–6, 7–6(3), 2–6, 6–2 |
| 2007 | US Open (4) |  Novak Djokovic | 7–6 (4), 7–6 (2), 6–4 |
Runner-ups (4)
Year  | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 2006 | French Open | Rafael Nadal | 1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6(4) |
| 2007 | French Open (2) | Rafael Nadal | 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| 2008 | French Open (3) | Rafael Nadal | 6–1, 6–3, 6–0 |
| 2008 | Wimbledon | Rafael Nadal | 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–7(8), 9–7 |
