Roger Federer biography

1 at the start of 2005, and his successes that year include the Wimbledon singles title (for a third successive year) and the U.S. Open.

Federer held on to his No. 1 ranking from 2004 to 2008. In 2006, he won the Australian Open, his fourth successive Wimbledon singles title and his third successive U.S. Open. Continuing to dominate the sport,

the right-handed champion won the singles title at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open again as well as the Australian Open in 2007. While ranked No. 1 on the ATP Tour, Federer was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award three times, in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

In 2008, Federer beat Scottish player Andy Murray at the U.S. Open—his fifth U.S. Open win. However, that year proved to be a difficult time in Federer's career: he lost to longtime rival Rafael Nadal at both the French Open and Wimbledon, and lost to another rival, tennis star Novak Djokovic, at the 2008 Australian Open. His ranking also slid to No. 2. Federer was in the finals for a sixth U.S. Open win in 2009, and with the option of victory came the possibility of breaking several records, but lost to Juan Martin del Potro.

After regaining the No. 1 ranking in 2009, Rafael Nadal took over as No. 1 in 2010—this back-and-forth ranking designation between the two rivals has spanned the better part of a decade, and, in recent years, such tennis stars as Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have been thrown into the top-ranking mix. Later in 2010, Federer lost to Djokovic in the U.S. Open semifinal. He then finished the year with a win, against Nadal, at the ATP World Tour year-end championships.

In 2011, Federer won his 18th Masters Series tournament, and won his first Paris Masters, with a vicotry against French tennis pro Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. That same year, he beat 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, and went on to defeat Andy Murray at the Dubai Open.

Federer's career escalated once again in 2012, when he defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon semifinals, and went on to beat Andy Murray in the Wimbledon finals—Federer's seventh Wimbledon victory. The Wimbledon 2012 win helped the 30-year-old tennis star regain the No. 1 spot, and tie the world No. 1 ranking record of 286 weeks (set by Pete Sampras).

That September, however, Federer made a disappointing showing at the U.S. Open. He lost to Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals. According to his website, Federer failed to find his groove during the match. "So many moments, I thought, ‘Man, it’s just not happening for me.'" Despite not making the semifinals at the U.S. Open for the first time since 2003, Federer was able to hold on to his number-one ranking.

Personal Life

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. Federer lives with his family in Oberwil, Switzerland.

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.

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