The Tennis Greats: Roger Federer

Roger Federer is widely heralded as the greatest tennis player of all time, earning the title from fellow professionals such as John McEnroe and Rafael Nadal. When one examines Federer’s incredible run of success as a player, it is hard to disagree. 

Federer holds the world record for the number of Grand Slam victories; at time of writing, he held 16 Grand Slams. He also holds the record for the longest consecutive appearances in Grand Slam semi finals, a run that was only ended in May 2010 when he lost to Robin Soderling in the quarter finals of the French Open. Federer has won the prestigious Wimbledon six times, as well as five US Open Grand Slams, four Australian Open titles and one victory on the clay courts at the French Open. He is only the third man in history to do the “career Grand Slam” and win all four Major Grand Slam tournaments. 

Federer was born in Switzerland, and still resides there with his wife Mirka and their twin daughters Myla and Charlene. As well as his prowess as a tennis player, Federer is considered one of the most sportsmanlike men on the tour, and is known for his grace and charm when being interviewed. His fellow players voted him the most sportsmanlike player on tour for two seasons in a row. 

The only crown to elude Federer is an Olympic Gold medal in singles competition. He did, however, win Olympic Gold in Doubles with fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, in 2008.