IPTL Profiles: Roger Federer (UAE Royals)

MANILA,  Philippines – Roger Federer may be ranked No. 2 at the ATP, below Novak Djokovic, but the Swiss player has been regarded by many players as the greatest tennis player of all time.

Federer was born on August 8, 1981 in Basel, Switzerland to parents Robert and Lynette. Roger began playing at the age of 8 and his first junior accomplishment came in 1998 at Wimbledon when he defeated Irakli Labadze in the finals. Though he lost the US Open Junior final to David Nalbandian, Federer went on to win four ITF junior singles tournaments and ended 1998 with a No. 1 ranking in the juniors division.

Turning pro, Federer won his first singles at the 2001 Milan Indoor tournament, defeating Julien Boutter in the finals. That same year Federer made his 1st Grand Slam quarterfinals appearance at the French Open and at Wimbledon, defeated his idol Pete Sampras to reach the quarterfinals.

2002 became a pivotal year for Federer as he won his first Master Series event at the 2002 Hamburg Masters defeating Russian Marat Safin. That win put Federer in the top 10 for the first time. By the end of the year, he ranked #6. In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon by defeating Mark Philippoussis. He finished the year by handing over Andre Agassi a loss that jumped up e Swiss player’s rank at #2. In 2004, Federer captured 11 singles titles and his record of 74-6 catapulted the Swiss player to #1.

2006 was the best year for Federer as he won 12 singles titles and had a match record of 92-5 and he also reached the finals in 16 of 17 tournaments he entered. That same year, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles with his only loss at the French Open courtesy of Rafa Nadal.

2009 marked Federer’s career with a Career Grand Slam record of 15 singles titles surpassing that of Pete Sampras’ 14. That feat earned him praise from most tennis analysts and players alike as “the greatest player in tennis history.”

Overall, Roger Federer has 1049-235 win lose record, has got 87 titles and has dominated the game with 17 Grand Slam titles. He also held the #1 spot at the ATP rankings for 302 weeks. Former world #1 player Jimmy Connors once noted Federer for his versatility: "In an era of specialists, you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist... or you're Roger Federer.”