Roger Federer

Roger Federer (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player. As of January 25, 2010, he is ranked world number 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), having previously held the number one position for a record 237 consecutive weeks. Many sports analysts, tennis critics, former and current players consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time.

Federer has won 16 Grand Slam singles titles, more than any other male player. He is one of six male players to have captured the career Grand Slam, one of only three (with Laver and Agassi) since the beginning of the Open Era and one of only two male players (the other being Agassi) in history to have won all four Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces (clay, grass and hard courts). Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 22 career Grand Slam finals, and as of January 2010, has reached the semi-finals or better of the last 23 Grand Slam tournaments, a record streak that spans over six years.Federer also holds the record of reaching 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals and has appeared in 18 of the last 19. Federer has won 4 ATP World Tour Finals and 16 ATP Masters Series tournaments, one fewer than all time winner Andre Agassi. He also won the Olympic Gold Medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. As a result of his successes in tennis, Federer was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for four consecutive years (2005–2008).

Childhood and personal life

Federer was born in Binningen, near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South Africa-born Lynette Du Rand.He holds both Swiss and South African citizenship.He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, near Basel, close to the French-German borders and Federer speaks Swiss German, German, French and English fluently.He was raised as a Catholic and met Pope Benedict XVI while playing the 2006 Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome.Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer was subject to compulsory military service in the Swiss Armed Forces. However, in 2003 he was deemed unfit due to a long-standing back problem and was subsequently not required to fulfill his obligations.

Marriage and family

Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Mirka Vavrinec. They met while competing for Switzerland in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Vavrinec retired from the tour in 2002 because of a foot injury and has since been working as Federer's public relations manager.They were married in Basel on 11 April 2009, surrounded by a small group of close friends and family at Wenkenhof Villa (municipality of Riehen).On 24 July, Federer announced on his Facebook page that Mirka had given birth to twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva, on the previous day.

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