The World On My Fingers

Roger Federer (pronounced /ˈrɒdʒə ˈfɛdərər/; born on August 8, 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He is a former World No. 1 ranked player, a position he held for a record 237 consecutive weeks. Federer is considered by many to be the greatest player of all time.

Federer holds numerous records in men's singles, including 14 Grand Slam titles (3 Australian Open, 1 French Open, 5 Wimbledon, 5 US Open), equalling the all-time record set by Pete Sampras. Federer is the sixth player in history to achieve a career Grand Slam and the second to do so on three different surfaces after Andre Agassi. From 2005-07, Federer reached an all-time record 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals and has currently reached 15 of the past 16. In doing so, Federer matched the record 19 (non-consecutive) Grand Slam finals of Ivan Lendl and is now the only player to reach the final of each Grand Slam tournament at least four times. Since 2004 Wimbledon, Federer has reached an unprecedented 20 consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals, a streak spanning nearly five years.

As a result of Federer's successes in tennis, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for four consecutive years (2005–08).

Childhood and personal life

Federer was born in Binningen, near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South Africa-born Lynette Durand.

He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, near Basel and close to the French and German borders. Federer speaks Swiss German with his family. He also speaks German, French and English fluently, and conducts press conferences in all three. He was raised Catholic and met Pope Benedict XVI while playing the 2006 Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome.

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 is a fervent supporter of his hometown club FC Basel. As a youngster, he enjoyed watching former world #1 Chilean player Marcelo Ríos in action. Federer is also a fan of cricket, and played the game in 2006 with children displaced by the 2004 Tsunami in Tamil Nadu.

Federer supports 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 in 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.

In 2007, Federer was photographed by Annie Leibowitz as King Arthur. This was part of a series of photographs of celebrities for Disney's Year of a Million Dreams project.

Marriage

Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Miroslava "Mirka" Vavrinec. They met while competing for Switzerland in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Vavrinec retired from the tour in 2002 because of a persistent 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), and are expecting their first child, which is rumoured to be a boy. Federer stated that he chooses not to wear a wedding ring while he is playing professional tennis for fear of losing it.

Junior tennis

Federer started playing tennis at the age of eight. He began participating in group lessons aged nine and began weekly private coaching the following year. He 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.

Early Career in the ATP (July 1998- Oct. 2002)

In July 1998, Federer joined the ATP tour at Gstaad, where he lost to Lucas Arnold in straight sets. Although he played two more ATP tournaments in 1998, the majority of his matches were still at the Junior level.

In April he debuted for the Swiss Davis Cup team against Italy and finished the year ranked 66th. He was the youngest player in the top 100. He also competed in his first Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros, the French Open, but lost to Patrick Rafter in the first round. He also appeared for the first time in Wimbledon, losing in the first round to Czech Jiri Novak, then ranked 59th.

In January 2000, Federer competed for the first time in the Australian Open, losing to 49th ranked Arnaud Clement of France in the third round. He equaled this achievement in his first US Open, losing in the third round to 12th ranked Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain. He 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 losing to Marc Rosset and was also the runner-up in Basel. He did, however, win the Harry Hopman Cup in Australia defeating Jan-Michael Gambill in the final in straight sets. He failed to make an impression at Grand Slams, although it was the first year he played in all four, and Masters Series tournaments, and ended the year ranked 29th.

Federer's first ATP tournament victory came in February 2001 defeating Julien Boutter in the final of the Milan Indoor. During the same month, he won three matches for his country in its 3–2 Davis Cup victory over the United States. He later reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, defeating four-time defending champion and seven-time Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras in the fourth round in a closely fought five set match. This defeat ended Sampras' 31-match winning streak in the tournament. He also reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros but still could get no further than the third round in the Australian and US Opens. He finished the year ranked 13th.

Federer reached his first Masters Series final in 2002 at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, where he lost to Andre Agassi. He won his next Masters final in Hamburg. He also won both his Davis Cup singles matches against former World No. 1 Russians Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov. He had early-round exits at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open; Federer also suffered the devastating loss of his long-time Australian coach and mentor, Peter Carter, in a car crash in August.

Career in the ATP top 10 (Oct. 2002 - present)

2002

Federer reached No. 6 in the ATP Champions Race by the end of 2002. He jumped in the rankings from 13th at the end of September to 7th but the middle of October. This qualified him for the first time in the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup. However, his run at the tournament was ended in the semi-finals by then World No. 1 and eventual champion Lleyton Hewitt.

2003

In the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, Federer lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open to David Nalbandian. He then won two hard court tournaments in Marseille and Dubai before being upset in early round matches at the Masters Series tournaments in Indian Wells and Key Biscayne. On clay, Federer won the tournament in Munich, was the runner-up at the Masters Series tournament in Rome, and lost in the third round of the Masters Series tournament in Hamburg. Federer was seeded fifth at the French Open but lost to Luis Horna in the first round.

Federer was undefeated on grass in 2003, winning both of the grass court tournaments he played. A victory against Nicolas Kiefer in the final of the tournament in Halle was followed by his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon. He defeated Roddick in the semifinals and Mark Philippoussis in the final and lost only one set during the tournament, to Mardy Fish in the third round.

During the North American summer hard court season, however, Federer lost to Roddick in the semifinals of the Masters Series tournament in Montreal and to Nalbandian in the second round of the Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati. At the US Open, Nalbandian again defeated Federer, this time in the fourth round.

During the autumn, Federer played four consecutive indoor tournaments in Europe. He won the tournament in Vienna but failed to reach the finals of the tournament in Basel and the Masters Series tournaments in Madrid and Paris. To end the year, Federer won the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston. As the third-seeded player, he defeated Andre Agassi, Nalbandian, and Ferrero during the round robin competition before beating World No. 1 Roddick in the semi-finals and Agassi in the final.

Federer challenged for the top ranking during 2003, finishing the year at World No. 2, just behind Andy Roddick and just ahead of Juan Carlos Ferrero.

2004

Federer had one of the most dominating and successful years in the open era of modern men's tennis. He won three of the four Grand Slam singles tournaments, did not lose a match to anyone ranked in the top ten, won every final he reached, and was named the ITF Tennis World Champion. His win–loss record for the year was 74–6 with 11 titles, which included three of the years four Grand Slams and three ATP Masters Series titles.

He won his first Australian Open singles title by defeating Marat Safin in the final in straight sets. This win saw him supplant Andy Roddick as the World No. 1, a ranking he would hold for four years until August 18, 2008. In March, he won the Dubai Tennis Open, defeating Spanish player Feliciano Lopez in the final. A week later, he would go on to claim the 2004 Pacific Life Open, defeating Tim Henman in straight sets to win the title. 2004 also marked the year where he first met rival Rafael Nadal, who defeated Federer in their first ever encounter at the tournament in Miami. Federer also won two titles in Germany, first at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle and the Hamburg Masters, defeating World No. 4 ranked Guillermo Coria in the final to claim his second title at Hamburg. He then successfully defended his Wimbledon singles title, defeating Roddick in the final, and won his first US Open singles title, defeating Lleyton Hewitt 6-0, 7-6(3), 6-0 in the final.

Federer was the top-seeded player at the Athens Olympics but was upset in the second round to Czech Tomáš Berdych. He finished the year by taking the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston for the second consecutive year, defeating Hewitt in the final. Federer's only loss at a Grand Slam tournament during the year was during the third round of the French Open, where he lost to former World No. 1 and 3-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten in straight sets. (All results in 2004)

2005

At the start of the year, Federer hired former Australian player Tony Roche to coach him on a limited basis. He reached the Australian Open semifinals before falling to eventual winner Marat Safin 5–7, 6–4, 5–7, 7–6(6), 9–7. He rebounded to win the year's first two ATP Masters Series titles: Indian Wells defeating Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in straight sets and Key Biscayne, defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain in five sets after being down two sets to love, and two points from defeat. He won his third Hamburg clay court title in May by defeating Richard Gasquet, to whom he had earlier lost in Monte Carlo. He then entered the French Open as one of the favorites, but lost a four set semi-final to eventual winner Nadal.

Federer successfully defended his Wimbledon title, winning for the third consecutive year by defeating Andy Roddick in a rematch of the previous year's final. Federer also defeated Roddick in the final of the tournament in Cincinnati to take his fourth Masters Series title of the year (and sweep all the North American Masters events) and became the first player to win four Masters Series titles in one season. He then dropped only two sets en route to his second consecutive US Open title, defeating Andre Agassi in four sets in the final. He became the first man in the open era to win Wimbledon and the US Open back-to-back in consecutive years (2004 and 2005). He failed to defend his Tennis Masters Cup title, however, losing to David Nalbandian of Argentina in a four-and-a-half hour, five-set match. This loss prevented him from tying John McEnroe's 1984 record for the highest yearly winning percentage in the open era. This defeat also ended his streak of winning 24 consecutive finals, doubling the previous record.

2006

Federer won three of the four Grand Slam singles tournaments for the second time and ended the year ranked World No. 1, with his points being several thousand points greater than World No. 2 Nadal's total. Federer won the year's first Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open, by defeating Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. In March, Federer successfully defended his titles at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California and the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, and became the first player ever to win the Indian Wells-Key Biscayne double in consecutive years. Federer then started the clay-court season by reaching the final of the ATP Masters Series event at Monte Carlo losing in four sets to Rafael Nadal. He then reached the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome where he lost to Nadal in an epic five-set match that culminated in a decisive tiebreak. Federer chose not to defend his title at the Hamburg Masters, where he had won in the previous two years. At the French Open Federer advanced to the final for the first time but lost to defending champion Nadal in four sets. Although the clay Grand Slam title eluded him, Federer became one of only two active players who had reached the finals of all four Grand Slam singles tournaments, the other being Andre Agassi.

Federer entered Wimbledon as the top seed and reached the final without dropping a set. There, Federer beat Nadal in four sets to win the championship. This was Federer's fourth consecutive Wimbledon title. He then started his North American tour and won the Rogers Cup in Toronto, defeating Richard Gasquet of France in the final. In the year's last Grand Slam tournament, the US Open, he defeated American Andy Roddick in four sets for his third consecutive title at Flushing Meadows. During the open era, 2006 is the only year in which same man (Federer) and woman (Justine Henin) reached the finals of all four Grand Slams. At the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, Federer defeated defending champion David Nalbandian in one of his three round robin matches and Nadal in the semifinals. Federer then defeated American James Blake 6–0, 6–3, 6–4 in the final to win his third Masters Cup title. During the year, Federer lost to only two players: Nadal in the French Open, Rome, Monte Carlo, and Dubai finals; and Andy Murray in the second round of the Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati loss to Murray was Federer's only straight-sets loss of the year and the only tournament out of 17 in which he did not reach the final.

2007

Federer won his third Australian Open and tenth Grand Slam singles title without dropping a set throughout the tournament. He defeated Fernando González of Chile in the final. He was the first man since Björn Borg in 1980 to win a Grand Slam singles tournament without losing a set. His winning streak of 41 consecutive matches ended when he lost to Guillermo Cañas in the second round of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, after winning this tournament for three consecutive years. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Federer again lost to Cañas, this time in the fourth round in three sets. However, he was awarded four ATP Awards during a ceremony at the tournament, making him the first player to receive four awards during the same year.

Federer started his clay-court season by reaching his second consecutive final of the Monte Carlo Masters but lost, as in 2006, to second seed Rafael Nadal. Federer also lost in the third round of the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome to Filippo Volandri. This defeat meant he had gone four tournaments without a title, his longest stretch since becoming World No. 1. On May 20, 2007, however, Federer defeated Nadal on clay for the first time, winning the Hamburg Masters tournament. At the French Open, Federer reached the final for the second consecutive year but lost to Nadal for the second time. Despite this victory, the day after the final Federer announced that he was withdrawing from the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, which he had won the last four years. He cited fatigue and fear of getting an injury. He therefore entered Wimbledon for the first time without having played a warm-up grass-court tournament. Despite this, Federer once again defeated Nadal in five sets in the final. With the win over Nadal, Federer tied Björn Borg's record of five Wimbledons in a row.

Federer won the Cincinnati Masters title for the second time, beating James Blake in the final, to collect his 50th career singles title, his 14th ATP Masters Series title, and the 2007 US Open Series points race.

In the US Open final, Federer beat third seed Novak Djokovic. It was Federer's 12th Grand Slam title. As champion of the US Open Series points race, Federer received a bonus of $1 million, in addition to the $1.4 million prize for winning the US Open singles title. He became the only player in history to win three grand slams in three years (2004, 2006, 2007). Federer then finished the season at the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup. Despite losing for the first time in the round robin group, Federer then moved on to defeat rival Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals and David Ferrer in the tournament finals to win his 4th Tennis Masters Cup title.

On November 19, 2007, in an exhibition match in Seoul between players recognized as among the greatest ever, Federer defeated former World No. 1 Pete Sampras 6–4, 6–3. This was the first of three exhibitions the two played in Asia. Sampras noted: "I feel pretty good ... I made it competitive, which was my goal. Obviously Roger is the best player in the world and I retired five years ago. I am grateful that he invited me." Federer was equally happy with the workout: "Pete was one of my idols growing up and it's great to play him. It wasn't easy for me, it wasn't easy for him as he's been retired five years. I am number one and everyone expects me to win." Two days later, Sampras again lost to Federer 7–6, 7–6. However, Sampras won the last match of the series 7–6(6), 6–4, although his stated goal was to just win a set.

2008

Federer began the year by attempting to defend his title at the Australian Open. He lost, however, in the semifinals to eventual champion Novak Djokovic 7–5, 6–3, 7–6(5). This ended his male record of ten consecutive Grand Slam finals.

In March, Federer revealed that he had recently been diagnosed with mononucleosis and that he may have suffered from it as early as December 2007. Federer also had an illness related to food poisoning prior to the start of the Australian Open. He noted, however, that he was now "medically cleared to compete".

Although Federer was seeded first and was the defending champion at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, he lost to Andy Murray in the first round with a score of 6–7(6), 6–3, 6–4. On March 10, Federer won his third exhibition match out of four against former World No. 1 Pete Sampras at Madison Square Garden in New York City 6–3, 6–7, 7–6.

At the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, the first Tennis Masters Series event of the year, Federer lost in the semi-finals to American Mardy Fish for the first time. Federer's next tournament was the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, where he lost in the quarter-finals to Andy Roddick for the first time since 2003.

Federer began the clay court season at the Estoril Open in Portugal. This was his first tournament with coach José Higueras and his first non-Master Series clay-court tournament since Gstaad in 2004. Federer won his first tournament of the year when Nikolay Davydenko retired from the final while trailing 7–6, 1–2 with a leg ligament strain.

Federer then played three Masters Series tournaments on clay. At the Masters Series Monte Carlo, Federer lost to three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal in the final in straight sets. Federer made 44 unforced errors, lost a 4–0 lead in the second set, and fell to 1–7 against Nadal on clay courts. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, Federer lost in the quarter-finals to Radek Štěpánek 7–6(4), 7–6(7). Federer was the defending champion at the Masters Series Hamburg but lost to Rafael Nadal in the final. In the first set of the final, Federer built a 5–1 lead and served for the set twice. Nadal, however, won six consecutive games to win the set 7–5. Nadal again broke Federer's serve in the opening game of the second set, but Federer broke back and won the set 7–6(3). Nadal then won the third set 6–3 and the tournament.

At the French Open, Federer was defeated quickly by Nadal in the final 6–1, 6–3, 6–0.  This was the fourth consecutive year that Federer and Nadal had played at the French Open, with Federer losing his third consecutive final to Nadal. Federer's record of 23–4 (2005–08) at the French Open is second only to Nadal's record of 28–0 during the same period.

Federer bounced back by winning the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany without dropping a set or a service game. This was the fifth time he had won this event. With this result, he tied Pete Sampras's record for most titles on grass in the open era with ten.

At Wimbledon, Federer reached his 17th consecutive Grand Slam singles semi-final and his 16th Grand Slam final, tying Björn Borg for fourth most in male tennis history. He once again played World No. 2 Nadal in the final. A victory for Federer would have meant his sixth consecutive Wimbledon singles title, breaking Borg's modern era record and equaling the all-time record held since 1886 by William Renshaw. Federer saved two championship points in the fourth set tiebreak but eventually lost the match 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–7(8), 9–7. The rain-delayed match ended in near darkness after 4 hours, 48 minutes of play, making it the longest (in terms of elapsed time) men's final in Wimbledon recorded history. It concluded 7 hours, 15 minutes after its scheduled start. The defeat also ended Federer's 65 match winning streak on grass. John McEnroe described the match as "The greatest match I've ever seen."  After Nadal surpassed him as World No. 1 later in the year, Federer stated that his main goal would be to regain the Wimbledon title rather than the top spot.

Federer made early exits in his next two singles tournaments. At the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada, Federer lost in the second round to Gilles Simon after receiving a first round bye. At the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Federer was the defending champion but lost in the third round to Ivo Karlović for the first time in the duo's seven matches.

Federer was chosen to carry the national flag at the Beijing Olympics. At the Summer Olympics in Beijing, Federer lost in the quarter-finals to James Blake for the first time in their nine matches. Federer however, finally won his first Olympic gold medal in the men's doubles when he and compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka upset the World No. 1 doubles team of Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan of the United States in the semifinals and defeated Sweden's Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson in the final, 6–3, 6–4, 6–7(4), 6–3. The following day, Federer lost his World No. 1 ranking to Nadal after a record 237 consecutive weeks.

At the US Open, Federer reached the fourth round without dropping a set. In a rematch of the 2007 US Open final, he topped third-seeded Djokovic in the semi-finals 6–3, 5–7, 7–5, 6–2. On a Monday final, he defeated Murray 6–2, 7–5, 6–2 to win his 13th Grand Slam title and his fifth straight US Open title and extended his US Open winning streak to 34 matches. Federer became the first player in tennis history to have five consecutive wins at both Wimbledon and the US Open.

At the Mutua Madrileña Masters Madrid, Federer reached the semi-finals without losing a set. There he lost to Murray, 3–6, 6–3, 7–5. Meanwhile, he became the all-time leader in career prize money in men's tennis, earning over US$ 43.3 million at the end of the tournament and surpassing former World No. 1 and 14-time Grand Slam singles champion, Pete Sampras.

Federer won his 57th career title at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, beating David Nalbandian in the final, 6–3, 6–4. He became the only player in history to win the title three consecutive years. He reached the quarter-finals of his next event, the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris before withdrawing because of back pain. This was the first time in Federer's career of 763 matches that he had withdrawn from a tournament. This meant that 2008 was his first since 2003 in which he did not win a Masters Series title.

Federer entered the Tennis Masters Cup as the top-seeded player after Nadal withdrew from the tournament. He drew Simon, Murray, and Roddick in the Red Group. In his opening match, Federer lost to Simon but kept his hopes alive by defeating Roddick's replacement, Stepanek, 7–6(4), 6–4 in his second match. He lost his third match to Murray who won the match 4–6, 7–6(3), 7–5. Federer had received medical treatment for back and hip problems in the third set but lost after saving seven match points. This was the first time that Federer had not advanced to the semi-final stage of the event. However, Federer still ended the year ranked World No. 2.

2009

In preparation for the Australian Open, Federer played two exhibition tournaments and one official tournament. He lost to Andy Murray in the semifinals of the Capitala World Tennis exhibition in Abu Dhabi. He then lost in the semifinals of the ATP World Tour 250 series tournament in Doha, Qatar to Murray 6–7(6), 6–2, 6–2. Federer won the AAMI Classic exhibition in Melbourne when he defeated Stanislas Wawrinka in the final 6–1, 6–3.

Federer defeated each of his first three opponents in straight sets at the Australian Open. In the fourth round, Federer rallied from two sets down to defeat Tomas Berdych 4–6, 6–7(5), 6–4, 6–4, 6–2, which was truly a showcase for his mental and physical abilities. Federer reached his record 19th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal by defeating eighth seeded Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals 6–3, 6–0, 6–0 in only 80 minutes. In his 18th Grand Slam final, Federer was defeated by long-time rival Rafael Nadal in their first meeting on a hard court in a Grand Slam tournament. The match lasted over four hours with Nadal victorious in five sets. Federer broke down in tears during the trophy presentation and struggled to make his runner-up speech. Federer blamed the defeat on a lack of rhythm in his first serve. Federer withdrew from the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships and from Switzerland's Davis Cup tie against the U.S. because of a back injury he sustained in late 2008. He stated it was "a precautionary measure" to make sure his back is "fully rehabilitated ... for the rest of the 2009 season".

On March 4, Federer's agent, Tony Godsick, announced that the Australian tennis coach Darren Cahill was working with Federer, on a trial basis, at Federer's training base in Dubai. One week later, Cahill opted out of the coaching position, citing the travel commitment needed.

Federer played both of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 series tournaments in the United States. At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, Federer lost to Murray in the semifinals 6–3, 4–6, 6–1. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Federer defeated his first three opponents in straight sets after receiving a first round bye. In the semi-finals against Novak Djokovic, Federer lost 3–6, 6–2, 6–3, a match that included Federer's smashing of his racket in frustration after missing a forehand approach shot by hitting it into the net, the same shot that cost him the 2008 Wimbledon final.

After initially deciding not to participate, Federer accepted a last-minute wildcard entry at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, his first clay court event of the year. He lost to Wawrinka for the first time in the third round 6–4, 7–5.

In the semi-finals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 series event on clay, Federer lost to Djokovic for the first time on clay 4–6, 6–3, 6–3.

Federer received a first-round bye in the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, the last ATP World Tour Masters 1000 series event on clay for the year. He defeated Rafael Nadal 6–4, 6–4 in the final. This ended Nadal's 33-match winning streak on clay, and for the second time Federer prevented Nadal from becoming the first man to win all 3 Masters Series on clay in the same year.

In the 2009 French Open, in a fourth round encounter, Federer had to come back from 2 sets to love down to defeat Tommy Haas, 6–7(4), 5–7, 6–4, 6–0, 6–2. He defeated Gael Monfils in the quarter-finals 7–6(6), 6–2, 6–4, to reach his 20th consecutive Grand Slam semi-final. He reached his fourth straight final in Paris by outlasting Juan Martin del Potro 3–6, 7–6(2), 2–6, 6–1, 6–4. He won the final by beating Robin Söderling 6–1, 7–6(1), 6–4. With this win, Federer equaled Pete Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slam titles and Ivan Lendl's record of 19 Grand Slam finals, and also became the sixth man in history to complete a Career Grand Slam. Owing to the overwhelming emotions and fatigue brought by the tournament, Federer withdrew from the Gerry Weber Open, his usual pre-Wimbledon tournament.

Rivalry with Rafael Nadal

Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004, and this rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers. They are the only men in the open era who have played each other in 7 Grand Slam finals, with Nadal leading 5-2. Nadal leads their overall head-to-head series 13-7. Their 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match of all time by many long-time tennis critics, while many critics consider their rivalry to be the greatest in tennis history.

Technique

Federer's versatility was epitomised by Jimmy Connors' statement: "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". David Foster Wallace described Federer's exceptional speed, fluidity and brute force of this forehand motion as "a great liquid whip", while John McEnroe has referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport". Federer plays with a single-handed backhand, and has an excellent slice, and can also fire top-spin winning shots. His serve is difficult to read because he tosses the ball in the same spot no matter where he intends to serve it and he turns his back to his opponents during his motion. His first serve is typically around 190 km/h (118 mph); however, he is capable of serving at 220 km/h (137 mph).

Equipment, apparel, and endorsements

Federer currently plays with a customized Wilson (K)Factor (K)Six-One Tour 90 tennis racquet, which is characterised by its smaller hitting surface of 90 square inches, heavy weight (customized to a 12.7 oz strung weight), and thin beam (18 mm). His grip size is 4 3/8" (L3). Federer strings his racquets at 24 to 28 kg (52.9 to 61.7 pounds) tension (depending on his opponent and surface) with natural gut main strings (Wilson Natural Gut 16 String) and polyester cross strings (Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough 16L String). On his website, when asked about string tensions, Federer stated "this depends on how warm the days are and with what kind of balls I play and against who I play. So you can see – it depends on several factors and not just the surface; the feeling I have is most important."

Federer endorses Wilson tennis racquets and accessories with a lifetime contract and Nike footwear and apparel (he wears the Nike Air Vapor 6 and Nike Polo shirts). For the 2006 championships at Wimbledon, Nike designed a jacket emblazoned with a crest of three tennis racquets symbolizing the three Wimbledon Championships he had previously won. This jacket was updated in preparation for the 2007 Wimbledon Championships, with four racquets. In Wimbledon 2008, Nike continued this trend by making him a personalized cardigan. He now has his own logo, an R and F joined together. He also endorses Gillette and Jura, a Swiss based coffee machine company. In addition, he has had a long standing endorsement deal with Mercedes Benz. He also launched a fragrance called RF Cosmetics in 2003. Federer also endorses Rolex watches, although he is often seen wearing a Maurice Lacroix.