Federer, Roger

Federer, Roger, 1981–, Swiss tennis player, b. Basel. He was an outstanding junior player, ranking number one in 1998, the year he turned pro. Federer won his first Association of Tennis Professionals tournament in 2001 at Milan, and scored his first major victory in 2003 at Wimbledon. Ranked number one early in 2004, he won three of the four Grand Slam titles (Australian and U.S. opens and Wimbledon), 11 singles titles, and 74 of his 80 matches that year. He has since won Wimbledon (2005–7) and the U.S. (2005–7) and Australian (2006–7) opens several times, and by Feb., 2007, had remained ranked number one for more than 160 consecutive weeks, a record. Playing with a combination of intelligence, strength, and finesse, he has a powerful forehand, a mighty single-handed backhand, and an explosive serve.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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