Roger Federer
Roger Federer was born on 8 August 1981 in Basel, Switzerland.
The great Swiss right-hander began playing tennis at eight and turned professional in 1998.
The last few years have seen phenomenal success for Roger Federer, and has led John McEnroe to say that Federer could be "the best ever player".
Lleyton Hewitt is glowing in his praise of his Swiss rival:
"Roger has taken tennis to another level," says Hewitt. "Everybody else has to strive to improve. That's what motivates us all."
Roger Federer had an unbelievably successful 2004. His 2004 prize money was $6,357,547 including 11 singles titles. Federer is the first player since Mats Wilander in 1988 to win three Grand Slam titles in a season.
2005 also proved a great year for Roger Federer and in 2006 Federer set out in the same glorious fashion when he won the Australian Open beating unseeded Marcos Baghdatis.
Federer acknowledges the responsibility that comes with his star status:
"It's important for me to represent the sport correctly and be a good role model for the kids."
In July 2006 Roger Federer won his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title, beating Rafael Nadal 6-0 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (2-7) 6-3.
A year later Roger Federer went one better. Once again he beat Nadal, but this time it meant that Roger Federer had equalled Bjorn Borg's record of winning five consecutive Wimbledon men's singles titles.
When Roger Federer won the US Open in 2006, it was his ninth Grand Slam, it was his third straight US Open title, and it was his sixth consecutive Grand Slam final.
Roger Federer ended the 2006 season with 12 more titles and record prize money of over $8 million for the season.
Federer carried on in the same winning vein in 2007. In January 2007 he won the Australian Open in straight sets.
In February 2007 Roger Federer overtook Jimmy Connors's record as the longest reigning world tennis number one. Federer had held the top ranking for 161 consecutive weeks.
However, in March 2007, Roger Federer's 41-match unbeaten run ended when he was beaten by Guillermo Canas in the second round of the Indian Wells Masters.
In September 2007, Roger Federer became the first man to win both four consecutive Wimbledon Championships and four consecutive US Opens when he beat Novak Djokovic 7-6 7-6 6-4 in the US Open final.
In October 2007 Roger Federer won the Swiss Indoors and so secured the No. 1 world tennis ranking for the fourth consecutive year.
See also:
Roger Federer News
Why Roger Federer keeps winning
Roger Federer's Wimbledon 2005 victory