----

Playername	Todd Martin
Country
Residence	Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, United States
Datebirth	July 08, 1970
Placebirth	Hinsdale, Illinois, United States
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	1990
Retired	2004
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	US$8,254,455
Singlesrecord	411–234
Singlestitles	8
Highestsinglesranking	4 (September 13, 1999)
Australianopenresult	F (1994)
Frenchopenresult	4th (1991)
Wimbledonresult	SF (1994, 1996)
Usopenresult	F (1999)
Doublesrecord	100–85
Doublestitles	5
Highestdoublesranking	30 (April 26, 1996)
Updated	n/a

Todd Christopher Martin (born July 8, 1970, in Hinsdale, Illinois) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.

Career

Martin played tennis for two years at Northwestern University before turning professional in 1990. His parents lived in Lansing, Michigan, where Martin went to nearby East Lansing High School. At Northwestern, he was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He won his first top-level singles title in 1993 at Coral Springs, Florida. Martin traveled with good friend David Helfer for much of the '92 season. Helfer went on to play at Kalamazoo College.

Coached by Robert Van't Hof, 1994 proved to be a breakout year for Martin. At the year's first Grand Slam tournament, he reached the men's singles final at the Australian Open, where he lost in straight sets to World No. 1 Pete Sampras 7–6, 6–4, 6–4. At Wimbledon, he made it to the semifinals before falling to the eventual champion Sampras; the set that Martin took from Sampras in the match was the only set that Sampras lost during the entire tournament. Martin's third Grand Slam semifinal of 1994 came at the US Open, where he again fell to the eventual champion, this time being Andre Agassi. He also captured singles titles at Queen's Club and the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, the latter of which was the first of back to back titles.

Martin was a member of the US team that won the Davis Cup in 1995 (beating Russia 3–2 in the final). He also reached the final of the 1995 Grand Slam Cup, where he lost in straight sets to Goran Ivanišević 7–6, 6–3, 6–4. He reached the Wimbledon semi-finals again in 1996, but eventually lost 10–8 in the fifth set against MaliVai Washington, after holding a 5–1 lead in the final set and serving for the match twice. Martin would later reflect on the outcome and admit that he choked during the crucial moments of the match. He missed most of the 1997 season due to injury, but came back strongly in 1998 when he won two singles titles in Barcelona and Stockholm.

In 1999, Martin had a solid year, reaching the quarterfinals of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and reached his second Grand Slam final in 1999 at the US Open. Along the way, Martin had a memorable battle with Greg Rusedski in the fourth round, in which Rusedski held numerous advantages, including a two sets to love lead, serving for the match in the third set, and a 4–1 advantage in the fifth. Yet Martin was able to prevail, winning 5–7, 0–6, 7–6, 6–4, 6–4. Martin won 20 of the final 21 points of the match despite playing with a heavily bandaged leg and dealing with dehydration (he needed intravenous fluids after the match). In the final, he faced Andre Agassi in a very high-quality five-set contest, which Agassi eventually won 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 6–3, 6–2. Martin also won another singles title in Sydney that year, and reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 4.

In 2000, Martin again turned in a strong performance at the U.S. Open, reaching the semifinals before falling to the eventual champion, Marat Safin, in straight sets 6–3, 7–6, 7–6. As with the previous year's tournament, Martin made another grueling comeback from a two set deficit in the fourth round, this time against Carlos Moyà 6–7, 6–7, 6–1, 7–6, 6–2.

Martin was named the ATP's Most Improved Player in 1993, and won its Sportsmanship Award in 1993 and 1994. He was President of ATP Players Council for 1995–97 and 1998–99.

From 1994 to 1996, Martin was coached by Robert Van't Hof. From 1997 to 2002, Martin was coached by Dean Goldfine.

During his career Martin won eight singles and five doubles titles, and earned prize money totalling US$8,254,455. He retired from the professional tour in 2004.

Until April 12, 2010, Martin was the coach of Novak Djokovic. He is also is a contributor to ESPN.com. He plays on the Outback Champions Series tennis event for senior players. Martin finished 2006 ranked third and 2007 ranked first in the Outback Series.

Martin had signed on to coach ATP World No. 3 Novak Djokovic at the beginning of the 2009 US Open.

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (0-2)

{| class="sortable wikitable" |width="80"|Outcome |width="50"|Year |width="200"|Championship |width="75"|Surface |width="200"|Opponent in the final |width="200"|Score in the final |-bgcolor="#FFFFCC" |bgcolor="FFA07A"|Runner-up || 1994 || Australian Open || Hard || Pete Sampras || 7–6(4), 6–4, 6–4 |-bgcolor="#CCCCFF" |bgcolor="FFA07A"|Runner-up || 1999 || US Open || Hard || Andre Agassi || 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–7(2), 6–3, 6–2 |}

Masters Series finals

Singles: 1 (0-1)

{| class="sortable wikitable" |width="80"|Outcome |width="50"|Year |width="200"|Championship |width="75"|Surface |width="200"|Opponent in the final |width="200"|Score in the final |- |bgcolor="FFA07A"|Runner-up || 1993 || Canada (Montreal) || Hard || Mikael Pernfors || 2–6, 6–2, 7–5 |}

Career finals

.]]

Singles: 20 (8-12)

;Wins (8) {| width=53% | valign=top width=33% align=left | | valign=top width=33% align=left | |}

{| class="sortable wikitable" |- |width="80"|Outcome |width="20"|No. | style="width:130px;"|Date | style="width:280px;"|Championship |width="75"|Surface | style="width:200px;"|Opponent in the final | style="width:200px;"|Score in the final |- bgcolor="#d0f0c0" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 1. | February 15, 1993 | Memphis, USA | Hard (i) | Jim Courier | 7–5, 6–7(4), 6–7(4) |- | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner | 1. | May 17, 1993 | Coral Springs, USA | Clay | David Wheaton | 6–3, 6–4 |- bgcolor="#d0f0c0" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 2. | July 26, 1993 | Washington D.C., USA | Hard | Amos Mansdorf | 6–7(3), 5–7 |- bgcolor="#dfe2e9" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 3. | August 2, 1993 | Montreal, Canada | Hard | Mikael Pernfors | 6–2, 2–6, 5–7 |- bgcolor="#d0f0c0" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 4. | October 18, 1993 | Tokyo, Japan | Carpet | Ivan Lendl | 4–6, 4–6 |- bgcolor="#e5d1cb" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 5. | January 31, 1994 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia | Hard | Pete Sampras | 6–7(4), 4–6, 4–6 |- bgcolor="#d0f0c0" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner | 2. | February 14, 1994 | Memphis, USA | Hard | Brad Gilbert | 6–4, 7–5 |- | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 6. | May 2, 1994 | Atlanta, USA | Clay | Michael Chang | 7–6(4), 6–7(4), 0–6 |- | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 7. | May 9, 1994 | Pinehurst, USA | Clay | Jared Palmer | 4–6, 6–7(5) |- | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner | 3. | June 13, 1994 | London (Queen's Club), UK | Grass | Pete Sampras | 7–6(4), 7–6(4) |- bgcolor="#d0f0c0" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner | 4. | February 20, 1995 | Memphis, USA | Hard | Paul Haarhuis | 7–6(2), 6–4 |- bgcolor="moccasin" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 8. | December 18, 1995 | Grand Slam Cup, Munich, Germany | Carpet | Goran Ivanišević | 6–7(4), 3–6, 4–6 |- | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner | 5. | January 15, 1996 | Sydney, Australia | Hard | Goran Ivanišević | 5–7, 6–3, 6–4 |- bgcolor="#d0f0c0" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 9. | February 26, 1996 | Memphis, USA | Hard (i) | Pete Sampras | 4–6, 6–7(2) |- | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 10. | August 22, 1996 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | Thomas Enqvist | 5–7, 4–6, 6–7(0) |- bgcolor="#d0f0c0" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner | 6. | April 20, 1998 | Barcelona, Spain | Clay | Alberto Berasategui | 6–2, 1–6, 6–3, 6–2 |- | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner | 7. | November 16, 1998 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard | Thomas Johansson | 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 |- | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner | 8. | January 18, 1999 | Sydney, Australia | Hard | Àlex Corretja | 6–3, 7–6(5) |- | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 11. | April 12, 1999 | Estoril, Portugal | Clay | Albert Costa | 6–7(4), 6–2, 3–6 |- bgcolor="#e5d1cb" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 12. | September 13, 1999 | US Open, New York City, USA | Hard | Andre Agassi | 4–6, 7–6(5), 7–6(2), 3–6, 2–6 |}

Singles performance timeline

A = did not participate in the tournament

Senior tour titles

2006: Champions Cup Boston – defeated John McEnroe 6-3, 4-6, 10-8 (tiebreaker)

2007: Gibson Guitars Champions Cup – defeated McEnroe 7-5, 7-5

2008: The Oliver Group Champions Cup – defeated McEnroe 6-3, 6-1

References

External links

Category:American male tennis players Category:American tennis coaches Category:Northwestern Wildcats tennis players Category:Olympic tennis players of the United States Category:People from Hinsdale, Illinois Category:Tennis people from Illinois Category:Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:1970 births Category:Living people

Playername	Stefan Edberg
Country	Sweden
Residence	Växjö, Sweden
Datebirth	January 19, 1966
Placebirth	Västervik, Sweden
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	1983
Retired	1996
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	$20,630,941
Tennishofyear	2004
Tennishofid	stefan-edberg
Singlesrecord	806–270 (74.9%)
Singlestitles	42
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (13 August 1990)
Australianopenresult	W (1985, 1987)
Frenchopenresult	F (1989)
Wimbledonresult	W (1988, 1990)
Usopenresult	W (1991, 1992)
Othertournaments	Yes
Masterscupresult	W (1989)
Olympicsresult	W (1984, demonstration event)Bronze medal (1988)
Doublesrecord	283–153
Doublestitles	18
Highestdoublesranking	No. 1 (9 June 1986)
Othertournamentsdoubles	Yes
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	W (1987, 1996)
Frenchopendoublesresult	F (1986)
Wimbledondoublesresult	SF (1987)
Usopendoublesresult	W (1987)
Olympicsdoublesresult	Bronze Medal (1988)
Updated	19 August 2006

Stefan Bengt Edberg (born 19 January 1966) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player (in both singles and doubles) from Sweden. A major proponent of the serve-and-volley style of tennis, he won six Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam men's doubles titles.

Career

Edberg first came to the tennis world's attention as a junior player. He won all four Grand Slam junior titles in 1983 to become the first-ever player to achieve the "Junior Grand Slam". Later that year as a professional, Edberg won his first career doubles title in Basel.

In 1984, Edberg won his first top-level singles title in Milan. Edberg also won the tennis tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics when the sport was an exhibition event and partnered with fellow Swede Anders Järryd to reach the final of the US Open. Edberg also reached the French Open doubles final with Järryd in 1986 and consequently was World No. 1 in doubles in that year.

U.S. fans first took notice of Edberg's professional career when he won the U.S. Indoor in Memphis in February 1985. Edberg's first two Grand Slam singles titles came at the Australian Open. In December 1985, he defeated Mats Wilander in straight sets to claim his first major title. In January 1987, he defended his title by defeating Pat Cash in five sets to win the last Australian Open held on grass courts. Edberg also won the Australian Open and US Open men's doubles titles in 1987 (partnering fellow Swede Anders Järryd).

In 1988, Edberg reached the first of three consecutive finals at Wimbledon. In all three finals, he played Boris Becker in what became one of Wimbledon's greatest rivalries. Edberg won their first encounter in a four-set match spread over two days because of rain delays. A year later, Becker won in straight sets. The closest of their matches came in the 1990 final, when Edberg won in five sets after being down a break in the fifth set.

In 1990, an abdominal muscle injury forced Edberg to retire from the Australian Open final while trailing Ivan Lendl 5–2 (including two breaks of serve) in the third set. Edberg nevertheless took the World No. 1 ranking from Lendl on 13 August 1990 by winning the Super 9 tournament in Cincinnati. He held it for the rest of that year and for much of 1991 and 1992. Edberg spent a total of 72 weeks as World No. 1.

Edberg's final two Grand Slam singles triumphs came at the US Open, with wins over Jim Courier in the 1991 final and Pete Sampras in the 1992 final, who was just months away from being ranked No. 1 in the world.

Edberg's last Grand Slam singles final appearances were at the Australian Open, where he lost in four sets to Jim Courier in both 1992 and 1993.

In 1996, Edberg won his third and final Grand Slam doubles title at Australian Open with Petr Korda.

The only Grand Slam singles title Edberg never won was the French Open. He reached the French Open final in 1989 but lost in five sets to 17-year old Michael Chang, who became the youngest ever male winner of a Grand Slam singles title.

Edberg was most comfortable playing tennis on fast-playing surfaces. Of his six Grand Slam singles titles, four were won on grass courts at the Australian Open (1985 and 1987) and Wimbledon (1988 and 1990) and two were won on hardcourts at the US Open (1991 and 1992).

Post-career competitive tennis

In September 2008, Stefan Edberg officially joined the Black Rock Tour of Champions, a tour for professional tennis players who have since retired from the ATP Tour. Edberg won his first tournament in Paris held on clay, winning matches against clay court specialists Thomas Muster in the opening round and Sergi Bruguera in the finals on Sunday, 21 September 2008.

Distinctions and honors

Edberg also played on four Swedish Davis Cup winning teams in 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1994. He appeared in seven Davis Cup finals—a record for a Swedish player.

Since the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) computer rankings began, Edberg and John McEnroe are the only men to be ranked World No. 1 in both singles and doubles.

Edberg is the only player ever to earn both Player of the Year and Doubles Team of the Year. Edberg won Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991 and Doubles Team of the Year (with fellow Swede Anders Järryd) in 1986.

Edberg and Boris Becker are the only male tennis players ever to receive the United Press International Athlete of the Year Award (with Edberg having received the award in 1990).

Edberg was also a member of the Swedish teams that won the World Team Cup in 1988, 1991, and 1995.

At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where tennis was a demonstration sport, Edberg won the men's singles gold medal. Four years later, at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, tennis became a full medal sport and Edberg won bronze medals in both the men's singles and the men's doubles.

During his career, Edberg won a total of 42 top-level singles titles and 18 doubles titles and appeared in a then record 54 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments (since then broken by Wayne Ferreira).

He was ranked the World No. 1 in singles for a total of 72 weeks.

Edberg was also a five-time recipient of the ATP Sportsmanship Award (1988–90, 1992, and 1995). In recognition of this achievement, the ATP renamed the award the "Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award" in 1996.

In 2004, Edberg was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, United States.

Edberg won singles titles in 12 different countries: Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Edberg is considered by Tennis Magazine as the 14th greatest player, counting both male and female tennis players, of the Tennis Era. Counting men only, Edberg ranks 8th.

Edberg was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1990.

Edberg was a childhood hero of Roger Federer.

Edberg is one of the few players who reached the final of all four Grand Slam tournaments, winning three of them. In the 1989 French Open final, Edberg lead the match by two sets to one over Michael Chang and had numerous break points during the fourth and fifth sets. He eventually led the match by a break in the fifth set but could not win it.

Edberg won several Grand Slam matches after being down a break of service in the fifth and deciding set. Notable examples include the 1988 Wimbledon semifinal against Miloslav Mečíř, the 1989 French Open semifinal against Boris Becker, and the 1990 Wimbledon final against Becker. In the 1992 US Open, Edberg did it in three consecutive matches, against Richard Krajicek in the fourth round, Ivan Lendl in the quarterfinals, and Chang in the semifinals. In all these examples except the 1989 French Open final, Edberg went on to win the title.

Edberg's distinctive serve is used as the logo for the Australian Open.

Personal life

Edberg was born in Västervik, Sweden.

He is married to Annette Hjort Olsen. They have two children, Emilie and Christopher. (Olsen was at one time romantically connected to Edberg's tennis rival Mats Wilander.)

Edberg is a supporter of English football team Leeds United.

Records

These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.

Career statistics

Stefan Edberg career statistics

Quote

"If he hadn't lived", Edberg later said of Van Allen, "Michael and I might still be out there playing!"

* Background : James Van Alen (famed for his invention of the tennis tiebreak) died on the same day in 1991 that Michael Stich narrowly defeated Edberg in a Wimbledon semifinal 4–6, 7–6(5), 7–6(5), 7–6(2) where Edberg did not lose his serve.

See also

Becker–Edberg rivalry

Tennis male players statistics

World number one male tennis player rankings

List of Swedes in sports

Dick Wertheim, a linesman who died in 1983 after being struck by one of Edberg's serves.

References

External links

ATP Legends Profile Stefan Edberg

International Tennis Hall of Fame profile

Sunday Times article 29 November, 2009

Category:Swedish tennis players Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:Wimbledon champions Category:United States Open champions (tennis) Category:International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Sweden Category:Olympic tennis players of Sweden Category:Tennis players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:World No. 1 tennis players

Playername	Roger Federer
Caption	Wimbledon 2009
Country
Residence	Wollerau, Switzerland
Datebirth	August 08, 1981
Placebirth	Basel, Switzerland
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	1998
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	US$61,060,358
Singlesrecord	748–174 (81.03%)
Singlestitles	67 (4th in overall rankings in Open era)
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (2 February 2004)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 2 (18 October 2010)
Australianopenresult	W (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010)
Frenchopenresult	W (2009)
Wimbledonresult	W (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)
Usopenresult	W (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Othertournaments	Yes, but lost to Samuel Travis Bayda 6-0 7-5
Masterscupresult	W (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010)
Olympicsresult	SF ()
Doublesrecord	114–74 (60.6%)
Doublestitles	8
Othertournamentsdoubles	yes
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	3R (2003)
Frenchopendoublesresult	1R (2000)
Wimbledondoublesresult	QF (2000)
Usopendoublesresult	3R (2002)
Olympicsdoublesresult	Gold Medal ()
Highestdoublesranking	No. 24 (9 June 2003)
Updated	7 November 2010}}

}} Roger Federer (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP number one position for a record 237 consecutive weeks. As of 9 January 2011, he is ranked World No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Many sports analysts, tennis critics, former and current players consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time.

Federer has won a male record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. He is one of seven male players to capture the career Grand Slam and one of three (with Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal) to do so on three different surfaces (clay, grass and hard courts). Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 22 career Grand Slam finals. He holds the record of reaching the semi-finals or better of 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments over five and a half years from the 2004 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open. Federer also holds the record of reaching 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals and appeared in 18 of 19 over four and a half years from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open, excluding the 2008 Australian Open. Federer has won a record 5 ATP World Tour Finals (shared with Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras) and 17 ATP Masters Series tournaments. He also won the Olympic Gold Medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. He has been year-end top 2 in the rankings, 8 years in a row (2003–2010).

As a result of Federer's successes in tennis, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record four consecutive years (2005–2008). He is often referred to as The Federer Express or abbreviated to Fed Express,

Childhood and personal life

Federer was born in Binningen, near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South African-born Lynette Du Rand. He holds both Swiss and South African citizenships. 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 Roman 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 23 July 2009, Mirka gave birth to twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva.

Outreach and charitable efforts

Federer supports various charities. He established the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to help disadvantaged people and to promote sports. In 2005, he auctioned his racquet from his US Open championship to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina. He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF in 2006. At the 2005 Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Federer arranged an exhibition involving several top players from the ATP tour and WTA tour called Rally for Relief. The proceeds from the event went to the victims of the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake . Since then, he has visited South Africa and Tamil Nadu, one of the areas in India most affected by the tsunami. He has also appeared in UNICEF public messages to raise public awareness of AIDS. In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Federer responded by arranging a collaboration with fellow top tennis players Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Stosur to forgo their final day of preparation for the 2010 Australian Open to form a special charity event called Hit for Haiti, in which all proceeds will go to the Haiti earthquake victims. He was named as a 2010 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in recognition of his leadership, accomplishments and contributions to society.

Similar to the 2010 event, Hit for Haiti, another charity match will take place in 2011 before the Australian Open to benefit the 2010-2011 Queensland floods. The event will be called Rally for Relief.

Tennis career

Pre-1998: Junior years

Federer's main accomplishment's as a junior player came at Wimbledon, where he won both the singles tournament over Irakli Labadze 6–4, 6–4 and in doubles teamed up with Olivier Rochus, in which they defeated the team of Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram 6–4, 6–4. In addition, Federer lost the US Open Junior tournament in 1998 to David Nalbandian in 3–6, 5–7. He won four other ITF junior singles tournaments in his career, including the prestigious Orange Bowl where he defeated Guillermo Coria 7–5, 6–3 in the finals. He ended 1998 as the junior World Number One.

1998–2002: Early career in the ATP

Roger Federer's first tournament as a professional was Gstaad in 1998, which he faced Lucas Arnold Ker in the Round of 32, and he lost 4–6, 4–6. Federer's first final came at the Marseille Open, which was in 2000, and he lost to fellow Swiss Marc Rosset 6–2, 3–6, 6–7(5). Federer won in 2001 the Hopman Cup representing Switzerland, with Martina Hingis. Federer's first win was at the 2001 Milan Indoor tournament, which he defeated Julien Boutter by a score of 6–4, 6–7(7), 6–4. In addition, Federer won his first Master Series event at the 2002 Hamburg Masters on clay in 6–1, 6–3, 6–4 over Marat Safin; the victory made him a top-10 player for the first time. From 1998 to 2002, Federer made six finals in doubles. Of note are Federer and partner Max Mirnyi's defeat in the final of the Indian Wells Masters in 2002, and their victory in the same year in the final of the Rotterdam 500 series event. Federer had won the latter the year earlier with partner Jonas Björkman. Federer won his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 Event in Miami with Max Mirnyi, and made it to one singles Masters Series 1000 Event in Rome on clay, which he lost. Federer defeated the 2001 US Open champion, Lleyton Hewitt, at the US Open for his first title there 6–0, 7–6(3), 6–0. Federer would also take four ATP Masters Series 1000 wins: Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati (on hard court) and Hamburg (on clay). Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon Championships final 6–0, 7–6(5), 6–7(2), 6–3, which was the start of their storied rivalry. In the Australian Open, Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2 Federer made five ATP Masters Series 1000 finals, but won only in Hamburg and Madrid. Federer was defeated by Nadal in two Grand Slam finals, at the French Open 6–1, 6–3, 6–0 and at Wimbledon 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–7(8), 9–7, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg's record.

In 2009, Federer won two Grand Slam singles titles, which were the French Open over Robin Söderling 6–1, 7–6(1), 6–4 and the Wimbledon Championships over Andy Roddick 5–7, 7–6(6), 7–6(5), 3–6, 16–14. Federer reached two other Grand Slam finals, losing to Nadal at the Australian Open 7–5, 3–6, 7–6(3), 3–6, 6–2 and to Juan Martín del Potro at the US Open 3–6, 7–6(5), 4–6, 7–6(4), 6–2. In the final, Federer defeated Andy Murray 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(11), whom he also beat in the 2008 US Open final. Federer was just one week away from equalling Pete Sampras's record of 286 weeks as World No. 1. This is the first time since 2001 that Federer has entered Wimbledon having won only one title for the year. In a big surprise, Federer lost in the quarter final to Tomáš Berdych 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, and fell to World No. 3 in the rankings for the first time in nearly seven years, but he did win his 200th grand slam match in the first round. At the 2010 U.S. Open, Federer reached the semifinals, avenging his French Open loss to Söderling in the quarterfinals. Federer lost a five-set match to number three seed and 2008 Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic 7–5, 1–6, 7–5, 2–6, 5–7. At the Cincinnati Masters, Federer won his first title in eight months as he became the first player since Agassi to retain the title, as he beat Fish in the final. He also equaled Agassi for the number of Masters wins at 17 and tied Borg's mark for number of total titles won and moved to just one behind Sampras. His next appearance was in Shanghai, where he lost to Andy Murray for the second time this year in a Masters' Series final. Towards the middle of July, Federer hired Pete Sampras' old coach Paul Annacone to put his tennis game and career on the right path on a trial period basis. Federer won two straight titles at the Stockholm Open a ATP-250 level event, and in Basel, an ATP-500 level contest, which brought his tally to 65 career titles, equalling and surpassing Pete Sampras' total of 64 titles on the ATP Tour. Lastly, Federer won the Year-End Championships (now known as the World Tour Finals) by beating rival Rafael Nadal, for his fifth title at the event. He showed much of his old form, beating all contenders except Nadal in straight sets. After hiring Paul Annacone as his coach, Federer has entered nine tournaments, won five of them, was runner up in two, and reached the semifinals of the other two. Since Wimbledon 2010, Federer has a win loss record of 34-4, and has had multiple match points in two of his losses: to Novak Djokovic in the semifinal of the US Open, and Gael Monfils in the semifinal of the Paris Masters. Federer did not play in the 2010 Davis Cup. Also Roger Federer said, " I don't know why other sports don't have technology because it improves the game"

At the start of the 2011 season, Federer beat Nikolay Davydenko 6-3 6-4 to win the Qatar ExxonMobil Open without dropping a set. It was his third title in Doha following wins in 2005 and 2006. His next tournament will be the 2011 edition of the Australian Open.

Rivalries

Federer vs. Nadal

Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004, and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers.

They held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 until 14 September 2009, when Nadal fell to World No. 3 (Andy Murray became the new No. 2). They are the only pair of men to have ever finished four consecutive calendar years at the top. Federer was ranked number 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008.

Nadal leads their head-to-head 14–8. Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 18 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record 7 Grand Slam finals. From 2006 to 2008 they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final, and then they met in the 2009 Australian Open final. Nadal won five of the seven, losing the first two Wimbledons. Three of these matches were five set-matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open), and the 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts. They have also played in a record 9 Masters Series finals, including their lone five hour match at the 2006 Rome Masters which Nadal won in a fifth-set tiebreak.

Until 14 September 2009, when Juan Martín del Potro beat Nadal in the US Open semi-final on his way to defeating Federer in the final itself, no player had beaten both Nadal and Federer in the same Grand Slam. Nadal has not lost a French Open (5) final, while Federer was undefeated in US Open finals until losing to del Potro (5). Both have won Grand Slam events on three different surfaces successively (2008 French Open, 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open for Nadal and 2008 US Open, 2009 French Open, 2009 Wimbledon for Federer).

Federer vs. Nalbandian

David Nalbandian was Federer's biggest rival earlier in his career. Both players had an outstanding junior career, Federer won the Wimbledon junior title and Nalbandian won the US Open junior title (beating Federer). Even though Federer has a narrow advantage against Nalbandian, leading their meetings 10–8, Nalbandian beat Federer in their first five meetings after turning professional. Their td. impressive match was in the 2005 Shanghai Tennis Master Cup, where Nalbandian came back from being two sets to love down against Federer and ultimately prevailed in a fifth set tiebreak. The loss stopped An 81–3 win/loss rally that had he won, would've tied Federer with John Mcenroe's 82-3 record, set in 1984. Nalbandian, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray share the record of having beaten Federer 8 times, only Rafael Nadal has more victories over Federer.

Federer vs. Djokovic

These two have met 19 times with Federer leading 13–6. The rivalry between the two is not as intense as Federer's rivalry with Nadal. Djokovic is the only player besides Nadal to have defeated Federer more than once in a Grand Slam tournament since 2004.

Federer vs. Murray

These two have met 14 times, all hard courts, with Murray leading 8–6. Federer has won each of their Grand Slam matches (2008 US Open. and 2010 Australian Open.), but Murray leads 5–1 in ATP 1000 tournaments. They have met three times in the ATP World Tour Finals, with Murray winning in 2008 and Federer in 2009 and 2010. Apart from Nadal, Murray is the only other current top ten player to have a positive head to head record against Federer.

Playing style

Federer's versatility was summarised by Jimmy Connors: "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."

Federer is an all-court, all-round player known for his fluid style of play and shot making. Federer mainly plays from the baseline but is also comfortable at the net being one of the best volleyers in the game today. He has a very effective smash and very effectively performs rare elements in today's tennis, such as backhand smash, half-volley and jump smash (slam dunk). 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 which gives him great variety. He employs the slice, occasionally using it to lure the opponent to the net and pass him. Federer can also fire topspin winners and possesses a 'flick' backhand where he can generate pace with his wrist; this is usually used to pass the opponent at the net. however, he is capable of serving at 220 km/h (137 mph). and used this tactic especially frequently in his early career. His speciality is a half-volley from the baseline which enables him to play very near to the baseline and to pick up balls (even deeper ones) very early after their bounce, thus giving his opponents less time to react on his shot. Recently, Federer has also added the drop shot to his game and utilizes a well-disguised one off of both wings. He can also use the between-the-legs shot, as was shown in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open against Novak Djokovic, bringing him match point. Also, recently, he tends to chip and charge, with mixed results.

Equipment, apparel, endorsements

Federer currently plays with a customised Wilson Six.One Tour BLX tennis racquet, which is characterised by its smaller hitting area of 90 square inches, heavy strung weight of 12.5 ounces, and thin beam of 17 millimeters. His grip size is 4 3/8 inches (sometimes referred to as L3). Federer strings his racquets at 24 to 28 kilograms (52.9 to 61.7 pounds) tension utilizing Wilson Natural Gut 16 gauge for his main strings and Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough 16L gauge (polyester) for his cross strings.

Federer is one of the highest earning athletes in the world. He has a contract with Nike footwear and apparel. For the 2006 championships at Wimbledon, Nike designed a jacket emblazoned with a crest of three tennis racquets, symbolising the three Wimbledon Championships he had previously won, and which was updated the next year with four racquets after he won the Championship in 2006. In Wimbledon 2008 and again in 2009, Nike continued this trend by making him a personalised cardigan. He also has his own logo, an R and F joined together. Federer endorses Gillette, Jura, a Swiss-based coffee machine company, as well as Mercedes Benz and NetJets. Federer also endorses Rolex watches, although he was previously an ambassador for Maurice Lacroix. Also in 2009 Federer became brand ambassador for Swiss chocolate makers Lindt. In 2010 his endorsement by Mercedes-Benz China was extended into a global Mercedes-Benz partnership deal.

Grand Slam performance timeline

''To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only after the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.

A result of "A" means that the player did not play at the event.

A result of "LQ" means that the player lost in the qualifying rounds of the tournament.

;Finals (16 titles, 6 runner-ups) {| class="sortable wikitable" |- | style="width:100px;"|Outcome |width="50"|Year | style="width:200px;"|Championship |width="75"|Surface | style="width:200px;"|Opponent in the final | style="width:200px;"|Score in the final |- style="background:#cfc;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2003 || Wimbledon (1) || Grass || Mark Philippoussis ||7–6(5), 6–2, 7–6(3) |- style="background:#ffc;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2004 || Australian Open (1) || Hard || Marat Safin || 7–6(3), 6–4, 6–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2004 || Wimbledon (2)|| Grass || Andy Roddick ||4–6, 7–5, 7–6(3), 6–4 |- style="background:#ccf;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2004 || US Open (1) || Hard || Lleyton Hewitt || 6–0, 7–6(3), 6–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2005 || Wimbledon (3) || Grass || Andy Roddick || 6–2, 7–6(2), 6–4 |- style="background:#ccf;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2005 || US Open (2) || Hard || Andre Agassi || 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(1), 6–1 |- style="background:#ffc;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2006 || Australian Open (2) || Hard || Marcos Baghdatis || 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up || 2006 || French Open (1) || Clay|| Rafael Nadal || 6–1, 1–6, 4–6, 6–7(4) |- style="background:#cfc;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2006 || Wimbledon (4) || Grass || Rafael Nadal || 6–0, 7–6(5), 6–7(2), 6–3 |- style="background:#ccf;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2006 || US Open (3) || Hard || Andy Roddick ||6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1 |- style="background:#ffc;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2007 || Australian Open (3) || Hard || Fernando González || 7–6(2), 6–4, 6–4 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up ||2007 || French Open (2) || Clay || Rafael Nadal || 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2007 || Wimbledon (5)|| Grass || Rafael Nadal || 7–6(7), 4–6, 7–6(3), 2–6, 6–2 |- style="background:#ccf;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2007 || US Open (4) || Hard || Novak Djokovic || 7–6(4), 7–6(2), 6–4 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up || 2008 || French Open (3) || Clay || Rafael Nadal || 1–6, 3–6, 0–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up || 2008 || Wimbledon (1) || Grass || Rafael Nadal || 4–6, 4–6, 7–6(5), 7–6(8), 7–9 |- style="background:#ccf;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2008 || US Open (5) || Hard || Andy Murray || 6–2, 7–5, 6–2 |- style="background:#ffc;" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up || 2009 || Australian Open (1) || Hard || Rafael Nadal || 5–7, 6–3, 6–7(3), 6–3, 2–6 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2009 || French Open (1) || Clay || Robin Söderling || 6–1, 7–6(1), 6–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2009 || Wimbledon (6) || Grass || Andy Roddick || 5–7, 7–6(6), 7–6(5), 3–6, 16–14 |- style="background:#ccf;" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up || 2009 || US Open (1) || Hard || Juan Martín del Potro || 6–3, 6–7(5), 6–4, 6–7(4), 2–6 |- style="background:#ffc;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2010 || Australian Open (4) || Hard || Andy Murray ||6–3, 6–4, 7–6(11) |}

Year-End Championship performance timeline

;Finals (5 titles, 1 runner-up)

{| class="sortable wikitable" |width="100"|Outcome |width="50"|Year |width="200"|Championship |width="75"|Surface |width="200"|Opponent in the final |width="200"|Score in the final |-bgcolor="ffffcc" | bgcolor="98FB98"|Winner || 2003 || Houston || Hard || Andre Agassi || 6–3, 6–0, 6–4 |-bgcolor="ffffcc" | bgcolor="98FB98"|Winner || 2004 || Houston || Hard || Lleyton Hewitt || 6–3, 6–2 |-bgcolor="ffffcc" | bgcolor="FFA07A"|Runner-up || 2005 || Shanghai || Carpet (i) || David Nalbandian || 7–6(4), 7–6(11), 2–6, 1–6, 6–7(3) |-bgcolor="ffffcc" | bgcolor="98FB98"|Winner || 2006 || Shanghai || Hard (i) || James Blake || 6–0, 6–3, 6–4 |-bgcolor="ffffcc" | bgcolor="98FB98"|Winner || 2007 || Shanghai || Hard (i) || David Ferrer || 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 |-bgcolor="ffffcc" | bgcolor="98FB98"|Winner || 2010 || London || Hard (i) || Rafael Nadal || 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 |}

Olympic games

;(1 gold medal) {| class="sortable wikitable" |- | style="width:100px;"|Outcome |width="50"|Year | style="width:200px;"|Championship |width="75"|Surface | style="width:95px;"|Partner | style="width:100px;"|Opponents | style="width:200px;"|Score in the final |- style="background:gold;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2008 | Beijing | Hard | Wawrinka | Aspelin Johansson | 6–3, 6–4, 6–7(4), 6–3 |}

Records

These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.

Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.

Records in italics are currently active streaks.

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1" |- ! Time Span ! Selected Grand Slam Records ! Players Matched |- | Wimbledon 2003 — Australian Open 2010 || 16 titles || Stands alone |- | US Open 2008 — Australian Open 2010 || Career Grand Slam || Rod Laver Andre Agassi Rafael Nadal |- | Wimbledon 2003 — Australian Open 2010 || 22 finals || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2005 — US Open 2007 || 10 consecutive finals || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2004 — Australian Open 2010 || 23 consecutive semi-finals ||Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2004 — U.S. Open 2010 || 26 consecutive quarter-finals ||Stands alone |- | 2006 — 2007 || 2 consecutive years winning 3+ titles || Stands alone |- | 2004 & 2006 — 2007 || 3 years winning 3+ titles || Stands alone |- | 2004 — 2007 || 4 consecutive years winning 2+ titles || Stands alone |- | 2004 — 2007 & 2009 || 5 years winning 2+ titles || Stands alone |- | 2003–2010 || 8 consecutive years winning 1+ title || Björn Borg Pete Sampras |- | Wimbledon 2003 — Australian Open 2006 || First 7 finals won ||Stands alone |- | Australian Open 2004 — US Open 2010 || 7 consecutive years winning 20+ matches || Ivan Lendl |- | US Open 2006 — French Open 2007 || 36 consecutive sets won || Stands alone |- | US Open 2007 || 35 consecutive service points won || Stands alone |- | US Open 2007 || $2.4 million earned at one event || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2009 || 50 aces in a final || Stands alone |- | French Open 2004 — Wimbledon 2008 || 18 consecutive No. 1 seeds || Stands alone |}

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1" |- ! Grand Slam ! Time Span ! Records At Each Grand Slam ! Players Matched |- | Australian Open || 2004–2010 || 4 titles overall || Andre Agassi |- | Australian Open || 2004 — 2010 || 4 titles in 7 years || Stands alone |- | Australian Open || 2004–2007 || 3 titles in 4 years || Andre Agassi |- | Australian Open || 2006–2007 || 2 consecutive titles || Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Stefan Edberg Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi |- | Australian Open || 2004–2010 || 5 finals overall || Stefan Edberg |- | Australian Open || 2004 — 2010 || 7 consecutive semi-finals || Stands alone |- | Australian Open || align=center|2007 || Won without dropping a set || Ken Rosewall |- | French Open || 2006–2009 || 4 consecutive finals || Björn Borg Ivan Lendl Rafael Nadal |- | French Open || 2006–2008 || 3 runner-ups || Guillermo Vilas |- | French Open || 2006 — 2008 || 3 consecutive runner-ups || Stands alone |- | French Open || 2005 — 2009 || 5 consecutive semi-finals || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon || 2003–2007 || 5 consecutive titles || Björn Borg |- | Wimbledon || 2003–2009 || 7 finals overall || Boris BeckerPete Sampras |- | Wimbledon || 2003 — 2009 || 7 consecutive finals || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon || 2003 — 2009 || 7 consecutive semi-finals || Stands alone |- | U.S. Open (Tennis)|U.S. Open || 2004–2008 || 5 titles overall || Jimmy ConnorsPete Sampras |- | U.S. Open || 2004 — 2008 ||5 consecutive titles || Stands alone |- | U.S. Open || 2004 — 2009 ||40 consecutive match victories || Stands alone |}

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1" |- ! Time Span ! Other Selected Records ! Players Matched |- | 2 February 2004 — 17 August 2008 || 237 consecutive weeks at No.1 || Stands alone |- | October 2003 — January 2005 || 26 consecutive match victories vs. top 10 opponents || Stands alone |- | 2005–2006 || 56 consecutive hard court match victories|| Stands alone |- | 2003–2008 || 65 consecutive grass court match victories || Stands alone |- | 2003–2005 || 24 consecutive tournament finals won || Stands alone |- | 2006 || 94.12% of tournament finals reached in 1 season || Stands alone |- | 2005–2006 || 2-season match winning percentage of 95.05% || Stands alone |- | 2004–2006 || 3-season match winning percentage of 94.27% || Stands alone |- | 2004–2007 || 4-season match winning percentage of 92.92% || Stands alone |- | 2003–2010 || 5 ATP World Tour Finals titles|| Ivan LendlPete Sampras |- | 2007 || $10 million earned in a season || Rafael Nadal |- | 2002–2010 || 29 Masters 1000 finals reached || Stands alone |- | 2005–2006 || 29 consecutive Masters 1000 match victories || Stands alone |- | 2004–2008 || 2 consecutive Olympic games as wire-to-wire No. 1 || Stands alone |- | 2005–2007 || 3 consecutive calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1|| Stands alone |- | 2005–2007 || 3 calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1 || Jimmy Connors |}

See also

Roger Federer career statistics

List of career achievements by Roger Federer

List of Grand Slam Men's Singles champions

List of male tennis players

Switzerland Davis Cup team

2008 Summer Olympics national flag bearers

References and notes

Further reading

Video

Wimbledon Classic Match: Federer vs Sampras Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 31 October 2006, Run Time: 233 minutes, ASIN: B000ICLR98.

Wimbledon 2007 Final: Federer vs. Nadal (2007) Kultur White Star, DVD Release Date: 30 October 2007, Run Time: 180 minutes, ASIN: B000V02CU0.

Wimbledon — The 2008 Finals: Nadal vs. Federer Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 19 August 2008, Run Time: 300 minutes, ASIN: B001CWYUBU.

External links

Official Site

Portrait Of The Champion -- Roger Federer

Roger Federer Foundation

Profiles

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:French Open champions Category:Wimbledon champions Category:United States Open champions (tennis) Category:Laureus World Sports Awards winners Category:Olympic gold medalists for Switzerland Category:Olympic tennis players of Switzerland Category:People from Basel-City Category:Swiss-German people Category:Swiss people of South African descent Category:Swiss Roman Catholics Category:Swiss tennis players Category:Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:UNICEF people Category:World No. 1 tennis players Category:Male tennis players

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Novak Djokovic (), (born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player, who is currently ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).

He has won one Grand Slam singles title, the 2008 Australian Open, becoming the first player representing Serbia to win a Grand Slam singles title and the youngest player in the open era to have reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events. He was also the runner-up at the 2007 and 2010 US Open tournaments, and a bronze medalist representing Serbia at the 2008 Olympic Games. In addition, Djokovic won the Tennis Masters Cup in 2008 and has won six Masters Series tournaments. In 2010, he led Serbia to win the Davis Cup. Djokovic has finished the ATP Tour as World No. 3 for four consecutive years in a row between 2007 and 2010. Djokovic's highest ranking to date is World No. 2, achieved in February 2010.

He is a double winner of the award The Best Sportperson of Serbia and award for The Best Sportsman by Olympic Committee of Serbia.

Biography

Novak "Nole" Djokovic was born in Belgrade, Serbia on 22 May 1987 to parents, Srdjan and Dijana Djoković. His two younger brothers, Đorđe and Marko, are also tennis players with professional aspirations. He has been in a relationship with fellow Serb and Belgrade native, Jelena Ristic for the past five years.

He started playing tennis at the age of four, and was spotted by Yugoslav tennis legend Jelena Genčić at the age of eight, who stated: "This is the greatest talent I have seen since Monica Seles." At 12 years old, he spent three months at Nikola Pilić's tennis academy in Munich, Germany, and at age 14, his international career began, winning European championships in singles, doubles, and team competition.

Djoković is also known for his often humorous off-court impersonations of his fellow players, many of whom are his friends. This became evident to the tennis world after his 2007 US Open quarterfinal win over Carlos Moyà, where he entertained the audience with impersonations of Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova. He also did an impression of American tennis great John McEnroe after his final preliminary game at the 2009 US Open, before playing a brief game with McEnroe, much to the delight of the audience.

Tennis career

Early career

In the beginning of his professional career, Djoković mainly played in Futures and Challenger tournaments, winning three of each type from 2003 to 2005. He played his first grand slam appearance by qualifying for the 2005 Australian open where he met Marat Safin, as his first round opponent which he lost 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 Safin went on to win the tournament.

2006

The possibility for their entire 5-person family to move from Serbia to live in Britain involved immense dedication. All the rumours did not affect Djoković's play. He soon reached the top 40 world ranking due to a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open, and a fourth round appearance at Wimbledon.

Three weeks after Wimbledon, he won his maiden title at the Dutch Open in Amersfoort without losing a set, defeating Nicolás Massú in the final. Djoković won his second career title at the Open de Moselle in Metz, and moved into the top 20 for the first time in his career.

2007

Djoković began the year by winning the tournament in Adelaide, defeating Australian Chris Guccione in the final, before losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to eventual champion Roger Federer in straight sets. His performances at the Masters Series events in Indian Wells, California and Key Biscayne, Florida, where he was the runner-up and champion respectively, pushed him into the world's top ten. Djokovic lost the Indian Wells final to Rafael Nadal, but defeated Nadal in Key Biscayne in the quarterfinals before defeating Guillermo Cañas for the title in the finals.

Djokovic played in the Masters Series Monte Carlo Open, where he was defeated by David Ferrer in the third round, and in the Estoril Open, where he defeated Richard Gasquet in the final. Djokovic then reached the quarter-finals of both the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome and the Masters Series Hamburg but lost to Nadal and Carlos Moyà respectively. At the French Open, Djokovic reached his first Grand Slam semifinal, losing to eventual champion Nadal.

During Wimbledon, Djokovic won a five-hour quarterfinal against Marcos Baghdatis 7–6 (4), 7–6 (9), 6–7 (3), 4–6, 7–5. In his semifinal match against Nadal, he was forced to retire with back and foot problems.

Djokovic went on to win the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal. He defeated World No. 3 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, World No. 2 Nadal in the semifinals, and World No. 1 Federer in the final. This was the first time a player had defeated the top three ranked players in one tournament since Boris Becker in 1994. Djokovic was also only the second player, after Tomáš Berdych, to have defeated both Federer and Nadal since they became the top two players players in the world. After this tournament, Björn Borg stated that Djokovic "is definitely a contender to win a Grand Slam (tournament)." However, the following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic lost in the second round to Moyà in straight sets. Djokovic nevertheless reached the final of the US Open. Djokovic had five set points in the first set and two in the second set but lost them all before losing the final to top-seeded Federer in straight sets. During the 2007 tournament, Djokovic emerged as a fan favorite with his on-court impressions of other players including Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, and Maria Sharapova

Djokovic won his fifth title of the year at the BA-CA TennisTrophy in Vienna, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final. His next tournament was the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, where he lost to David Nalbandian in the semifinals 6–4, 7–6 (4). Djokovic, assured of finishing the year as World No. 3, qualified for the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup but did not advance beyond the round robin matches.

He received a golden badge, award for the best athlete in Serbia and Olympic Committee of Serbia has declared for the best sportsman.

2008

during the 2008 Australian Open]] Djokovic started the year by playing the Hopman Cup along with fellow Serbian World No. 3 Jelena Janković. He won all his round-robin matches and the team, seeded first, reached the final. They lost 2–1 to the second-seeded American team consisting of Serena Williams and Mardy Fish.

At the Australian Open, Djokovic reached the final without dropping a set, including a victory over two-time defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals, to reach his second Grand Slam final in a row; by reaching the semifinals, Djokovic became the youngest player to have reached the semifinals in all four grand slams. In the final, Djokovic then defeated unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to earn Serbia's and his first ever Grand Slam singles title in four sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(2). This marked the first time since the 2005 Australian Open that a Grand Slam singles title was not won by Federer or Nadal.

Djokovic's next result was at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, lost in the semi-finals to Andy Roddick.

At the Masters Series Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Djokovic won his ninth career singles title, defeating American Mardy Fish in the three-set final.

Djokovic won his tenth career singles title and fourth Master Series singles crown at the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome. The following week at the Hamburg Masters, Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semi-finals. At the French Open in Paris, Djokovic was the third-seeded player behind Federer and Nadal. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals in straight sets.

On grass, Djokovic once again played Nadal, this time in the Artois Championships final in Queen's Club, London, losing 7–6(6), 7–5. At Wimbledon, Djokovic was the third seeded player; however, he lost in the second round to Marat Safin; this ended a streak of five consecutive grand slams where he had reached at least the semifinals. Djokovic then failed to defend his 2007 singles title at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Toronto. He was eliminated in the quarter-finals by eighth-seeded Andy Murray 6–3, 7–6(3). The following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic advanced to the final. In the final, he again lost to Murray in straight sets.

His next tournament was the Beijing Olympics, his first Summer Olympics. He and Nenad Zimonjić, seeded second in men's doubles, were eliminated in the first round by the Czech pairing of Martin Damm and Pavel Vízner. Seeded third in singles, Djokovic lost in the semifinals to Nadal, 6–4, 1–6, 6–4. Djokovic then defeated James Blake, the loser of the other semi-final, in the bronze medal match 6–3, 7–6(4).

After the Olympics, Djokovic entered the US Open as the third seed. Djokovic took several injury breaks during matches in the tournament prompting a quip from Andy Roddick that the serb has "16 injuries" including SARS, bird flu, and the common cold. He defeated Roddick in the quarterfinals, and in the post-match interview expressed disapproval with Roddick's comments, eliciting boos from the New York crowd. His run at the US Open ended in the semifinals when he lost to Federer 6–3, 5–7, 7–5, 6–2 in a rematch of the 2007 US Open final.

Djokovic played four tournaments after the US Open. In a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final, he lost in the final of the Thailand Open to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. In November, Djokovic was the second seed at the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai due to Nadal being unable to participate. In his first round robin match, he defeated Argentine Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets. He then beat Nikolay Davydenko in three sets before losing his final round robin match against Tsonga 1–6, 7–5, 6–1. Djokovic qualified for the semi-finals, where he defeated Gilles Simon 4–6, 6–3, 7–5. In the final, Djokovic defeated Davydenko again to win his first ever Tennis Masters Cup title.

2009

Djokovic started the year at the Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia, where he was upset by Ernests Gulbis in the first round. At the Medibank International in Sydney, he lost to Jarkko Nieminen in the semi-finals. Djokovic would have risen to World No. 2 had he won the match.

As defending champion at the Australian Open, Djokovic retired from his quarterfinal match with former World No. 1 Andy Roddick while he was trailing in the fourth set 6–7(3), 6–4, 6–2, 2–1, due to heat exhaustion, muscle cramps, and soreness. His retirement drew criticism from several players remaining in the tournament, including Roger Federer, who noted that Djokovic had now retired from matches in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments.

After losing in the semi-finals of the Open 13 tournament in Marseille to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Djokovic won the singles title at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating David Ferrer to claim his twelfth career title. The following week, Djokovic was the defending champion at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, but lost to Roddick in the quarter-finals 6–3, 6–2. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic beat Federer in the semi-finals 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 before losing to Andy Murray in the final. Djokovic reached the final of the next ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on clay, losing to Rafael Nadal in the final. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic was the defending champion, but again lost in the final after defeating Federer. This loss caused Djokovic's ranking to drop to World No. 4 on May 11, ending 81 consecutive weeks at the number 3 ranking.

Djokovic was the top seed at his hometown tournament, the Serbia Open in Belgrade. He defeated first-time finalist Łukasz Kubot to win his second title of the year. As third seed at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, Djokovic advanced to the semi-finals without dropping a set. There he faced Nadal for the third time in five weeks and, despite holding three match points, lost 3–6, 7–6(5), 7–6(9). The match, at 4 hours and 2 minutes, was the longest three-set singles match on the ATP World Tour in the Open Era. At the French Open, he lost in the third round to German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6–4, 6–4, 6–4.

Djokovic began his grass court season at the Gerry Weber Open where, after the withdrawal of Federer, he competed as the top seed. He advanced to the final, where he lost to German Tommy Haas. Djokovic also lost to Haas in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon 7–5, 7–6(6), 4–6, 6–3.

During the U.S. Open Series, Djokovic made the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal before losing to Andy Roddick 6–4, 7–6(4). The loss was his third of the year to Roddick. At the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Djokovic defeated World No. 3 Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, 6–1, 6–4, to reach his second consecutive final at the event. He lost in the final to World No. 1 Roger Federer 6–1, 7–5.

At the 2009 US Open, Djokovic made the semi-finals having dropping only two sets, defeating the likes of Ivan Ljubičić, 15th seed Radek Štěpánek and 10th seed Fernando Verdasco en route. He lost however to Roger Federer in the semis in a hard fought encounter, 7–6(3), 7–5, 7–5.

Djokovic then took part at the China Open in Beijing. He defeated Victor Hănescu, Viktor Troicki, Fernando Verdasco and Robin Söderling en route to the final, where he defeated Marin Čilić in straight sets, 6–2, 7–6 to win his third title of the year. Djokovic regained the World No. 3 ranking on October 19, as a result of his performance at this tournament, and Andy Murray's withdrawal from the 2009 Shanghai Masters. At the inaugural Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, Djokovic lost in the semi-finals to sixth seed and eventual champion Nikolay Davydenko 6–4, 4–6, 6–7(1) in just over 3 hours.

At the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, Djokovic recorded his first career double bagel, defeating Jan Hernych 6–0, 6–0, to make it to the quarter-finals. He then recovered from a set and break deficit to defeat Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarter-finals, 3–6, 7–6(5), 6–2. In the semi-finals, he saved three match points to defeat Radek Štěpánek 6–7(4), 7–5, 6–2. In the final, he defeated home favourite and three-time defending champion Roger Federer 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 to win his fourth title of the year. With this win, Djokovic remained a perfect 15-0 at ATP World 500 tournaments in 2009.

At the last Masters 1000 event of the year at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, Djokovic finally won his first Masters 1000 title of the year. He defeated Rafael Nadal 6–2, 6–3, in the semi-finals in 77 minutes hitting 31 winners en route. In the final, Djokovic held off several comebacks in the match from Gaël Monfils, eventually prevailing, 6–2, 5–7, 7–6(3).

Coming into the year ending ATP World Tour Finals in London as the defending champion, Djokovic defeated Nikolay Davydenko in his first round robin match, 3–6, 6–4, 7–5, extending his winning streak to 11 matches. His run was ended however in his second match, where a weary looking Djokovic lost to the first time in 6 career meetings to Robin Söderling 7–6(5), 6–1. Despite victory over Rafael Nadal 7–6(5), 6–3, in his final match, Djokovic failed to make the semi-finals due to his percentage of sets won being inferior to that of Davydenko in a three way tie between Söderling, Davydenko and Djokovic (all three having finished the round robin stage with a 2–1 win-loss record).

Djokovic ended the year as the World No. 3 for the third consecutive year. Djokovic played 97 matches through out the year, the most of any player on the ATP World Tour, with a 78–19 win-loss record. In addition to leading the ATP World Tour in match wins, he reached a career best 10 finals, winning 5 titles.

2010

Djokovic started his year by playing in the Kooyong Classic, an exhibition event. In his first match, he defeated Tommy Haas but lost to Fernando Verdasco in his second. Djokovic participated in an exhibition match against Australia's World No. 291 Bernard Tomic in which he lost.

At the Australian Open, Djokovic was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five sets, 6–7(8), 7–6(5), 6–1, 3–6, 1–6, struggling with illness both before the match and from the fourth set onwards. Despite the loss, Djokovic attained a career-high ranking of World No. 2.

He reached the semis of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, losing to Mikhail Youzhny 6–7(5), 6–7(6), despite having set points in the second set tiebreak. At the Dubai Tennis Championships in U.A.E., Djokovic reached his second consecutive final at this event after beating all his opponents in 3 sets from the first round onwards. In the final, he defeated Russian Mikhail Youzhny winning, 7–5, 5–7, 6–3 to win his first title of the year. This was the first time in his career that Djokovic had defended a title.

He then took part in Serbia's Davis Cup tie against the USA on clay in Belgrade. He helped Serbia reach their first quarter-final in the Davis Cup 3–2 victory, defeating Sam Querrey in four sets, and John Isner in five sets.

Djokovic then took part in the first Masters 1000 events of the year in North America. At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, he lost in the fourth round to the eventual champion Ivan Ljubičić 5–7, 3–6. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, he suffered a shock loss, losing his opening match to Olivier Rochus 2–6, 7–6(7), 4–6. This was his first opening round defeat since losing to Fabrice Santoro at the 2007 BNP Paribas Masters. Djokovic then announced that he had ceased working with Todd Martin as his coach. He admitted that Martin had attempted to have him change his service motion, a tweaking of technique which caused him to routinely produce a high number of double faults in his matches and significantly reduced the threat on serve.

In his first clay-court tournament of the year at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, top seeded Djokovic reached the semi-finals with wins over Stanislas Wawrinka and in form David Nalbandian. There, he lost for the first time in his last five meetings to Fernando Verdasco, 2–6, 2–6. Djokovic again lost to Verdasco at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, this time in the quarter-finals, 6–7(4), 6–3, 4–6. Djokovic later said that his recent form had been hindered by allergies for the last two months.

As the defending champion at his hometown event, the Serbia Open in Belgrade, he withdrew in the quarter-finals while trailing 4–6 to the World No. 330, Filip Krajinović. He later announced his withdrawal from the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open because of illness.

Djokovic entered the 2010 French Open seeded third. He defeated Evgeny Korolev, Kei Nishikori, Victor Hănescu and Robby Ginepri en route to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Jürgen Melzer in five sets 3–6, 2–6, 6–2, 7–6(3), 6–4. With Melzer serving for the match at 5–4 in the fifth set, Djokovic hit a cross-court forehand that would have given him a love-30 lead on the point. A late call confirmed by umpire Carlos Bernardes ruled it out, a call which Djokovic contested with Bernardes. Djokovic lost the point and the match. Later Hawk-Eye examination showed that Djokovic had been correct and the ball had indeed been in; it was the first time that Djokovic had lost a Grand Slam singles match after winning the first two sets.

Djokovic once again entered the 2010 Wimbledon Championships as third seed, he defeated Olivier Rochus, Taylor Dent, Alberto Montanes, Lleyton Hewitt, and Yen-Hsu Lu en route to the semi-finals, where he lost to Tomas Berdych in straight sets, 6–3, 7–6, 6–3.

Djokovic then competed at the Rogers Cup in Toronto where he faced Roger Federer in the semifinals losing 6–1, 3–6, 7–5. Djokovic also competed in the doubles with Rafael Nadal in a one-time, high profile partnership. That was first time, after 1976. when Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe as World No.1 and No.2 paired up making a double dream team. However, they lost in the first round to Canadians Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil. Djokovic lost in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati to Andy Roddick. match against Czech Republic]]

As the 3rd seed at the US Open, Djokovic was very close to losing in the opening round, rallying from being down two sets to one down, a break in the fourth set and several break points which would have put him down two breaks in the fourth set to beat countryman Viktor Troicki in the midst of extreme heat. Djokovic eventually won 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 7–5, 6–3. He would then defeat Philipp Petzschner, Americans James Blake and Mardy Fish, and number 17 seed Gael Monfils all in straight sets to reach the US Open semifinals for the fourth consecutive year. In the semifinals, he faced Roger Federer, to whom he had lost the 2007 final and 2008 and 2009 semifinals. Very close to losing, Djokovic rallied to win 5–7, 6–1, 5–7, 6–2, 7–5, saving two match points at 5–4 down on his serve in the final set. The win ended a streak of four consecutive losses in Grand Slam semifinals. It was also Djokovic's first victory over Federer at the US Open in four attempts, and his first victory over Federer in a Grand Slam since the 2008 Australian Open. It also made him one of only two players to hold more than one victory over Federer in Grand Slam tournaments since Federer first became World number 1 (the other being Nadal). Djokovic lost to Nadal 4–6 7–5 4–6 2–6 in the final, a match that saw Nadal complete his career Grand Slam.

After helping Serbia defeat the Czech Republic 3-2 to make it to the Davis Cup final, Djokovic competed at the China Open as the top seed and defending champion. He won the title for the second successive year, after defeating Maoxin Gong, Mardy Fish (the American withdrew so this win is considered a "walkover"), Gilles Simon and John Isner en route to the final. Djokovic then defeated the eighth seeded Spaniard, David Ferrer in the final 6–2, 6–4.

At the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic made a semi-final appearance losing to Roger Federer 4–6, 5–7.

Djokovic played his final tournament of the year at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. Djokovic was placed in Group A along with Rafael Nadal, Tomas Berdych and Andy Roddick. Djokovic won his first round robin match against Berdych 6–3, 6–3. He next faced Nadal where he fell in straight sets 5–7, 2–6. Djokovic stated after the match he could barely see out of his right eye and at 4–4 in the first set Djokovic had to change his contact lenses. Throughout the match, Djokovic used three different types of contact lenses in the match to try to settle the problem. He defeated Roddick 6–2, 6–3 in his final round robin match and was safely through to the semi-finals, finishing second in the group to set up a mouth-watering clash with Roger Federer. He lost to eventual champion Federer 1–6, 4–6. Djokovic finished the year ranked World No. 3, his fourth successive finish at this position.

He was awarded the title "Serbian Sportsman of the year" by the Olympic Committee of Serbia and "Serbian Athlete of the year" by DSL Sport.

2011

In 2011 Djokovic started on Hopman cup.

Davis Cup

In 2006, Djokovic got the decisive win on April 9, 2006 against Great Britain by defeating Greg Rusedski in four sets in the fourth match, giving his team a 3–1 lead in their best of 5 series, thus keeping Serbia and Montenegro in the Group One Euro/African Zone of Davis Cup. Following this match-up a lot of media buzz appeared about Djokovic's camp negotiating with Tennis Lawn Association about changing his international loyalty by joining British tennis ranks. However, more than 3 years later, in October 2009, Djokovic confirmed that the talks between his family and the LTA throughout April and May 2006 were indeed serious:

Serbia since Montenegro gained independence in June 2006. By winning all three of his matches, Djokovic played a key role in the 2007 play-off win over Australia, promoting Serbia to World Group in 2008. In Serbia's tie against Russia in early 2008 in Moscow, Djokovic was sidelined due to influenza and was forced to miss his first singles match. He returned to win his doubles match, teaming with Nenad Zimonjić, before being forced to retire during his singles match with Nikolay Davydenko. Djokovic also had a big role in promoting Serbia to the 2009 World Group. On 6-8 Match 2010 he played the key role in bringing Serbia to World Group quarterfinals for the first time in its independent history, winning both singles matches in the home tie against United States (against Sam Querrey and John Isner). Later, Serbia progressed to the Davis Cup final, following the victories over Croatia (4-1) and Czech Republic (3-2). Serbia came from 1-2 down to defeat France in the final tie 3-2 in Belgrade to win the nation's first Davis Cup Championship. In the final, Djokovic scored two singles points for Serbia, defeating Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils. He was the backbone of the Serbian squad, going 7-0 in singles rubbers to lead the nation to title.

Playing style and equipment

Djokovic is an all-court player with emphasis on defensive baseline play, having played more aggressively in the earlier years of his career. His greatest strengths are his groundstrokes, serve and defensive capabilities. With considerable speed, his serve was one of his major weapons, winning many free points; his first serve was typically hit flat, while he preferred to slice his second serves wide.

Djokovic uses Head rackets, utilizing the first Head YouTek™ Speed Pro racquet, after using Wilson until the end of 2008. In the Australian Open 2011 uses for the first time the new YouTek™ IG Speed MP 18/20 with Innegra™ fibre technology. Djokovic strings in a custom hybrid consisting of polyester Tecnifibre X-One Biphase String in his mains and natural gut in his crosses. At the end of 2009, he moved from adidas to Sergio Tacchini after signing a 10-year deal with the Italian clothing company, although he continues to endorse Adidas shoes; wearing his signature ClimaCool Genius shoes. Djokovic has recently begun to wear Adidas' Barricade 6.0's Black/White.

Djokovic–Nadal rivalry

The pair have met 22 times and Nadal leads 15-7. Djokovic, however, has a great record on the hard court against Nadal in their matchups. The highlight of their rivalry so far was when Nadal just managed to eke out a victory in a hard fought, four hour best of three match at the 2009 Madrid Masters. Djokovic's most recent encounter with Nadal in a Grand Slam was in the final of the 2010 US Open where Djokovic was defeated in four sets. Djokovic also lost to Nadal during the round robin matches of the 2010 World Tour Finals in London.

Djokovic–Federer rivalry

These two have met 19 times in four years: Federer leads the head to head 13-6. Djokovic's biggest win over Federer was at the 2008 Australian Open where Djokovic defeated Federer in the semi-finals in straight sets, ending Federer's streak of ten consecutive Grand Slam finals. Djokovic's most recent victory over the Swiss was at the 2010 US Open where Djokovic ousted Federer in the semi-finals in five sets, 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5, saving two match points in the decider. Djokovic recently lost to Federer in Basel, 4-6, 6-3, 1-6 in the final, and in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals, 1-6, 4-6.

Grand Slams

Grand Slam performance timeline

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2010 US Open.

Grand Slam Finals

Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

{| class="sortable wikitable" |- |width="80"|Outcome |width="50"|Year |width="200"|Championship |width="75"|Surface |width="200"|Opponent in the final |width="200"|Score in the final |- style="background:#ccf;" | bgcolor="FFA07A"|Runner-up || 2007 || US Open || Hard || Roger Federer || 6–7(4), 6–7(2), 4–6 |- style="background:#ffc;" | bgcolor="98FB98"|Winner || 2008 || Australian Open || Hard || Jo-Wilfried Tsonga || 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(2) |- |- style="background:#ccf;" | bgcolor="FFA07A"|Runner-up || 2010 || US Open (2)|| Hard || Rafael Nadal||4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 2–6 |}

Career Statistics

See also

Tennis performance timeline comparison (men)

Serbia Davis Cup team

References

External links

Official site Official site

Novak Djokovic at Flickr--turn pro until now

Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:Male tennis players Category:People from Belgrade Category:People from Monte Carlo Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia Category:Serbian expatriates in Monaco Category:Serbian male tennis players Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Serbia Category:Olympic tennis players of Serbia Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Playername	Boris Becker
Nickname	Boom Boom The Lion of Leimen
Country	West Germany (1983–1990)Germany (from 1990)
Residence	Schwyz, Switzerland
Datebirth	November 22, 1967
Placebirth	Leimen, West Germany
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	1984
Retired	June 30, 1999
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	US $25,080,956
Tennishofyear	2003
Tennishofid	boris-becker
Singlesrecord	713–214 (76.91%)
Singlestitles	49
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (28 January 1991)
Australianopenresult	W (1991, 1996)
Frenchopenresult	SF (1987, 1989, 1991)
Wimbledonresult	W (1985, 1986, 1989)
Usopenresult	W (1989)
Othertournaments	Yes
Masterscupresult	W (1988, 1992, 1995) WCT(1988)
Olympicsresult	3R (1992)
Doublesrecord	254–136
Doublestitles	15
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	QF (1985)
Othertournamentsdoubles	Yes
Olympicsdoublesresult	W (1992)
Highestdoublesranking	6 (22 September 1986)
Updated	N/A

Boris Franz Becker (born 22 November 1967) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17. Boris also won four year end championships titles including three ATP Masters World Tour Finals (played 8 finals, second all-time to Lendl 9) and one WCT Finals. In addition five Masters 1000 series titles. Tennis Magazine put Becker in 18th place on its list of the 40 greatest tennis players from 1965 to 2005.

Early life

Becker was born in Leimen, West Germany, the only son of Elvira (née Pisch), who was raised in Czechoslovakia, and Karl-Heinz Becker. Becker was raised Catholic. His father, an architect, founded the tennis centre (Tennis-Club Blau-Weiß 1964 Leimen e. V.) in Leimen, where Boris learned the game.

Tennis career

Boris turned professional in 1984 and won his first professional doubles title that year in Munich. As a West German teenager, Becker won his first top-level singles title in June 1985 at Queen's Club and two weeks later on 7 July, became the first unseeded player and the first German to win the Wimbledon singles title, defeating Kevin Curren in four sets. At the time, he was the youngest ever male Grand Slam singles champion at 17 years, 7 months (a record later broken by Michael Chang in 1989, who won the French Open when he was 17 years, 3 months). Two months after his triumph, Becker became the youngest winner of the Cincinnati Open.

In 1986, Becker successfully defended his Wimbledon title, defeating World No. 1 Ivan Lendl in straight sets in the final. Becker, then ranked World No. 2, was upset in the second round of Wimbledon in 1987 by the World No. 70 player, Peter Doohan. In the Davis Cup that year, Becker and John McEnroe played one of the longest matches in tennis history. Becker won 4–6, 15–13, 8–10, 6–2, 6–2 (at that time, there were no tiebreaks in the Davis Cup). The match lasted 6 hours and 22 minutes.

Becker was back in the Wimbledon final in 1988, where he lost in four sets to Stefan Edberg in a match that marked the start of one of Wimbledon's great rivalries. Becker also helped West Germany win its first Davis Cup in 1988. He won the year-ending Masters title in New York City, defeating five-time champion Lendl in the final. The same year he also won season ending WCT Finals for the rival World Championship Tennis tour defeating Stefan Edberg in four sets.

In 1989, Becker won two Grand Slam singles titles, the only year he won more than one. After losing to Edberg in the French Open semifinals, he defeated Edberg in the Wimbledon final and then beat Lendl in the US Open final. He also helped West Germany retain the Davis Cup, defeating Andre Agassi in the semifinal round. As a result, Becker was named Player of The Year by the ATP Tour. The World No. 1 ranking, however, still eluded him.

In 1990, Becker met Edberg for the third consecutive year in the Wimbledon final, but this time was on the losing end of a long five-set match. He also failed to defend his US Open title, losing to Agassi in the semifinals. Becker reached the final of the Australian Open for the first time in his career in 1991, where he defeated Lendl to claim the World No. 1 ranking. Another loss to Agassi in the French Open semifinals kept him from winning the first two Grand Slam tournaments of the year. He was ranked World No. 1 for twelve weeks during 1991, though he never managed to finish a year with that ranking.

In 1992 Becker won a seven tour titles including his second ATP Tour World Championships defeating Jim Courier in four sets.

By 1993, issues back home over his courtship of and marriage to Barbara Feltus, whose mother was German and father was African-American, and tax problems with the German Government, had caused Becker to slide into a severe mid-career decline. Becker was ranked World No. 2 during Wimbledon in 1991 and reached his fourth consecutive final there. However, he lost in straight sets to fellow German compatriot and World No. 7 Michael Stich. Becker and Stich developed a fierce rivalry, with the media often comparing a passionate Becker to a more stoic Stich. However, Becker and Stich teamed in 1992 to win the men's doubles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. Becker defeated Jim Courier in straight sets to win the 1992 year-end ATP Tour World Championships in Frankfurt.

In 1995, Becker, now almost a half decade past his prime, reached the Wimbledon final for the seventh time, by defeating Agassi in the semifinals. In the final however, the years past-his-prime Becker, further fatigued after grueling baseline contests with Cedric Pioline and then with Agassi, ran out of gas after winning the first set in a tiebreak, and lost in four sets to Pete Sampras. He won the year-end ATP Tour World Championships for the third and last time in Frankfurt with a straight-set win over Chang in the final. Becker's sixth and final Grand Slam title came in 1996 when he defeated Chang in the final of the Australian Open. In that tournament, Becker delivered a humorous victory speech. When he mentioned his sponsors, he cut himself short, by saying that he did not have the whole day left. He then consoled Chang, by saying that his (Becker's) days were numbered, while Chang was still young. After winning the Queen's Club Championships for the fourth time, Becker was widely expected to mount a serious challenge for the Wimbledon title in 1996, but his bid ended abruptly when he damaged his right wrist during a third-round match against Neville Godwin and was forced to withdraw.

Becker defeated Sampras in October 1996 in a five-set final in Stuttgart. "Becker is the best indoor player I've ever played," said Sampras after the match. Becker lost to Sampras in the final of the 1996 ATP Tour World Championships in Hannover. Becker saved two match points in the fourth set and held serve 27 consecutive times until he was broken in the penultimate game. In 1997, Becker lost to Sampras in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. After that match, he vowed that he would never play at Wimbledon again. However, Becker played Wimbledon one more time in 1999, this time losing in the fourth round to Patrick Rafter.

Becker was most comfortable playing on fast-playing surfaces, particularly grass courts and indoor carpet (on which he won 26 titles). He reached a few finals playing on clay courts but never won a clay court tournament in his professional career. His best performances at the French Open were when he reached the semi-finals in 1987, 1989, and 1991.

Over the course of his career, Becker won 49 singles titles and 15 doubles titles. Besides his six Grand Slam titles, he was also a singles winner in the year-ending Masters / ATP Tour World Championships in 1988, 1992, and 1995, and at the Grand Slam Cup in 1996. He won a record-equalling four singles titles at London's Queen's Club. In Davis Cup, his career win-loss record was 54–12, including 38–3 in singles. He also won the other two major international team titles playing for Germany – the Hopman Cup (in 1995) and the World Team Cup (in 1989 and '98).

Becker won singles titles in 14 different countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Qatar, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States. In 2003, Becker was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He occasionally plays on the senior tour and in World Team Tennis. He is also sometimes a commentator at Wimbledon for BBC.

Playing style

Becker's game was based on a fast and well-placed serve, that earned him the nicknames "Boom Boom", "Der Bomber" and "Baron von Slam", and great volleying skills at the net. He could supplement his pure serve-and-volley game with brilliant athleticism at the net, which included the diving volley that was considered a trademark of the young German, and which endeared him to his fans. His heavy forehand and return of serve were also very significant factors in his game.

Becker occasionally deviated from his serve-and-volley style to try to out-hit, from the baseline, opponents who normally were at their best while remaining near the baseline. Even though Becker possessed powerful shots from both wings, this strategy was often criticized by commentators.

Becker had frequent emotional outbursts on court. Whenever he considered himself to be playing badly, he often swore at himself and occasionally smashed his rackets. In contrast to John McEnroe, Becker rarely showed aggression toward his opponents. Also in contrast to McEnroe, his level of play and focus tended to be diminished rather than enhanced following these outbursts. Becker's highly dramatic play spawned new expressions such as the Becker Blocker (his trademark early return shot), the Becker Hecht (a flying lunge), the Becker Faust ("Becker Fist"), the Becker Shuffle (the dance he sometimes performed after making important points), and Becker Säge ("Becker Saw" – referring to the way in which he pumped his fists in a sawing motion).

Becker, one of the most effective players in his era on grass courts and carpet courts, had less success on clay. He never won a top-level singles title on clay, coming closest when holding two match points against Thomas Muster in the final of the 1995 Monte Carlo Open. Becker did, however, team up with Michael Stich to win the 1992 men's doubles Olympic gold medal on clay.

Equipment

Becker played most of his career with racquets from the German company Puma. After production of this racquet was discontinued, he bought the moulds and had them produced by the American company Estusa. He now has his own personal line of racquets and apparel.

Records

These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.

^ Denotes consecutive streak.

Career statistics

In Grand Slam singles tournaments, Becker's match record is 163–40, an 80.3 winning percentage. The other male players in the open era with winning percentages over 80 are Björn Borg (89.8), Rafael Nadal (87.6), Roger Federer (87.4), Pete Sampras (84.2), Jimmy Connors (82.6), Ivan Lendl (81.9), John McEnroe (81.5) and Andre Agassi (80.9).

Post-retirement career

Since 2000, Becker has been the principal owner of the tennis division of Völkl Inc., a tennis racquet and clothing manufacturer. He published a tell-all autobiography Augenblick, verweile doch... (English title: The Player) in 2003. From October 2005 to June 2006, Becker was a team captain on the British TV sports quiz show They Think It's All Over.

In October 2006, Becker signed a two-year deal with Vodafone to answer selected text messages from fans. The terms were his answering around 300 messages per year. These were predominantly questions about his career and trivia about the mens ATP tour. Becker has visited several places in Europe promoting the service, including Moscow and Airdrie.

In November 2007, Becker joined the Team PokerStars group of poker players sponsored by the PokerStars online poker cardroom. As part of the Team, Becker played in major poker tournaments like the European Poker Tour.

In May 2009, Becker announced the launch of online media platform Boris Becker TV. The website, in English and German, features clips from his career and footage of his daily life.

Becker was a commentator for the BBC at Wimbledon in 2009.

Personal life

Becker lives in Schwyz, Switzerland. He is a fan of German football club Bayern Munich and serves on its advisory board alongside former Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber. He is also a fan of Chelsea FC.

Relationships

in 1992]]On 17 December 1993, Becker married actress and designer Barbara Feltus. In January 1994, their son Noah Gabriel, named after Becker's friends Yannick Noah and Peter Gabriel, was born. Their second child, Elias, was born in September 1999. Before the marriage, they shocked some in Germany by posing nude for the cover of Stern in a picture taken by her father.

After Becker asked Barbara for a separation in December 2000, she flew to Miami, Florida with Noah and Elias, and filed a divorce petition in Miami-Dade County Court, sidestepping their prenuptial agreement, which had entitled her to a single $2.5 million payoff. The January 2001 pretrial hearing was broadcast live to Germany. Becker was granted a divorce on 15 January 2001. She got a $14.4 million settlement, their condo on the exclusive Fisher Island, and custody of Noah and Elias.

In February 2001, Becker acknowledged paternity of a daughter, Anna (born March 22, 2000), with model Angela Ermakova. In October 2009, he confirmed media reports that the child was the result of a brief sexual encounter in 1999 at a London restaurant. He had been out drinking following losing a main draw singles match at the Wimbledon Championships, in what had been a come-back to the venue of his greatest success. Becker initially denied paternity, but admitted he was the child's father after a DNA test. In November 2007, he obtained joint custody of Anna after expressing concerns over how her mother was raising her.

Becker was engaged to Alessandra Meyer-Wölden briefly in 2008. Her father, Axel Meyer-Wölden, was Becker's advisor and manager in the 1990s. The couple broke up in November 2008.

In February 2009 on the German ZDF TV show Wetten, dass..?, Becker announced that he and Dutch model Sharlely "Lilly" Kerssenberg would be getting married on 12 June 2009 in St Moritz, Switzerland. In August 2009 they announced that they were expecting a child. In February 2010, Becker and wife welcomed a son, Amadeus Benedict Edley Luis Becker. The name Edley is for his wife's uncle Edley, and Luis is for his friend, Mexican-Cuban millionaire Luis Garcia Fanjul, who is also the child's godfather.

See also

Becker–Edberg rivalry

References

Further reading

Video

Wimbledon Record Breakers (2005) Starring: Andre Agassi, Boris Becker; Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 16 August 2005, Run Time: 52 minutes, ASIN: B000A3XYYQ.

External links

Official Site of Boris Becker Sports & Boris Becker Tennis

Boris-Becker.TV

International Tennis Hall of Fame

BBC Profile

Boris Becker's victories

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