Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
Name	Mats Wilander
Country	Sweden
Residence	Hailey, Idaho, United States
Birth date	August 22, 1964
Birth place	Växjö, Sweden
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	1981
Retired	1996
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	US$7,976,256
Tennishofyear	2002
Tennishofid	mats-wilander
Singlesrecord	571–222
Singlestitles	33
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (12 September 1988)
Australianopenresult	W (1983, 1984, 1988)
Frenchopenresult	W (1982, 1985, 1988)
Wimbledonresult	QF (1987, 1988, 1989)
Usopenresult	W (1988)
Doublesrecord	168–127
Doublestitles	7|highestdoublesranking No. 3 (21 October 1985)
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	F (1984)
Frenchopendoublesresult	SF (1985)
Wimbledondoublesresult	W (1986)
Usopendoublesresult	F (1986)
Updated	12 April 2007 }}

Mats Wilander (born 22 August 1964, in Växjö, Sweden) is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Sweden. From 1982 through 1988, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles (three at the French Open, three at the Australian Open, and one at the US Open), and one Grand Slam men's doubles title (at Wimbledon). He won three of the four Grand Slam singles events in 1988 and finished that year ranked World No. 1. Although he never won the singles title at Wimbledon, Wilander twice won the Australian Open when that tournament was still played on grass courts. This makes Wilander one of only five men (along with Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer) to have won Grand Slam singles titles on grass courts, hardcourts, and clay courts. He and Rafael Nadal are the only men in tennis history to have won at least two Grand Slam singles titles on each of the three surfaces. Wilander won his fourth career Grand Slam singles title at the age of 20, the youngest man in history to have achieved that feat. In addition he also won eight Championship Series titles (1983–88) the precursors to the current Masters 1000.

Career

Wilander won 33 singles titles and seven doubles titles during his career. He was also a driving force behind Sweden's run of seven consecutive Davis Cup finals in the 1980s.

In 2002, Wilander was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Juniors

Born in Växjö, Sweden, Wilander first came to the tennis world's attention when he won the French Open junior title, the European under-16 and under-18 championships, and the Orange Bowl under-16 event in Miami.

1980–1988

Wilander made his debut on the professional tour at the clay court tournament in Båstad, Sweden in 1980. In September 1981, he lost his only career match against Björn Borg, losing in the first round of the tournament in Geneva 6–1, 6–1.

Wilander surprised the tennis world at the 1982 French Open. As an unseeded player, he upset second seeded Ivan Lendl in the fourth round, fifth seeded Vitas Gerulaitis in the quarterfinals, fourth seeded José Luis Clerc in the semifinals, and third seeded Guillermo Vilas in the final 1–6, 7–6(6), 6–0, 6–4 in 4 hours and 42 minutes. He was the youngest-ever male Grand Slam singles champion at 17 years, 9 months (this record has since been broken by Boris Becker and Michael Chang). In only his third entry in a Grand Slam tournament, Wilander also became the player who needed the fewest attempts to win one (this has since been equalled by Gustavo Kuerten at the 1997 French Open). Wilander then lost in the fourth round at both Wimbledon (to Brian Teacher) and the US Open (to Lendl). Wilander won three additional tournaments in 1982 and finished the year ranked World No. 7. During that year, Wilander was also the winner of the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal.

Wilander returned to the French Open in 1983, where he lost to Yannick Noah after defeating John McEnroe in a quarterfinal. He lost in the third round at Wimbledon to Roscoe Tanner and in the quarterfinals of the US Open to Lendl. Wilander won his second Grand Slam title later that year at the Australian Open, played on grass at Kooyong Stadium, where he defeated McEnroe in a semifinal and Lendl in the final. He won eight other tournaments in 1983, including two Grand Prix Championship Series titles, and finished the year ranked World No. 4.

Wilander retained his Australian Open title in 1984, beating Stefan Edberg in the quarterfinals and Kevin Curren in the final. He lost in the semifinals of the French Open to Lendl, the second round at Wimbledon to Pat Cash, and the quarterfinals of the US Open to Cash. He won three tournaments in 1984 including his third Championships Series title and again finished the year ranked World No. 4.

In 1985, Wilander won the French Open for the second time, beating Lendl in the final, and again reached the Australian Open final, where he lost to Edberg. However, he lost in the first round at Wimbledon to Slobodan Živojinović and the semifinals of the US Open to McEnroe. He won three tournaments in 1985 and finished the year ranked World No. 3.

Wilander rose to the World No. 2 ranking, behind Lendl, on 28 April 1986. He then lost in the third round of the French Open to Andrei Chesnokov, the fourth round of Wimbledon to Cash, and the fourth round of the US Open to Miloslav Mečíř. His consistency at other tournaments, however, allowed him to again finish the year ranked World No. 3. Wilander partnered with countryman Joakim Nyström to win the men's doubles title at Wimbledon in 1986. He also won his fourth Grand Prix Championship Series title.

The 1987 season saw Wilander unveil a more potent service and a new highly effective one-handed slice backhand, the later a somewhat remarkable development for a mid-career top-level tennis professional. Despite the improvements, however, Wilander was defeated by Lendl in the final of both the French Open and the US Open in 1987. Cash again proved to be Wilander's nemesis at Wimbledon, winning their quarterfinal match in straight sets. Wilander won five tournaments in 1987 including two Grand Prix Tennis Championship Series tiles and six overall, he finished the year ranked World No. 3 for the third consecutive year.

1988 was the pinnacle of Wilander's career. In January, he won his third Australian Open singles title, this time on Melbourne Park's hardcourts, defeating Edberg in a five-set semifinal and home town favourite Cash in a five-set final. In doing so, he became the only player to win the Australian Open on both grass (twice) and hardcourt. Wilander faced another home crowd favourite, Henri Leconte, in the final of the French Open. Wilander won in straight sets, missing only two out of 73 first serves (97 %) the entire match. At Wimbledon, Wilander reached the quarterfinals where he lost to Mečíř. At the US Open, he reached his third Grand Slam final of the year. In a repeat match-up of the previous year's final, he defeated Lendl in five sets (in close to 5 hours) and ended Lendl's three-year reign at the top of the world rankings. This was Wilander's seventh Grand Slam singles title and resulted in his receiving the World No. 1 ranking, having won three of the year's Grand Slam tournaments, two more Grand Prix Championship Series titles at (Key Biscayne and Cincinnati) making that eight in total, and one other title (Palermo). He held the top ranking for a total of 20 weeks until Lendl reclaimed it at the end of January 1989.

His 1988 title at Cincinnati was his fourth there, making him one of only three players since 1899 to win four titles in Cincinnati. The other two are fellow International Hall of Famers Bobby Riggs (who won in 1936, 1937, 1938, and 1940) and George Lott (who won in 1924, 1925, 1927, and 1932).

1989–1996

Wilander's motivation, results, and ranking suffered in 1989. He lost in the second round of the Australian Open to Ramesh Krishnan, the quarterfinals of the French Open to Andrei Chesnokov, the quarterfinals of Wimbledon to John McEnroe (7–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4), and the second round of the US Open to Pete Sampras (5–7, 6–3, 1–6, 6–1, 6–4). He did not win a tournament during 1989 and he finished the year ranked World No. 12.

Wilander briefly moved back into the top 10 rankings on 12 February 1990, but by the end of the year, his ranking had slumped to World No. 41. He defeated Boris Becker in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, only to lose to Stefan Edberg in straight sets in the semifinals. He skipped the French Open and Wimbledon and lost in the first round of the US Open to Brad Gilbert.

Wilander played only the first half of 1991. He lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open and the second round of the French Open. He finished the year ranked World No. 159.

Wilander was absent from the tour in 1992. He played seven tournaments in 1993, losing in the first round of five of them. At the US Open, he lost in the third round to Cédric Pioline. He finished the year ranked World No. 330.

Except for Wimbledon, Wilander played a full schedule in 1994. He lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Malivai Washington, the first round of the French Open to Andre Agassi (6–2, 7–5, 6–1), and the first round of the US Open to Guy Forget. His only victory over a top ten player was in the second round of the tournament in Indianapolis against Todd Martin. He finished the year ranked World No. 129.

Wilander's results improved slightly in 1995 as he finished the year ranked World No. 46. After losing in the first round of the Australian Open to Jacco Eltingh, he lost in the second round of the French Open to eighth ranked Wayne Ferreira 6–7(5), 7–6(1), 6–3, 6–7(4), 8–6. He then lost in the third round of Wimbledon to Eltingh and the second round of the US Open to Martin. In other tournaments, he had wins against tenth ranked Marc Rosset, eight ranked Ferreira, and sixth ranked Yevgeny Kafelnikov. He also won his final tour match against Edberg, in the second round of the Canadian Open in Montreal.

In 1996, Wilander played only one Grand Slam tournament, losing in the second round of the French Open to Martin. He retired from the tour after losing his final match to Martin Damm in Beijing in October.

During most of his career, Wilander used the Rossignol F-200 Carbon tennis racquet, an early fiberglass model.

Davis Cup

Wilander was an integral member of Sweden's highly-successful Davis Cup team throughout the 1980s.

He reached his first final with Sweden in 1983, which they lost 3–2 to Australia (despite Wilander winning both his singles rubbers in the final). In 1984, Sweden (with Wilander) won the cup, beating the United States 4–1 in the final. Sweden retained the cup in 1985, with a 3–2 final victory over West Germany. Wilander helped Sweden reach the final again in 1986 but declined to play in the final because he was getting married (Sweden lost 3–2 to Australia). Wilander played in his fourth final in 1987, where Sweden beat India 5–0. Two more finals followed in 1988 and 1989, but Sweden lost both to West Germany. Wilander last played in Davis Cup in the 1995 semifinals, where he lost to Andre Agassi 7–6(5), 6–2, 6–2 and Pete Sampras 2–6, 7–6(4), 6–3.

Wilander compiled a 36–16 record in singles and a 7–2 record in doubles in the Davis Cup for Sweden. However, Wilander's most memorable Davis Cup match came in defeat. In a July 1982 quarterfinal tie against the United States on carpet in St. Louis, Missouri, Wilander was defeated in the deciding fifth rubber by John McEnroe 9–7, 6–2, 15–17, 3–6, 8–6. At 6 hours and 32 minutes, it remains the longest match in Davis Cup history.

Records

These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.

{|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% |-bgcolor="#efefef" | width=200|Grand Slam || width=50|Years || width=200|Record accomplished || width=200|Player tied |- | Australian Open || 1983–85 || 3 consecutive finals || Ivan Lendl |- | Australian Open || 1983–84|| 2 consecutive titles || Ken RosewallGuillermo VilasJohan KriekIvan LendlStefan EdbergJim CourierAndre AgassiRoger FedererNovak Djokovic |- | French Open || 1982|| Won title at first attempt|| Rafael Nadal |- | Grand Slam tournaments || 1982–88|| 7 titles won before becoming No. 1 player|| Stands alone |- | Grand Slam tournaments || 1982–88|| Won at least 2 titles on 3 different surfaces (clay, grass, and hard)|| Rafael Nadal |- |Davis Cup||1982|| Longest match played 6hrs and 32 minutes (9–7, 6–2, 15–17, 3–6, 8–6) || John McEnroe |}

Career statistics

Private life

Wilander, who won $8 million as a pro and more in endorsements, now spends much of his time living on an 81-acre estate in Hailey, Idaho, United States (part of the Sun Valley ski resort) with his wife Sonya (née Mulholland), a South African-born model. He competes from time to time on the senior tour. Since retiring as a player, he has served as captain of the Swedish Davis Cup team and as coach of the Russian player Marat Safin. He also occasionally spends time commentating tennis matches on Eurosport. He is a supporter of Leeds United A.F.C.

Wilander has four children named Emma, Karl, Erik, and Oscar. His son Erik suffers from a comparatively mild form of epidermolysis bullosa, which benefits from Idaho's cool and dry air, and Wilander and his wife have worked to raise funds for research into cures for the disease.

Wilander created a minor controversy during the 2006 French Open when he criticized several top players, including Roger Federer and Kim Clijsters, as lacking the competitive edge to beat their toughest rivals. After Federer's 1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6 loss to Nadal in the final, Wilander said that "Federer, today, unfortunately came out with no balls... you don't find too many champions in any sport in the world without heart or balls. He might have them, but against Nadal they shrink to a very small size and it's not once, it's every time."

In the aftermath of these comments, fans coined the neologism "Wilanders" as a humorous synonym for "balls", denoting a competitive spirit and tenacity to win. Wilander later apologized to Federer on-air on Eurosport during an interview with the Swiss.

He began coaching Tatiana Golovin in July 2007. After working with Golovin in the later part of 2007, Wilander began coaching Paul-Henri Mathieu. Despite his wealth, for several weeks each year he and a business partner (Cameron Lickle) travel around the United States in a Winnebago, offering lessons at tennis clubs and private homes to those who call 787-GET-GAME.

Wilander escaped death in December 1988 when, despite having made a reservation on Pan-Am flight 103, which was destroyed by a terrorist bomb over Lockerbie, he did not take a seat on the flight.

See also

World number one male tennis player rankings

References

External links

Wilander On Wheels - Official Mats Wilander Website

{{navboxes|title=Mats Wilander in the Grand Slam Tournaments |list1= }}

Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:French Open champions Category:French Open junior champions Category:Hopman Cup competitors Category:International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Blaine County, Idaho Category:People from Växjö Category:Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Category:Swedish male tennis players Category:United States Open champions (tennis) Category:Wimbledon champions Category:World No. 1 tennis players

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Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
Name	Ivan Lendl
Nickname	The Terminator, Ivan the Terrible
Country	(1978–1992) (1992—present)
Residence	Goshen, Connecticut, US (1992— ), Vero Beach, Florida, US (2004— )
Birth date	March 07, 1960
Birth place	Ostrava, Czechoslovakia(now Czech Republic)
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	1978
Retired	December 20, 1999
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	$21,262,417 8th All-time leader in earnings
Tennishofyear	2001
Tennishofid	ivan-lendl
Singlesrecord	1071–239 (81.8%)
Singlestitles	144 including 94 listed by the ATP
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (February 28, 1983)
Australianopenresult	W (1989, 1990)
Frenchopenresult	W (1984, 1986, 1987)
Wimbledonresult	F (1986, 1987)
Usopenresult	W (1985, 1986, 1987)
Othertournaments	Yes
Masterscupresult	Masters W (1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987) WCT W (1982, 1985)
Doublesrecord	187–140 (57.2%)
Doublestitles	6
Highestdoublesranking	No. 20 (May 12, 1986)
Updated	July 13, 2007 }}

Ivan Lendl (born March 7, 1960) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player. Originally from Czechoslovakia, Lendl became a United States citizen. He was one of the game's most dominant players in the 1980s and remained a top competitor into the early 1990s. He is considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Lendl captured eight Grand Slam singles titles. He competed in 19 Grand Slam singles finals, at the time a record for a man since surpassed by Roger Federer in 2009. He reached at least one Grand Slam final for 11 consecutive years, a record shared with Pete Sampras. Before the formation of the ATP Lendl reached a record 12 year end championships (equaled by John McEnroe). He won 2 WCT Finals titles and a record 5 Masters Grand Prix titles,tied with Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. He also won a record 22 Championship Series titles (1980–89) the precursors to the current ATP Masters 1000. Lendl first attained the World No. 1 ranking on February 28, 1983 and bolstered his claim to the top spot when he defeated John McEnroe in the 1984 French Open final. For much of the next five years, Lendl was the top ranked player until August 1990 (with a break from September 1988 to January 1989 when Mats Wilander was at the top). He finished four years ranked as the world's top player (1985–1987 and 1989) and was ranked No. 1 for a total of 270 weeks and set a new record previously held by Jimmy Connors since broken by Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.

Lendl's game relied particularly on strength and heavy topspin from the baseline and helped usher in the modern era of "power tennis". He himself called his game as "hitting hot", a relentless all-court game that was coming to dominate in tennis.

Personal life

Lendl was born into a tennis family in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). His parents were top players in Czechoslovakia. (His mother Olga was at one point ranked the No. 2 woman player in the country). Lendl turned professional in tennis in 1978. He started to live in the United States in 1981, first at the home of mentor and friend Wojtek Fibak; later, in 1984, Lendl bought his own residence in Greenwich, Connecticut. Ivan applied for and received a U.S. Permanent Resident Card (also known as a Green Card) in 1987 and wanted to get U.S. citizenship as soon as possible to represent the USA in the 1988 Olympic Games and in Davis Cup. A bill in Congress to bypass the traditional five-year waiting procedure was rejected in 1988 because Czechoslovak authorities refused to provide the necessary waivers. He became a U.S. citizen on July 7, 1992.

On September 16, 1989, six days after losing the final of the US Open to Boris Becker, Lendl married Samantha Frankel. They have five daughters: Marika (born May 4, 1990), twins Isabelle and Caroline (born July 29, 1991), Daniela (born June 24, 1993), and Nikola (born January 20, 1998). He transferred his competitive interests to professional golf where he achieved a win on the Celebrity Tour. Still competitive at the mini-tour levels, Lendl now devotes much of his time managing the development of his daughters' golfing abilities. Two of his daughters (Marika and Isabelle) are members of the University of Florida Women's Golf Team. Daniela is a member of the University of Alabama Women's Golf Team. His daughters Caroline and Nikola enjoy eventing horses.

South African exhibition and aftermath

In July 1983, Lendl played three exhibition matches (against Johan Kriek, Kevin Curren, Jimmy Connors) in Sun City, in the apartheid-era bantustan of Bophuthatswana. The Czechoslovak Sport Federation (ČSTV), controlled by the Communist Party, expelled him from the Czechoslovak Davis Cup team and fined him $150,000. Lendl disagreed with the punishment and fine.

In addition, the publication of his name and results in the Czechoslovak media was prohibited. The ban was extended not only to Lendl, but to anything about world tennis, all tennis tournaments and both men's and women's circuits (with the exception of blank Grand Slam results).

The appearance in this exhibition in Sun City and Lendl's Americanized living style ignited a long-lasting dispute between Lendl and the Czechoslovak communist authorities, which was never settled and resulted in his decision to apply for a green card in 1987 and later on for U.S. citizenship.

Playing style

Lendl was known, along with Björn Borg, for using his heavy topspin forehand to dictate play. His trademark shot was his running forehand, which he could direct either down the line or cross-court.

Early in his career Lendl played a sliced backhand, but in the early 1980s he learned to hit his backhand with significant topspin. This shift allowed him to defeat John McEnroe in 1984 in the French Open – Lendl's first Grand Slam victory. In the first two sets McEnroe used his habitual proximity to the net to intercept Lendl's cross-court passing shots. In the third set Lendl started using lobs, forcing McEnroe to distance himself from the net to prepare for the lobs. McEnroe's further distance from the net opened the angles for Lendl's cross-court passing shots, which ultimately gained Lendl points and turned the match around.

Lendl's serve was powerful but inconsistent. His very high toss may have been to blame. Lendl's consistency from the baseline was machine-like. Though tall and apparently gangly, Lendl was very fast on the court. Lendl did not win Wimbledon because he could not sufficiently improve his consistency at the net. Grass courts yield notoriously bad bounces, and that destabilized his baseline game more than other baseliners. His groundstroke setup was very complete, almost robotic and repeated bad bounces made him uncomfortable. Wimbledon in those days required reducing baseline play by coming to the net. He devoted considerable effort to improving his net play, but fell short of a Wimbledon title. Toward the end of his days on the ATP tour Lendl ended his long term clothing, shoe and racket deal with Adidas. He signed with Mizuno, and finally began to play with a mid-sized racket very similar to the Adidas racket he had used throughout most of his career, itself based on the Kneissl White Star model.

Tennis career

Lendl first came to the tennis world's attention as an outstanding junior player. In 1978, he won the boys' singles titles at both the French Open and Wimbledon and was ranked the World No. 1 junior player.

Lendl made an almost immediate impact on the game after turning professional. After reaching his first top-level singles final in 1979, he won seven singles titles in 1980, including three tournament wins in three consecutive weeks on three different surfaces. The success continued in 1981 as he won 10 titles including his first season ending Masters Grand Prix tour title defeating Vitas Gerulaitis in five sets.

In 1982, he won in total 15 of the 23 singles tournaments he entered and had a 44-match winning streak.

He competed on the separate World Championship Tennis (WCT) tour where he won all 10 WCT tournaments he entered, including winning his first WCT Finals where he defeated John McEnroe in straight sets. He met McEnroe again in the Masters Grand Prix final and won in straight sets to claim his second season ending championship of that particular tour.

In an era when tournament prize money was rising sharply due to the competition between 2 circuits (Grand Prix and WCT), Lendl's haul of titles quickly made him the highest-earning tennis player of all time.

He won another seven tournaments in 1983.

But Grand Slam titles eluded Lendl in the early years of his career. He reached his first Grand Slam final at the French Open in 1981, where he lost in five sets to Björn Borg. His second came at the US Open in 1982, where he was defeated by Jimmy Connors. In 1983, he was the runner-up at both the Australian Open and the US Open.

Lendl's first Grand Slam title came at the 1984 French Open, where he defeated John McEnroe in a long final to claim what was arguably his best victory. Down two sets to love and later trailing 4–2 in the fourth set, Lendl battled back to claim the title 3–6, 2–6, 6–4, 7–5, 7–5. McEnroe gained a measure of revenge by beating Lendl in straight sets in both finals of the US Open 1984 and Volvo Masters 1984 (played in January 1985).

Lendl lost in the final of the 1985 French Open to Mats Wilander. He then faced McEnroe again in the final of the US Open, and this time it was Lendl who emerged victorious in a straight sets win. It was the first of three consecutive US Open titles for Lendl and part of a run of eight consecutive US Open finals. He reached the WCT Finals for the second and last time defeating Tim Mayotte in three sets. Success continued when he also took the Masters Grand Prix title for the third time defeating Boris Becker in straight sets.

In 1986 and 1987 he added wins in the French Open to his U.S Open victories including the season ending 1986 and 1987 Masters Grand Prix championship titles, Where he defeated Boris Becker (86) in straight sets and Mats Wilander (87) in three sets. This took him to his fifth and last Grand Prix year end tour title.

During each of the years from 1985 through 1987, Lendl's match winning percentage was greater than 90%. This record was equalled by Roger Federer in 2006. Lendl, however, remains the only male tennis player with at least 90% match wins in five different years (1982 was the first, 1989 the last). From the 1985 US Open through the 1988 Australian Open, Lendl reached ten consecutive Grand Slam singles semifinals—a record that was broken by Federer at the 2006 US Open.

1989 was another very strong year for Lendl. He started the year by capturing his first Australian Open title with a straight sets final victory over Miloslav Mečíř and went on to claim 10 titles out of 17 tournaments he entered. Lendl successfully defended his Australian Open title in 1990.

The only Grand Slam singles title Lendl never managed to win was Wimbledon. After reaching the semifinals in 1983 and 1984, he reached the final there twice, losing in straight sets to Boris Becker in 1986 and Pat Cash in 1987. In the years that followed, Lendl put in intensive efforts to train and hone his game on grass courts. But despite reaching the Wimbledon semifinals again in 1988, 1989 and 1990, he never again reached the final.

Lendl was part of the team that won Czechoslovakia's only Davis Cup title in 1980. He was the driving force behind the country's team in the first half of the 1980s but stopped playing in the event after he moved to the United States in 1986 because, in the eyes of communist Czechoslovakia's Tennis Association, he was an "illegal defector" from their country.

Lendl was also part of the Czechoslovakian team that won the World Team Cup in 1981 and was runner-up in 1984 and 1985.

Lendl's success in the game was due in large part to his highly meticulous and intensive training and physical conditioning regime, his scientific approach to preparing for and playing the game, and a strong desire to put in whatever it took to be successful. It is believed that a contributing factor to his run of eight successive US Open finals and long record of success at that tournament was that he hired the same workers who laid the hardcourt surfaces at Flushing Meadows each year to install an exact copy in the grounds of his home in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Lendl announced his retirement from professional tennis on December 21, 1994, due to chronic back pain. Although he didn't play any official match following his defeat in the 2nd round of the US Open in 1994, Lendl's final decision to retire came only three and a half months later.

Lendl won a total of 94 career singles titles listed by the ATP (plus 49 other non-ATP tournaments, thus making a total of 144 singles titles) and 6 doubles titles, and his career prize money of U.S. $21,262,417 was a record at the time. In 2001, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

After finishing his tennis career, Lendl took up golf, earning a handicap of 0 and organizing a charity competition in 2004 called the "Ivan Lendl Celebrity Golf Tournament".

Lendl's professional attitude, modern playing style, scientific training methods, and unprecedented long-term success have had a considerable impact on today's tennis world. A typical Lendl quote is: "If I don't practice the way I should, then I won't play the way that I know I can."'

Ivan Lendl's return to tennis was announced on February 2, 2010 at a press conference announcing the Caesars Tennis Classic exhibition match scheduled for April 10, 2010 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Lendl will be playing his rival from the late 1980s, Mats Wilander, in a one set match. This will be Lendl's first tournament since his 1994 retirement. Venus Williams will host the tournament and additional matches will include US men's #1 Andy Roddick versus the recently retired Marat Safin.

On February 28, 2011, Lendl returned to the court in an exhibition with McEnroe at Madison Square Garden. It was planned to be a one-set, first-to-eight event. However, McEnroe, leading 6–3, injured his ankle and had to retire from the match.

Career statistics

Singles performance timeline

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:97% |-bgcolor=#efefef !Name!!1978!!1979!!1980!!1981!!1982!!1983!!1984!!1985!!1986!!1987!!1988!!1989!!1990!!1991!!1992!!1993!!1994!!Career SR!!Career W-L |- |colspan=21 align=left|'''Grand Slams |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|Australian Open | | |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R | | |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=yellow|SF |NH |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=#00ff00|'''W |bgcolor=#00ff00|'''W |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|2 / 12 |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|48–10 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|French Open |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#00ff00|'''W |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=#00ff00|'''W |bgcolor=#00ff00|'''W |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R | | |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|3 / 15 |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|53–12 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|Wimbledon | |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R | |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R | |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|0 / 14 |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|48–14 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|US Open | |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=#00ff00|'''W |bgcolor=#00ff00|'''W |bgcolor=#00ff00|'''W |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|3 / 16 |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|73–13 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|'''Grand Slam W-L !0–1 !4–3 !9–4 !9–3 !9–2 !20–4 !20–3 !20–3 !20–1 !24–2 !20–4 !21–3 !16–2 !13–3 !12–4 !1–4 !4–3 !8 / 57 !222–49 |- |colspan=21 align=left|'''Year-End Championships |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|The Masters | | |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=#00ff00|'''W |bgcolor=#00ff00|'''W |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=#00ff00|'''W |bgcolor=#00ff00|'''W |bgcolor=#00ff00|'''W |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=yellow|SF | | | !5 / 12 !40–10 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|WCT Finals | | | | |bgcolor=#00ff00|'''W |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F | |bgcolor=#00ff00|'''W | | | | | | | | | !2 / 4 ! |}

NH = tournament not held

A = did not participate in the tournament

SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played

Records Grand Slam/Other

These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.

Combined year end championships are: WCT Finals, ATP World Tour Finals

{|class="wikitable" |-bgcolor="#efefef" |width=200|Grand Slam/Other||width=50|Years||width=200|Record accomplished||width=200|Player tied |- |Australian Open||1989–91||3 consecutive singles finals||Mats Wilander |- |Australian Open||1989–90||2 consecutive singles titles||Ken Rosewall, Guillermo Vilas
Johan Kriek, Mats Wilander
Stefan Edberg, Jim Courier
Andre Agassi, Roger Federer |- |French Open||1984–87||4 consecutive singles finals||Björn Borg
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal |- |US Open||1982–89||8 consecutive singles finals||Stands alone |- |US Open||1982–89||8 finals overall||Pete Sampras |- |US Open||1985–87||win/loss (sets) overall 95.5% (63/3)||Stands alone |- |US Open||1985–87||win/loss (sets) single season 3 years consecutive 95.5% (21/1)||Stands alone |- |Grand Slam Tournaments ||1981–86||Runner-up at all four || Roger Federer |- |Grand Slam Tournaments ||1981–91||11 consecutive years reaching at least one final || Pete Sampras |- |Grand Slam Tournaments||1983–89|| 7 consecutive years with 20 match wins ||Roger Federer |- |Combined year end championships WCT GP||1980–88||12 finals overall ||John McEnroe |- |Grand Prix Tour Finals ||1981–87||5 titles won||Roger Federer
Pete Sampras |- |Grand Prix Tour Finals ||1980–88||9 consecutive finals||Stands alone |- |Grand Prix Tour Finals ||1980–88||9 finals overall||Stands alone |- |Grand Prix Tour Finals ||1980–91||12 semi finals overall||Stands alone |- |Grand Prix Tour Finals ||1985|| Won championship without losing a set||John McEnroe |- |Grand Prix Tour ||1980–89|| 22 titles Championship Series || Stands alone |- |Grand Prix Tour ||1980–89|| 31 finals overall Championship Series || Stands alone |- |Grand Prix Tour ||1981–83|| 66 match winning streak indoors || Stands alone |- |Grand Prix Tour ||1981–83|| 18 consecutive finals || Stands alone |- |Grand Prix Tour ||1981–82|| 8 consecutive titles || John McEnroe |- |Grand Prix Tour ||1982|| 9 carpet court titles (single year) || Stands alone |- |Grand Prix & ATP Tour ||1983–93|| 5 wins single tournament Tokyo || Stands alone |- |Grand Prix Tour ||1980–89|| 6 wins single tournament Canadian Open || Stands alone |- |Grand Prix & ATP Tour ||1980–93|| 14 consecutive years winning at least 1 title || Stands alone |- |Grand Prix & ATP Tour ||1983–93||career match win percentage (hard courts) 82.59% (477/394)|| Stands alone |- |Grand Prix Tour ||1982–89|| 5 years consecutive match win percentage 90% (419/36)|| Stands alone |- |No 1 Ranking ||1985–87||3 consecutive years || Roger Federer
Jimmy Connors
John McEnroe
Pete Sampras |- |No 1 Ranking calender year ||1985|| 52 consecutive weeks || Roger Federer
Jimmy Connors
Lleyton Hewitt
Pete Sampras |- |No 1 Ranking ||1984–85||1st player to reclaim 1 year after losing || Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal |- |}

ITF World Champion (1985–1987, 1990).

ATP Player of The Year (1985–1987).

ATP Most Improved Player (1981).

List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players

Recognition

''Tennis magazine'' named him as one of the ten greatest tennis players since 1966, calling him "the game's greatest overachiever" and emphasizing his importance in the game's history. In his book ''Modern Encyclopedia of Tennis'', Bud Collins included Lendl in his list of the 21 greatest men's tennis players for the period from 1946 through 1992. In July 1986 DPR Korea issued a postage stamp depicting Ivan Lendl in play.

See also

An account of Lendl's dramatic exit from the 1989 French Open

Tennis male players statistics

World number one male tennis player rankings

References

Jiri Janousek, Pavel Vitous (1990). ''Ivan Lendl''. Lidove nakladatelstvi, Praha, Czechoslovakia. ISBN 80-7022-088-0.

Ivan Lendl, George Mendoza (1986). ''Hitting Hot: Ivan Lendl's 14-days Tennis Clinic''. Random House, Inc., New York. ISBN 0-394-55407-8.

External links

Father of Modern Tennis

{{navboxes|title=Ivan Lendl in the Grand Slam Tournaments |list1= }} {{navboxes|title=Ivan Lendl Achievements |list1= }}

Category:American male tennis players Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:Czech male tennis players Category:Czechoslovak defectors Category:Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States Category:Czechoslovak male tennis players Category:French Open champions Category:French Open junior champions Category:International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:People from Greenwich, Connecticut Category:People from Ostrava Category:Tennis people from Connecticut Category:United States Open champions (tennis) Category:Wimbledon junior champions Category:World No. 1 tennis players Category:1960 births Category:Living people

ar:إيفان ليندل ast:Ivan Lendl bg:Иван Лендъл ca:Ivan Lendl cv:Иван Лендл cs:Ivan Lendl da:Ivan Lendl de:Ivan Lendl et:Ivan Lendl es:Ivan Lendl eo:Ivan Lendl fr:Ivan Lendl ko:이반 렌들 hy:Իվան Լենդլ hr:Ivan Lendl io:Ivan Lendl id:Ivan Lendl it:Ivan Lendl he:איוון לנדל lv:Ivans Lendls lt:Ivan Lendl hu:Ivan Lendl mr:इव्हान लेंडल nl:Ivan Lendl ja:イワン・レンドル no:Ivan Lendl oc:Ivan Lendl pl:Ivan Lendl pt:Ivan Lendl ro:Ivan Lendl rm:Ivan Lendl ru:Лендл, Иван sk:Ivan Lendl sl:Ivan Lendl sr:Иван Лендл fi:Ivan Lendl sv:Ivan Lendl th:อิวาน เลนเดิล uk:Іван Лендл vi:Ivan Lendl zh:伊万·伦德尔

Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
Name	Roger Federer
Country
Residence	Bottmingen, Switzerland
Birth date	August 08, 1981
Birth place	Basel, Switzerland
Height
Turnedpro	1998
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	$ 68,723,311
Singlesrecord	823–188 (81.40% in ATP (World) Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Singlestitles	72 (ATP World Tour and Grand Slam)
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (2 February 2004)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 3 (27 February 2012)
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
Masterscupresult	W (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011)
Olympicsresult	4th place (losing bronze-finalist) ()
Doublesrecord	119–76 (61% in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Doublestitles	8 (ATP World Tour and Grand Slam)
Othertournamentsdoubles	yes
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	3R (2003)
Frenchopendoublesresult	1R (2000)
Wimbledondoublesresult	QF (2000)
Usopendoublesresult	3R (2002)
Olympicsdoublesresult	20px Gold Medal ()
Highestdoublesranking	No. 24 (9 June 2003)
Currentdoublesranking	No. 137 (16 January 2012)
Updated	3 March 2012}}

}}

Roger Federer () (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player who holds the ATP No. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks. He was number 1 ranked for a total of 285 weeks, second only by a week to Pete Sampras' 286 weeks. As of 27 February 2012, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Federer has won a men's 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). He is the only male player in tennis history to have reached the title match of each Grand Slam tournament at least five times and also the final at each of the nine ATP Masters 1000 Tournaments. Many sports analysts, tennis critics, and former and current players consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time.

Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 23 career Grand Slam tournament finals, including a men's record ten in a row, and appeared in 18 of 19 finals from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open, the lone exception being the 2008 Australian Open. He holds the record of reaching the semifinals or better of 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments over five and a half years, from the 2004 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open. At the 2012 Australian Open, he reached a record 31st consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Federer has won a record 6 ATP World Tour Finals and 18 ATP Masters Series tournaments (second all-time). He also won the Olympic gold medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. He spent eight years (2003–2010) continuously in the top 2 in the year-end rankings and nine (2003–2011) in the Top 3, also a record among male players. His rivalries with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are considered two of the greatest of all time in the sport (also dubbed the Trivalry). Federer is greatly respected by fans and by fellow players alike as shown by the fact that he has won the ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favorite Award a record 9 consecutive times (2003-2011) and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award (which is voted for by the players themselves) a record 7 times overall and six times consecutively (2004-2009, 2011). Federer also won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2006. In 2011, he was voted the second most trusted and respected human in the world, second only to Nelson Mandela.

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, or FedEx, the Swiss Maestro, or simply Maestro.

Personal life

Childhood and early life

Federer was born in Binningen, near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South African-born Lynette Durand. He holds both Swiss and South African citizenships. He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, near Basel, close to the French and German borders and speaks Swiss German, German, French and English fluently, Swiss German being his native language. 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 military obligation. Federer himself also credits the range of sports he played as a child—he also played badminton and basketball—for his hand-eye coordination. “I was always very much more interested if a ball was involved,” he says. Most tennis prodigies, by contrast, play tennis to the exclusion of all other sports.

Marriage and family

Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Mirka Vavrinec. He met her while both were 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 a number of 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 arranged 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 went to Haiti earthquake victims. He was named 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, Federer organized and participated in a charity match called Rally for Relief on 16 January 2011, to benefit those that were affected by the 2010-2011 Queensland floods.

Federer is currently number 25 on Forbes top 100 celebrities.

Tennis career

Pre-1998: Junior years

Federer's main accomplishments as a junior player came at Wimbledon in 1998, where he won both the boys' singles tournament over Irakli Labadze, and in doubles teamed up with Olivier Rochus, defeating the team of Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram. In addition, Federer lost the US Open Junior tournament in 1998 to David Nalbandian. He won four ITF junior singles tournaments in his career, including the prestigious Orange Bowl, where he defeated Guillermo Coria, in the finals. He ended 1998 as the junior world no. 1.

1998–2002: Early career in the ATP

Federer's first tournament as a professional was Gstaad in 1998 (12th grade), where he faced Lucas Arnold Ker in the round of 32 and lost. Federer's first final came at the Marseille Open in 2000, where he lost to fellow Swiss Marc Rosset. Federer won the 2001 Hopman Cup representing Switzerland along with Martina Hingis. The duo defeated the American pair of Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill in the finals. Federer's first win was at the 2001 Milan Indoor tournament, where he defeated Julien Boutter. In 2001, Federer made his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open, and at Wimbledon that same year defeated four-time defending champion Pete Sampras to reach the quarterfinals. The most prestigious event final he reached during this period was the 2002 Miami Masters event, where he lost to Andre Agassi, on hard court. In addition, Federer won his first Master Series event at the 2002 Hamburg Masters on clay, over Marat Safin; the victory made him a top-10 player for the first time. Federer made 10 singles finals between 1998 and 2002, of which he won four and lost six. He also 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 a year earlier with partner Jonas Björkman.

2003–2007: Breakthrough and dominance

In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, beating Mark Philippoussis. 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 made it to nine finals on the ATP Tour and won seven of them, including the 500 series events at Dubai and Vienna. Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships over Andre Agassi.

During 2004, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles for the first time in his career and became the first person to do so since Mats Wilander in 1988. His first Grand Slam hard-court title came at the Australian Open over Marat Safin. He then won his second Wimbledon crown over Andy Roddick. Federer defeated the 2001 US Open champion, Lleyton Hewitt, at the US Open for his first title there. Federer won three ATP Masters Series 1000 events. One was on clay in Hamburg, and the other two were on hard surfaces at Indian Wells and in Canada. Federer took the ATP 500 series event at Dubai and wrapped up the year by winning the year-end championships for the second time.

In 2005, Federer failed to reach the finals of the first two Grand Slam tournaments, losing the Australian Open semifinal to eventual champion Safin and the French Open semifinal to eventual champion Rafael Nadal. However, Federer quickly reestablished his dominance on grass, winning the Wimbledon Championships over Andy Roddick. At the US Open, Federer defeated Andre Agassi in the latter's last Grand Slam final. Federer also took four ATP Masters Series 1000 wins: Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati on hard court, and Hamburg on clay. Furthermore, Federer won two ATP 500 series events at Rotterdam and Dubai. Federer lost the year-end championships to David Nalbandian in the final.

In 2006, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles and reached the final of the other, with the only loss coming against Nadal in the French Open. This was the two men's first meeting in a Grand Slam final. Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon Championships final. In the Australian Open, Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis, and at the US Open, Federer defeated Roddick (2003 champion). In addition, Federer made it to six ATP Masters Series 1000 finals, winning four on hard surfaces and losing two on clay to Nadal. Federer won one ATP 500 series event in Tokyo and captured the year-end championships for the third time in his career.

In 2007, Federer reached all four Grand Slam singles finals, winning three of them. He won the Australian Open over Fernando González, Wimbledon over Rafael Nadal for the second time, and the US Open over Novak Djokovic. Federer lost the French Open to Nadal. Federer made five ATP Masters Series 1000 finals in 2007, winning the Hamburg and Cincinnati titles. Federer won one 500 series event in Dubai and won the year-end championships.

2008 to present

In 2008, Federer won one Grand Slam singles title, which came at the US Open over Briton Andy Murray. Federer was defeated by Nadal in two Grand Slam finals, at the French Open, and at Wimbledon, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg's record. At the Australian Open, Federer lost in the semifinals to Djokovic, which ended his record of 10 consecutive finals. Federer lost twice in Master Series 1000 finals on clay to Nadal, at Monte Carlo and Hamburg. However, Federer captured two titles in 250-level events at Estoril and Halle and one title in a 500 level event in Basel. In doubles, Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka won the gold medal at the Olympic Games.

In 2009, Federer won two Grand Slam singles titles, the French Open over Robin Söderling, and Wimbledon over Andy Roddick. Federer reached two other Grand Slam finals, losing to Nadal at the Australian Open, and to Juan Martín del Potro at the US Open. Federer won two more events, the first at the Madrid Masters over Nadal in the final on clay. The second was in Cincinnati over Djokovic, although Federer lost to Djokovic in Basel, later in the year. Federer completed a career Grand Slam by winning his first French Open title and won a men's record fifteenth Grand Slam singles title, which is one more than Pete Sampras's mark of fourteen.

In 2010, Federer slowed down in his milestones and achievements. The year started with a win at the Australian Open, defeating Andy Murray in the final. But at the French Open, Federer failed to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since the 2004 French Open, losing to Söderling, in the quarterfinals, and losing his no. 1 ranking. At the French Open, Federer won his 700th tour match and 150th tour match on clay. Federer was just one week away from equaling Pete Sampras's record of 286 weeks as world no. 1. In a big surprise at Wimbledon, Federer lost in the quarterfinal to Tomáš Berdych, and fell to world no. 3 in the rankings. At the 2010 US Open, Federer reached the semifinals, avenging his French Open loss to Söderling in the quarterfinals, but then lost a five-set match to third seed Novak Djokovic. Federer made it to four Masters 1000 finals, losing three of them (the Madrid Open, the Canadian Masters, and the Shanghai Masters) while winning the Cincinnati Masters against Mardy Fish. In 2010 Federer equaled Agassi for the number of Masters wins at 17 and tied Bjorn Borg's mark for number of total titles won, moving to just one behind Sampras. 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 basis. Federer won two lesser titles at the Stockholm Open and the Davidoff Swiss Indoors which brought his tally to 65 career titles. Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships 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. Since Wimbledon 2010, Federer had a win-loss record of 34–4 and had multiple match points in two of his losses: to Novak Djokovic in the semifinal of the US Open, and to Gaël Monfils in the semifinal of the Paris Masters. Federer did not play in the 2010 Davis Cup.

The year 2011, although great by most players' standards, was a lean year for Federer. He was defeated in straight sets in the semifinals of the 2011 Australian Open by eventual champion Novak Djokovic, marking the first time since July 2003 that he did not hold any of the four Major titles. In the French Open semifinal, Federer ended Djokovic's undefeated streak of 43 consecutive wins with a stunning four-set victory, arguably his best performance ever on clay. However, Federer then lost in the final to Rafael Nadal. At Wimbledon, Federer advanced to his 29th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, but lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. It marked the first time in his career that he had lost a Grand Slam match after winning the first two sets. At the US Open, Federer lost a much-anticipated semifinal match with Novak Djokovic, after squandering two match points in the fifth set which repeated his previous year's result against Djokovic and added a second loss from two sets up in Grand Slam play to his record. The loss at Flushing Meadows meant that Federer did not win any of the four Majors in 2011, the first time this has happened since 2002.

During this 2011 season, Federer won the Qatar Open, defeating Nikolay Davydenko in the final. However, he lost the final in Dubai to Djokovic and lost in the Miami Masters and Madrid Open semifinals to Rafael Nadal. In pulling out of the 2011 Shanghai Masters, Federer dropped out of the top 3 for the first time since June 2003. Later in the season, things picked up for Federer. He ended a 10-month title drought and won the Swiss Indoors for the fifth time, defeating youngster Kei Nishikori, who had defeated an ailing Djokovic in the semifinals. Federer followed this up with his first win at the Paris Masters, where he reached his first final at the event and defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. At the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, Federer crushed Rafael Nadal in exactly one hour en route to the semifinals, where he defeated David Ferrer to reach the final at the year-end championships for the seventh time, his 100th tour-level final overall. As a result of this win, Federer also regained the world no. 3 ranking from Andy Murray. In the final, he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the third consecutive Sunday and, in doing so, claimed his record sixth ATP World Tour Finals title.

Federer began his 2012 season with the Qatar Open, where he withdrew in the semifinals. He then played in the 2012 Australian Open, where he defeated players such as Ivo Karlović, Bernard Tomic, and Juan Martín del Potro en route to setting up a 27th career meeting with Nadal in the semifinals, which he lost in four tight sets. He then participated in the Davis Cup representing Switzerland in the 2012 Davis Cup World Group, but Switzerland was eliminated in a home tie against the United States played on indoor clay in Fribourg. The loss included a four-set defeat for Federer at the hands of John Isner as well as a tight four-set loss with Stanislas Wawrinka in the doubles rubber against Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan. He then played the ATP 500 tournament in Rotterdam for the first time since 2005, where he won the title. He beat Del Potro in the final to clinch his second title in Rotterdam. Federer then played the ATP 500 Dubai event, where he reached the final by defeating Del Potro 7-6(5), 7-6(6) in the semifinal. Federer defeated Andy Murray in the final, improved his record against him to 7-8, and clinched the Dubai Duty Free championship for the fifth time in his career which was his 72nd career title. He is next scheduled to play the BNP Paribas Showdown exhibition in New York against Andy Roddick, prior to Indian Wells and then Miami Masters Tournaments along with Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki at 7 pm EST.

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 18–9. However, most of their matches have been on clay, which is statistically Nadal's best surface and statistically Federer's worst surface. Federer has a winning record on grass (2–1) and indoor hard courts (4–0) while Nadal leads the outdoor hard courts by 5–1 and clay by 12–2. Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 19 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record 8 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 and the 2011 French Open final. Nadal won six of the eight, 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 tie-break having saved two match points.

Until 14 September 2009, when Juan Martín del Potro beat Nadal in the US Open semifinal on his way to defeating Federer in the final itself, no player had beaten both Nadal and Federer in the same Grand Slam. Federer was undefeated in US Open finals until losing in five sets to del Potro (5). Both Federer and Nadal 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). This rivalry is also part of the "Trivalry" between Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.

Federer vs. Djokovic

The two have met 24 times with Federer leading 14–10, and 5–4 in Grand Slam events. Djokovic is the only player besides Nadal to have defeated Federer more than once in a Grand Slam tournament since 2004, the only player besides Nadal to defeat Federer in consecutive grand slam tournaments (2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open) and the only player besides Nadal who has "double figure" career wins over Federer. Djokovic is one of two players (the other again being Nadal) currently on tour to have defeated Federer in straight sets at a Grand Slam (2008 Australian Open and 2011 Australian Open).

Because of the continuously improving game and general rise of Djokovic in the last 3 years, many experts include Djokovic when talking about Nadal and Federer (all 3 have played each other at least 24 times) and Federer has cited his rivalry with Djokovic as his second favorite after his rivalry with Nadal. Experts such as John McEnroe have said that this is the beginning of a new change in tennis and have coined the current situation "The Trivalry" between Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer. Djokovic's recent back-to-back-to-back wins against Federer at the Australian Open, Dubai and Indian Wells tournament have made this rivalry even more intense. During that span, Djokovic had gone on a 43–0 winning streak dating back to the Davis Cup final the previous year. Federer ended Djokovic's perfect 41–0 season defeating him in the semifinals of the 2011 French Open, but Djokovic was able to avenge his loss at the 2011 US Open, and Federer lost with a score of 6–7, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–5. Federer cited this as one of the greatest losses in his career, as he had 2 consecutive match points in set five, with his serve, and was 2 sets up before Djokovic came back in what has become one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history (according to John McEnroe). McEnroe claimed that Djokovic's crosscourt forehand return was "one of the great all-time shots in tennis history" and that the semifinal was one of the greatest matches in history. Djokovic contributed to ending Federer's eight-year streak of winning at least one Grand Slam title per year and Djokovic became the second male tennis player to have at least 10 wins against Federer (the other being Nadal).

This rivalry is part of the "Trivalry" that consists of Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer. This rivalry is one of the greatest in the Open Era, and many experts have included the rivalry between Federer and Djokovic as one of the best hard-court rivalries in the Open Era.

Federer vs. Hewitt

Federer and Lleyton Hewitt have played each other on 26 occasions. Early in their careers, Hewitt dominated Federer, winning seven of their first nine meetings, including a victory from two sets down in the 2003 Davis Cup semifinal which allowed Australia to defeat Switzerland. However, from 2004 onward, Federer has dominated the rivalry, winning 16 of the last 17 meetings to emerge with a 18–8 overall head-to-head record. This is Federer's longest rivalry as these two first played each other as juniors in 1996. They have met in one Grand Slam final, the 2004 US Open final, where Federer won to win his first US Open title. Federer is 9–0 against Hewitt in Grand Slams, and has won six of the Grand Slams in which he has defeated Hewitt.

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 11–8, Nalbandian beat Federer in their first five meetings after turning professional, including the fourth round of both the Australian Open and US Open in 2003. Their most 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 prevented Federer from tying John McEnroe's 82–3 all-time single year record, set in 1984. Nalbandian, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray have beaten Federer 8 times, with only Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic recording more victories over Federer.

Federer vs. Murray

Federer and Murray have met 15 times, all hard courts, with Murray leading 8–7. Federer has won each of their Grand Slam matches (both were in the final) in straight sets at the 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 Shanghai in 2008 and Federer in London in 2009 and 2010. Their most recent encounter was in the 2012 Dubai final where Federer was victorious. Apart from Nadal, Murray is the only other active player to have a positive head to head record against Federer.

Federer vs. Roddick

One of Federer's longest rivalries is with Andy Roddick. Having met on many occasions, including four Grand Slam finals (three at Wimbledon and one at the US Open), Federer leads 21–2. Federer's dominance on the tour emerged as Roddick rose to World No. 1 ranking in 2003.

In the 2009 Wimbledon final Roddick took Federer to five sets. It included a fifth-set made up of 30 games (a Grand Slam final record) with the match lasting over 4 hours. With that victory, Federer broke Pete Sampras' record of 14 major titles.

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 speed, fluid style of play, and exceptional 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 powerful, accurate 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 compared the brute force of Federer's forehand motion with that of "a great liquid whip," while John McEnroe has referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport." Federer is also known for his efficient movement around the court and excellent footwork, which enables him to run around shots directed to his backhand and instead hit a powerful inside-out or inside-in forehand, one of his best shots. Federer plays with a single-handed backhand which gives him great variety. Federer's forehand and backhand slice are both known as the best ever to enter the game. 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. His serve is difficult to read because he always uses a similar ball toss regardless of what type of serve he is going to hit and where he aims to hit it, and turns his back to his opponents during his motion. He is often able to produce big serves on key points during a match. His first serve is typically around 200 km/h (125 mph); however, he is capable of serving at 220 km/h (137 mph). Federer is also accomplished at serve and volleying, and employed this tactic especially frequently in his early career. His speciality is a half-volley from the baseline which enables him to play close to the baseline and to pick up even the deeper shots very early after they bounce, giving his opponents less time to react. Later in his career Federer added the drop shot to his arsenal, and can perform a well-disguised one off both wings. He sometimes uses a between-the-legs shot, which is colloquially referred to as a "tweener." His most notable use of the tweener was in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open against Novak Djokovic, bringing him triple match point, on which he capitalised for a straight-set victory over the Serb.

Equipment, apparel, endorsements

Federer currently plays with a customised Wilson Pro Staff Six.One 90 BLX tennis racquet, which is characterised by its smaller hitting area of 90 square inches, heavy strung weight of , and thin beam of 18 millimeters. His grip size is 4 3/8 inches (sometimes referred to as L3). Federer strings his racquets at 21.5 kg mains/20 kg crosses pre stretched 20%, utilizing Wilson Natural Gut 16 gauge for his cross strings and Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough 16L gauge (polyester) for his main strings. When asked about string tensions, Federer stated "this depends on how warm the days are and with what kind of balls I play and against who I play. So you can see – it depends on several factors and not just the surface; the feeling I have is most important."

Federer 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.

Career statistics

Grand Slam tournament 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 2012 Australian Open.

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:97% |- !Tournament!!1998!!1999!!2000!!2001!!2002!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!2012!!width=50|SR!!width=50|W–L!!width=50|Win % |- | colspan="20" style="text-align:left;"|'''Grand Slam Tournaments |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|Australian Open |A |LQ | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:yellow;"|SF |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:thistle;"|F |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:#efefef;"|4 / 13 | style="background:#efefef;"|63–9 | style="background:#efefef;"|87.50 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|French Open |A | style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:thistle;"|F | style="background:thistle;"|F | style="background:thistle;"|F |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:thistle;"|F | | style="background:#efefef;"|1 / 13 | style="background:#efefef;"|49–12 | style="background:#efefef;"|80.33 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|Wimbledon |A | style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:#afeeee;"|1R |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:thistle;"|F |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | | style="background:#efefef;"|6 / 13 | style="background:#efefef;"|59–7 | style="background:#efefef;"|89.39 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|US Open |A |LQ | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:thistle;"|F | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:yellow;"|SF | | style="background:#efefef;"|5 / 12 | style="background:#efefef;"|61–7 | style="background:#efefef;"|89.71 |- !style=text-align:left|Win–Loss !0–0 !0–2 !7–4 !13–4 !6–4 !13–3 !22–1 !24–2 !27–1 !26–1 !24–3 !26–2 !20–3 !20–4 !4–1 !16 / 51 !232–35 !86.89 |}

;Finals: 23 (16 titles, 7 runners-up) {|class="sortable wikitable" |- !width=100|Outcome !width=50|Year !width=200|Championship !width=75|Surface !width=200|Opponent in the final !width=210|Score in the final |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2003||Wimbledon (1)||Grass|| Mark Philippoussis||7–6^(7–5), 6–2, 7–6^{(7–3) |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2004||Australian Open (1)||Hard|| Marat Safin||7–6(7–3), 6–4, 6–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2004||Wimbledon (2)||Grass|| Andy Roddick||4–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–3), 6–4 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2004||US Open (1)||Hard|| Lleyton Hewitt||6–0, 7–6(7–3), 6–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2005||Wimbledon (3)||Grass|| Andy Roddick||6–2, 7–6(7–2), 6–4 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2005||US Open (2)||Hard|| Andre Agassi||6–3, 2–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–1 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2006||Australian Open (2)||Hard|| Marcos Baghdatis||5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2006||French Open (1)||Clay|| Rafael Nadal||6–1, 1–6, 4–6, 6–7(4–7) |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2006||Wimbledon (4)||Grass|| Rafael Nadal||6–0, 7–6(7–5), 6–7(2–7), 6–3 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2006||US Open (3)||Hard|| Andy Roddick||6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2007||Australian Open (3)||Hard|| Fernando González||7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–4 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2007||French Open (2)||Clay|| Rafael Nadal||3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2007||Wimbledon (5)||Grass|| Rafael Nadal||7–6(9–7), 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 6–2 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2007||US Open (4)||Hard|| Novak Djokovic||7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–2), 6–4 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2008||French Open (3)||Clay|| Rafael Nadal||1–6, 3–6, 0–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2008||Wimbledon (1)||Grass|| Rafael Nadal||4–6, 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(10–8), 7–9 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2008||US Open (5)||Hard|| Andy Murray||6–2, 7–5, 6–2 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2009||Australian Open (1)||Hard|| Rafael Nadal||5–7, 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 6–3, 2–6 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2009||French Open (1)||Clay|| Robin Söderling||6–1, 7–6(7–1), 6–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2009||Wimbledon (6)||Grass|| Andy Roddick||5–7, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 16–14 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2009||US Open (1)||Hard|| Juan Martín del Potro||6–3, 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 2–6 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2010||Australian Open (4)||Hard|| Andy Murray||6–3, 6–4, 7–6(13–11) |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2011||French Open (4)||Clay|| Rafael Nadal||5–7, 6–7(3–7), 7–5, 1–6 |}}

Year-End Championship performance timeline

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:98% |- !Tournament!!1998!!1999!!2000!!2001!!2002!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!2012!!width=75|SR!!width=75|W–L!!width=75|Win % |- | colspan="20" style="text-align:left;"|'''Year-End Championship tournaments |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|YEC |NQ |NQ |NQ |NQ | style="background:yellow;"|SF |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:thistle;"|F |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:#afeeee;"|RR | style="background:yellow;"|SF |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | !rowspan=2|6 / 10 !rowspan=2|39–7 !rowspan=2|84.78 |- !style=text-align:left|Win–Loss !0–0 !0–0 !0–0 !0–0 !3–1 !5–0 !5–0 !4–1 !5–0 !4–1 !1–2 !2–2 !5–0 !5–0 ! |}

;Finals: 7 (6 titles, 1 runner-up)

{|class="sortable wikitable" |- !width=100|Outcome !width=50|Year !width=150|Championship !width=75|Surface !width=200|Opponent in the final !width=225|Score in the final |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2003|| Houston||Hard|| Andre Agassi||6–3, 6–0, 6–4 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2004|| Houston||Hard|| Lleyton Hewitt||6–3, 6–2 |- style="background:#ffc;" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up||2005|| Shanghai||Carpet (i)|| David Nalbandian||7–6^(7–4), 7–6^(13–11), 2–6, 1–6, 6–7^{(3–7) |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2006|| Shanghai||Hard (i)|| James Blake||6–0, 6–3, 6–4 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2007|| Shanghai||Hard (i)|| David Ferrer||6–2, 6–3, 6–2 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2010|| London||Hard (i)|| Rafael Nadal||6–3, 3–6, 6–1 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2011|| London||Hard (i)|| Jo-Wilfried Tsonga||6–3, 6–7(6–8), 6–3 |}}

Olympic games

;Finals: 1 (1 title) {|class="sortable wikitable" |- !width=100|Outcome !width=50|Year !width=200|Championship !width=75|Surface !width=95|Partner !width=100|Opponents !width=200|Score in the final |- style="background:gold;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner||2008 | Beijing |Hard | Wawrinka | Aspelin Johansson |6–3, 6–4, 6–7^(4–7), 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" |- !Time span !Selected Grand Slam tournament records !Players matched |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2009 French Open||Career Grand Slam||Rod Laver Andre Agassi Rafael Nadal |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open||16 titles||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open||23 finals||'''Stands alone |- |2005 Wimbledon — 2007 US Open||10 consecutive finals||'''Stands alone |- |2004 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open||23 consecutive semifinals||'''Stands alone |- |2004 Wimbledon — 2012 Australian Open||''31 consecutive quarterfinals''||'''Stands alone |- |2004 & 2006–2007||3 years winning 3+ titles||'''Stands alone |- |2004–2007 & 2009||5 years winning 2+ titles||'''Stands alone |- |2006–2007||2 consecutive years winning 3+ titles||'''Stands alone |- |2004–2007||4 consecutive years winning 2+ titles||'''Stands alone |- |2003–2010||8 consecutive years winning 1+ title||Björn BorgPete Sampras |- |2004 Australian Open — 2011 US Open||''8 consecutive years winning 20+ matches''||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open||4+ titles at 3 different Majors||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open||5+ finals at all 4 Majors||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open||6+ semifinals at all 4 Majors||'''Stands alone |- |2001 French Open — 2011 US Open||8+ quarterfinals at all 4 Majors||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2008 US Open||5 consecutive titles at 2 different Majors||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2007 French Open||2+ consecutive finals at all 4 Majors||Ivan Lendl |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2009 French Open||5+ consecutive semifinals at all 4 Majors||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2011 US Open||7+ consecutive quarterfinals at all 4 Majors||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2006 Australian Open||First 7 finals won||'''Stands alone |- |2004 Australian Open — 2010 Australian Open||9 hard-court titles||'''Stands alone |- |2006 French Open — 2009 US Open||Runner-up finishes at all 4 Majors||Ivan Lendl |- |2004 French Open — 2008 Wimbledon||18 consecutive No. 1 seeds||'''Stands alone |- |2006 US Open — 2007 French Open||36 consecutive sets won||'''Stands alone |- |2007 US Open||35 consecutive service points won||'''Stands alone |- |2009 Wimbledon||50 aces in a final||'''Stands alone |- |2009 Australian Open — 2009 US Open||1042 games played in a single year||'''Stands alone |- |2007 US Open||$2.4 million earned at one event||'''Stands alone |- |2005 Wimbledon — 2007 French Open||2 winning streaks of 25+ matches||'''Stands alone |- |2005 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open||3 winning streaks of 20+ matches||'''Stands alone |- |2004 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open||5 winning streaks of 15+ matches||'''Stands alone |}

{|class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |- !Grand Slam tournaments !Time Span !Records at each Grand Slam tournament !Players matched |- |Australian Open||2004–2010||4 titles overall||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 Novak Djokovic |- |Australian Open||2004–2007||3 titles in 4 years||Andre Agassi |- |Australian Open||2004–2010||5 finals overall||Stefan Edberg |- |''Australian Open''||''2004–2012''||''9 consecutive semifinals''||''Stands alone |- |Australian Open||2007||Won without dropping a set||Ken Rosewall |- |Australian Open||2000–2012||63 match wins overall||Stands alone |- |French Open||2006–2009||4 consecutive finals||Björn Borg Ivan Lendl Rafael Nadal |- |French Open||2006–2008, 2011||4 runner-ups||Stands alone |- |French Open||2006–2008||3 consecutive runner-ups||Stands alone |- |French Open||2005–2009||5 consecutive semifinals||Stands alone |- |French Open—Wimbledon||2009||Accomplished a "Channel Slam": Winning both tournaments in the same year||Rod Laver Björn Borg Rafael Nadal |- |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 semifinals||Stands alone |- |US Open (Tennis)|US Open||2004–2008||5 titles overall||Jimmy ConnorsPete Sampras |- |US Open|| 2004–2008||5 consecutive titles||Stands alone |- |US Open|| 2004–2009||40 consecutive match wins||Stands alone |}

{|class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |- !Time span !Other selected records !Players matched |- |2 February 2004 — 17 August 2008||237 consecutive weeks at No. 1||'''Stands alone |- |2003–2005||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 |- |2003–2009||11 grass court titles||'''Stands alone |- |2002–2012||50 hard court titles||'''Stands alone |- |2006||9 hard court titles in 1 season||Jimmy Connors |- |1998–2012||309 tiebreaks won||'''Stands alone |- |1999–2011||87.18% (102–15) grass court match winning percentage|| Stands alone |- |1998–2012||83.00% (503–103) hard court match winning percentage|| Stands alone |- |2006||94.12% of tournament finals reached in 1 season||'''Stands alone |- |2002–2011||30 Masters 1000 finals reached||'''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 |- |2003–2010||Ended 8 years ranked inside the top 2||Jimmy Connors |- |2003–2011||6 ATP World Tour Finals titles||'''Stands alone |- |2002–2011||39 ATP World Tour Finals match wins||Ivan Lendl |- |2007||$10 million prize money earned in a season||Rafael NadalNovak Djokovic |- |2005–2007||2 winning streaks of 35+ matches||Björn Borg |- |2004–2012||7 winning streaks of 20+ matches||'''Stands alone |}

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

2004 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

Roger Federer Foundation

Roger Federer – Grand Slam History

Sortable list of Grand Slam opponents and stats

Profiles

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Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
name	Pete Sampras
country
residence	Los Angeles, California
nickname	Pistol Pete, King of swing
birth date	August 12, 1971
birth place	Potomac, Maryland
height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
weight
spouse	Bridgette Wilson (2000–present)
turnedpro	1988
retired	2002
plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
racket	Wilson Pro Staff Original
careerprizemoney	US$ 43,280,489
tennishofyear	2007
tennishofid	pete-sampras
singlesrecord	762–222 (77.44%)
singlestitles	64
highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (April 12, 1993)
australianopenresult	W (1994, 1997)
frenchopenresult	SF (1996)
wimbledonresult	W (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
usopenresult	W (1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002)
othertournaments	Yes
masterscupresult	W (1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999)
olympicsresult	3R (1992)
doublesrecord	64–70
doublestitles	2
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	2R (1989)
Frenchopendoublesresult	2R (1989)
Wimbledondoublesresult	3R (1989)
Usopendoublesresult	1R (1988, 1989, 1990)
highestdoublesranking	No. 27 (February 12, 1990)
updated	July 5, 2008 }}

Petros "Pete" Sampras () (born August 12, 1971) is a retired American tennis player and former World No. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Sampras debuted on the professional tour in 1988 and played his last top-level tournament in 2002 when he won the US Open, defeating rival Andre Agassi in the final. He was the year-end World No. 1 for six consecutive years (1993–1998), a record for the open era. His seven Wimbledon singles championships is a record shared with William Renshaw. He spent 286 weeks at number 1, the most of any player. His five US Open singles titles is an open-era record shared with former World No. 1 players Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer. He won five ATP World Tour Finals, a record shared with Ivan Lendl and Federer. Sampras is the last American male to win Wimbledon (2000) and ATP World Tour Finals (1999).

Tennis career

Early life and career

Pete Sampras was born in Potomac, Maryland, and is the third child of Sammy and Georgia Sampras. His mother immigrated from Sparta, Greece, and his father was born in the United States to a Greek immigrant father and a Jewish mother. Greek culture played a big role in his upbringing. Pete attended regular services of the Greek Orthodox Church on Sundays. From an early age, Sampras showed signs of outstanding athletic ability. At age 3 Sampras discovered a tennis racket in the basement of his home and spent hours hitting balls against the wall. In 1978, the Sampras family moved to Palos Verdes, California, and the warmer climate there allowed seven-year-old Pete to play more tennis. From early on, his great idol was Rod Laver, and at 11 Sampras met and played with him. The Sampras family joined the Jack Kramer Club, and it was here that Sampras's talent became apparent. He was spotted by Peter Fischer, a pediatrician and tennis enthusiast, who coached Sampras until 1989. Fischer was responsible for converting Sampras's double-handed backhand to single-handed with the goal of being better prepared to win Wimbledon.

1988–1990

Sampras turned professional in 1988, at the age of 16, and finished the year ranked World No. 97 after starting the year at World No. 893. His first professional match was a loss to Sammy Giammalva, Jr. at the February Ebel U.S. Pro Indoor in Philadelphia. But just one week later at the Lipton International Players Championships in Miami, Sampras defeated two top-40 players before losing to World No. 18 Emilio Sánchez. He did not defeat another top-40 player for almost six months, when he defeated World No. 39 Michiel Schapers at a US Open warm-up tournament in Rye Brook, New York. In his first Grand Slam singles match, Sampras lost to World No. 69 Jaime Yzaga of Peru in the first round of the US Open 6–7(2), 6–7(4), 6–4, 7–5, 6–2. Sampras did not advance past the quarterfinals in his next three tournaments, although he did record wins over World No. 79 Jim Courier, in their first career match-up, and World No. 8 Tim Mayotte.

The following year, Sampras slightly improved his ranking to a year-ending World No. 81. He lost in the first round of the 1989 Australian Open to Christian Saceanu and the first round of Wimbledon to Todd Woodbridge 7–5, 7–6(5), 5–7, 6–3. He won a Grand Slam singles match for the first time at the French Open before losing in the second round to eventual champion, 17-year-old Michael Chang, 6–1, 6–1, 6–1 in their first career match-up. At the US Open, Sampras defeated defending champion and fifth-seeded Mats Wilander in the second round 5–7, 6–3, 1–6, 6–1, 6–4 before losing to World No. 13 Jay Berger in the fourth round. To end the year, Sampras lost in the first round of four consecutive tournaments.

Sampras finished 1990 at World No. 5, having started the year ranked World No. 61 just prior to the start of the Australian Open. He lost to Wilander in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Sydney. At the Australian Open, Sampras upset twelfth-ranked Mayotte in the first round 7–6(6), 6–7(5), 4–6, 7–5, 12–10 before losing to thirteenth-ranked Yannick Noah in the fourth round in four sets. His first professional singles title came in February at the Ebel U.S. Pro Indoor in Philadelphia, where he defeated sixth-ranked Andre Agassi, eighth-ranked Mayotte, and eighteenth-ranked Andrés Gómez in the final. This title elevated his ranking into the top-20 for the first time. Sampras did not play the French Open and again lost in the first round of Wimbledon, this time to Christo van Rensburg 7–6(4), 7–5, 7–6(3). Sampras played seven consecutive weeks during the North American summer hard court season. He defeated John McEnroe in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open but then lost to Chang in the semifinals. He also reached the semifinals of the tournament in Los Angeles where he lost to World No. 2 Stefan Edberg. He did not advance past the quarterfinals in his next three tournaments, losing to Chang, Richey Reneberg, and Goran Ivanišević. In September, he captured his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. Along the way, he defeated sixth-ranked Thomas Muster in the fourth round and third-ranked Ivan Lendl in a five-set quarterfinal, breaking Lendl's streak of eight consecutive US Open finals. He then defeated 20th-ranked McEnroe in a four-set semifinal to set up a final with fourth-ranked Agassi. Sampras beat Agassi in straight sets to become the US Open's youngest-ever male singles champion at the age of 19 years and 28 days. He played five more tournaments and won the Grand Slam Cup to complete his year.

1991–1992

Sampras in 1991 captured the first of his five career titles at the year-end Tennis Masters Cup. Upon entering the US Open as the defending champion that year, he caused controversy when, after losing in the quarterfinals to Jim Courier, Sampras said that he was not disappointed and felt relieved that the pressure to defend his title was no longer on him. This led to widespread criticism, which included disparaging remarks from Courier and Jimmy Connors.

In 1992, Sampras reached the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first of three consecutive years, made it to the Wimbledon semifinals, and was the runner-up at the US Open to Stefan Edberg. Sampras later stated that his loss in the US Open final that year was a "wake-up call" and that he needed to figure out how to become the World No. 1. He also played doubles with John McEnroe on the US team that won the Davis Cup, duplicating the feat in 1995.

1993–1996

Sampras reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in early 1993, and matched the previous year's quarterfinal performance at the French Open. In April 1993, Sampras attained the World No. 1 ranking for the first time. His rise to the top of the rankings spot was controversial because he had not recently won any Grand Slam titles, but he justified his ranking three months later by claiming his first Wimbledon title, beating former World No. 1 Jim Courier in the final. This was followed by his second US Open title. He finished the year as the clear No. 1 and set a new ATP Tour record that year by becoming the first player to serve more than 1,000 aces in a season.

Except for a loss in the 1996 quarterfinals to eventual winner Richard Krajicek, Sampras would continue to win at Wimbledon for the rest of the decade, becoming the most successful male player in Wimbledon history.

Sampras won the first of his two Australian Open titles in 1994, defeating American Todd Martin in the final. In 1995 Sampras experienced one of the most emotional matches of his career when he played Courier in the quarterfinals. Sampras's longtime coach and close friend, Tim Gullikson, had mysteriously collapsed during the tournament and was forced to return to the United States. Gullikson was later diagnosed with brain cancer to which he succumbed the following year. Saddened by Gullikson's illness, Sampras began visibly weeping during the match, but managed to win. He lost the final to Agassi. Paul Annacone took over as Sampras's full time coach after Gullikson's illness made it impossible for him to continue coaching.

Sampras's best surface was undoubtedly the fast-playing grass courts. He was also known for his all-round game and strong competitive instinct. He won back-to-back US Open titles in 1995 and 1996, despite in the 1996 quarterfinals against Àlex Corretja, vomiting on the court at 1–1 in the tiebreak due to dehydration. Sampras's only real weakness was on clay courts, where the slow surface tempered his natural attacking serve-and-volley game. His best performance at the French Open came in 1996, when he lost a semifinal match to the eventual winner, Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Despite his limited success at Roland Garros, Sampras did win some significant matches on clay. He won a 1992 clay court tournament in Kitzbühel, defeating Alberto Mancini in the final. He won the prestigious Italian Open in 1994, defeating Boris Becker in the final, and two singles matches in the 1995 Davis Cup final against Russians Andrei Chesnokov and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in Moscow. Sampras also won a 1998 clay court tournament in Atlanta, defeating Jason Stoltenberg in the final.

1997

Sampras won his second and final Australian Open title in January, defeating Carlos Moyà in the final; in July he won Wimbledon for the fourth time, defeating Cédric Pioline in the final. Sampras also won singles titles in San Jose, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Munich, and Paris and the ATP Tour World Championships in Hanover, Germany. He became the only player to win both the Grand Slam Cup and the ATP Tour World Championships in the same year.

He had a 10–1 win–loss record against top 10 opponents and was undefeated in eight singles finals. He held the World No. 1 ranking for the entire year and joined Jimmy Connors (1974–1978) as the only male players to hold the year-end World No. 1 ranking for five consecutive years. His prize money earnings of US$6,498,211 for the year was a career high.

1998

In 1998, Sampras's number-one ranking was challenged by Chilean player Marcelo Ríos. (In 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997, Sampras had dominated the ATP tour.) Sampras failed to defend his Australian Open title, losing in the quarterfinals to Karol Kučera, and won Wimbledon only after a hard fought five-set victory over Goran Ivanišević. Sampras lost a five-set US Open semifinal to the eventual winner Patrick Rafter after leading the match two sets to one. He lost another semifinal at the Tennis Masters Cup to eventual champion Àlex Corretja. Nevertheless, Sampras finished the year as the top ranked player for the sixth year in a row.

1999

1999 also started out disappointingly, as Sampras withdrew from the Australian Open and failed to win a title during the early part of the season. However, he then went on a 24-match winning streak, including the Stella Artois Championships, Wimbledon (equaling Roy Emerson's record of 12 Grand Slam singles titles), Los Angeles, and Cincinnati. His victory over Agassi in the Wimbledon final is often cited as one of Sampras's greatest performances (despite this, he lost his No.1 ranking to Agassi the following day, when ATP Tour rankings were updated). That run ended when he was forced to retire from the RCA Championships and the US Open because of a herniated disc in his back. Sampras's ranking was hurt through a combination of withdrawing from the Australian and US Opens, tournaments in which he had strong performances during the previous year, and the resurgence of longtime rival Andre Agassi, putting an end to Sampras' six consecutive years of finishing as the World No. 1. Agassi took over the top ranking and held it for the rest of the season, but Sampras recovered and managed to beat him in the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup for the fifth and final time, enabling Sampras to place 3rd in the rankings.

2000s

Sampras reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in early 2000 (falling to the eventual champion Agassi in a five-set match) and won the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida for the third time in March. He then won a record-breaking 13th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, battling through tendonitis in his right shin and a painful back injury in the process. This victory was his eighth consecutive win in a Grand Slam final (starting at 1995 Wimbledon), which remains a record. After this victory, Sampras did not win another title for more than two years. He lost in the finals of the 2000 and 2001 US Open to Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt, respectively, leading many to speculate that Sampras would never capture another major title. At the 2001 Wimbledon Championships, Sampras lost to Roger Federer, who was 19 at the time, 6–7(7), 7–5, 4–6, 7–6(2), 5–7 in the fourth round, ending Sampras's 31-match winning streak at Wimbledon. The match also marked the first and only time that the two men ever played each other on the ATP tour.

2002

In 2002, Sampras suffered his second consecutive early exit from Wimbledon, losing in the second round to 145th ranked George Bastl of Switzerland, whose best surface was red clay. Sampras had a relatively poor summer leading up to the US Open. Greg Rusedski, whom Sampras had defeated in a long five-set third round match at the US Open, said that Sampras was "a step and a half slower" and predicted that Sampras would lose his next match. Sampras, however, then defeated two young and upcoming stars of the game, Tommy Haas in the fourth round and Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. He then defeated Sjeng Schalken in the semifinals to reach his third straight US Open final, and eighth US Open final overall, tying Ivan Lendl's all-time record. This time, he faced Agassi, whom he had met in his very first Grand Slam final 12 years earlier. After a four-set battle between the two veterans, Sampras claimed a then record 14th Grand Slam singles title and matched Jimmy Connors's record of five US Open singles championships.

He played no tour events in the following 12 months, but did not officially announce his retirement until August 2003, just prior to the US Open. He chose not to defend his title there, but his retirement announcement was timed so that he could say farewell at a special ceremony organized for him at the open. At the time of his retirement, many regarded Sampras as the greatest player of all time.

Sampras won 64 top-level singles titles (including 14 Grand Slam titles, 11 Super 9 / ATP Masters Series titles, and five Tennis Masters Cup titles) and two doubles titles. He was ranked the World No. 1 for a record 286 weeks and was year-end No. 1 for a record six consecutive years from 1993 through 1998.

Rivalry with Andre Agassi

Sampras won 20 of the 34 matches he played against Agassi.

The 1990 US Open was their first meeting in a Grand Slam tournament final. Agassi was favored because he was ranked World No. 4 compared to the World No. 12 ranking of Sampras and because Agassi had defeated Sampras in their only previously completed match. However, Agassi lost the final to Sampras in straight sets.

Their next meeting in a Grand Slam was at the 1992 French Open, where they met in the quarterfinals. Although Sampras was higher ranked, Agassi prevailed in straight sets. Their next Grand Slam meeting was at the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 1993, where Agassi was the defending champion and Sampras was the newly minted world number one. Sampras prevailed in five sets, and went on to win his first Wimbledon championship.

With both Sampras and Agassi participating, the U.S. won the Davis Cup in 1995. Notable Sampras-Agassi matches of 1995 included the finals of the Australian Open, the Newsweek Champions Cup, the Lipton International Players Championships, the Canadian Open, and the US Open, with Sampras winning the Newsweek Champions Cup and the US Open.

The next time Sampras and Agassi met in a Grand Slam final was at Wimbledon in 1999, where Sampras won in straight sets. For both, it was considered a career rejuvenation, as Sampras had suffered a string of disappointments in the last year while Agassi was regaining his status as a top-ranked player after winning the French Open. Sampras forfeited the World No. 1 ranking to Agassi when injury forced Sampras to withdraw from that year's US Open. They faced each other twice in the season-ending ATP Tour World Championships, with Sampras losing the round robin match but winning the final.

They played each other only once in 2000. The top-ranked Agassi defeated World No. 3 Sampras in the semifinals of the Australian Open 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(0), 7–6(5), 6–1.

In arguably their most memorable match, Sampras defeated Agassi in the 2001 US Open quarterfinals 6–7(7), 7–6(2), 7–6(2), 7–6(5). There were no breaks of serve during the entire match. Reruns of the match are frequently featured on television, especially during US Open rain delays.

The final of the 2002 US Open was their first meeting in a US Open final since 1995. The match also was notable because they had defeated several up-and-coming players en route to the final. Sampras had defeated World No. 3 Tommy Haas in the fourth round and future World No. 1 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals while Agassi had defeated World No. 1 and defending champion Lleyton Hewitt in the semifinals. Sampras defeated Agassi 6–3, 6–4, 5–7, 6–4. This was the final ATP tour singles match of Sampras's career.

On August 2010 Sampras played an exhibition game with Andre Agassi at the indoor arena: Coliseo Cubierto El Campin in Bogotá, Colombia.

Rivalry with Patrick Rafter

Sampras won 12 of the 16 matches he played against Rafter, including eight of their first nine. Their rivalry began to truly develop after Rafter shocked the tennis world by winning the 1997 US Open, a tournament that many expected Sampras to win, having won in 1995 and 1996; the win catapulted Rafter to the year-end number two ranking behind Sampras. Many, including seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe believed Rafter to be a "one-slam wonder", since it was only his second career ATP title.

In 1998, after Rafter defeated Sampras in the Cincinnati Masters final, Sampras, at the time winner of 11 Grand Slams, when asked about the difference between himself and Rafter, famously stated "Ten grand slams", that a controversial line-call cost him the match, and that a player had to come back and win another Grand Slam title in order to be considered great. The two met in the semifinals of the 1998 US Open, with Rafter winning in five sets. Sampras cited a leg injury as the reason Rafter won, an attitude that upset the generally mild-mannered Aussie: "He really does say some funny things at the wrong time", said Rafter, "We are out there busting our guts and he doesn't show a lot of respect at the end of the day. He tries to play down the reason why he lost, giving no respect to the other player, and that is what really upsets me about him and the reason I try to piss him off as much as I can."

Following his successful defense of his 1997 U.S. Open title by defeating Mark Philippoussis in the 1998 final, when asked about Sampras' earlier comments about having to win another Grand Slam in order to be considered great, Rafter replied: "Maybe you can ask him that question, if he thinks that now. For me, I won another Slam, and it hasn't sunk in yet. It's very, very exciting for me, especially to repeat it". Although Sampras throughout his career modeled himself after "those classy Aussies" including Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, and Roy Emerson, he admitted about Rafter: "When I see him holding the US Open trophy, it pisses me off."

After losing for a third consecutive time against Rafter, Sampras won their final four meetings, including a four-set victory in the 2000 Wimbledon final after being down a set and trailing in the second-set tiebreaker. The victory gave Sampras his 13th Grand Slam title, breaking the record of 12 by Roy Emerson and at that time giving Sampras the most Grand Slam titles in history, until his record was eclipsed by Roger Federer following the 2009 Wimbledon final.

Equipment

Sampras used one racket type, the Wilson Pro Staff Original, for his entire professional career – a racket first introduced in 1983. He played with Babolat natural gut, with all his rackets re-strung before each match (used or not) at 75 lbs tension (more or less depending on conditions). His rackets had weight added to bring them close to 400 g, but the proper frame was a production model manufactured from St. Vincent, an island factory in the Caribbean. The handles were custom-built.

Post-retirement, Sampras has used the slightly modified Pro Staff Tour 90 and in 2008 had a new version of the original Pro Staff produced, with in-between head size of 88 square inches and heavier weight at 349 grams unstrung.

Since mid-2010, however, Sampras has been spotted at multiple exhibitions playing with a Babolat Pure Storm Tour, along with Babolat's popular RPM Blast strings.

"I need a little more pop...I need it if I'm going to play some tennis," he said after playing Gael Monfils in an exhibition at the SAP Open.

Post-retirement activity

On April 6, 2006, three and a half years after his retirement, Sampras resurfaced and played his first exhibition match in River Oaks, Houston, Texas against 23 year old Robby Ginepri. Ginepri won the match 6–3, 7–6(10). Sampras later announced that he would be playing in World Team Tennis events.

2007 saw Sampras announcing that he would play in a few events on the Outback Champions Series, a group of tournaments for former ATP players who have met certain criteria during their careers. Sampras won his first two events on tour, defeating Todd Martin in both finals (one of which included Sampras's first trip to his ancestral homeland, Greece). Many observers noted that despite his lengthy layoff from competitive tournaments, Sampras still possessed many of the previous skills he had displayed while on the ATP tour, with tennis legend John McEnroe going as far as to say that Sampras would be worthy of a top five seeding at Wimbledon were he to enter the tournament.

On November 20, 2007, Sampras lost the first of three exhibition matches in Asia against Roger Federer losing 6–4, 6–3 in Seoul, Korea. Two days later in Kuala Lumpur, Sampras again lost to Federer, 7–6(6), 7–6(5). However, Sampras was able to win the last match of the series, winning 7–6(8), 6–4.

On February 18, 2008, in an exhibition match during the SAP Open, Sampras defeated another active player, former World No. 2 Tommy Haas. Sampras dispatched the German, 6–4, 6–2 in 43 minutes.

On March 10, 2008, Sampras played another exhibition match against World No. 1 Roger Federer at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Sampras once again lost the match 6–3, 6–7(4), 7–6(6).

In 2009, Sampras won two Outback Champions Series titles. He defeated McEnroe in the final of the Champions Cup Boston in February and Patrick Rafter in the final of The Del Mar Development Champions Cup in March.

Sampras was present at the 2009 Wimbledon final between Andy Roddick and Roger Federer to witness Federer eclipse his mark of 14 major titles and become the most successful man in Grand Slam history. Sampras's record of 14 majors had lasted for seven years.

The following year, along with Federer, Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal, he played an exhibition doubles match at Indian Wells to raise money for the people of Haiti that had been affected by the earthquake.

In November 2010, Sampras reported that many of his trophies and other memorabilia had been stolen from a West Los Angeles public storage facility. The loss included only one of his 14 Grand Slam title trophies, from his first Australian Open victory, but also included two Davis Cups, an Olympic ring and six trophies for finishing top in the year-end rankings. Most of the stolen items have since been recovered and returned.

Playing style

Sampras was an all-court player who would often serve and volley. Possessing an all-around skill, in the early years of his career, when not serving, his strategy was to be offensive from the baseline, put opponents in a defensive position, and finish points at the net. In his later years, he became even more offensive and would either employ a chip-and-charge strategy; just chip back the return and run up to the net, waiting for a volley or try to hit an offensive shot on the return and follow his return to the net.

He was known for producing aces on critical points, even with his second serves. He had an accurate and powerful first serve, one of the best of all time. His second serve was nearly as powerful as his first, possibly his most dangerous weapon. He had great disguise on both his first and second serves.

Sampras was able to hit winners from both his forehand and backhand wings from all over the court. He was also especially known for having arguably the best "running forehand" of all time. He was able to catch attacks wide to his forehand using his speed and hitting a forehand shot on the run. When successfully executed, he won many points outright or put opponents immediately on the defensive, due to the extreme pace and flat nature of the shot. He also popularized the jump smash, or "slam dunk", where he jumps and then hits the smash in mid-air.

Many players tried (especially late in his career) to serve a high "kicker" out to the Sampras backhand in an attempt to draw a weak return. A similar tactic was employed by many players in rallying Sampras; they would play shot after shot to the Sampras backhand, hoping to wear him down. Still, most of the time, he will handle them with either topspin or slice backhand deep to his opponent's court to change defense to attack.

Personal and family life

Sampras's older sister Stella is the women's tennis head coach at UCLA, and his younger sister, Marion, is a teacher in Los Angeles. His older brother, Gus, has been tournament director at the Scottsdale ATP event, but from 2007 he became president of the firm managing Pete's business activities.

On September 30, 2000, Sampras married American actress and former Miss Teen USA, Bridgette Wilson. On November 21, 2002, their son Christian Charles was born. On July 29, 2005, the couple welcomed their second son, Ryan Nikolaos.

Sampras has β-thalassemia, a genetic trait that sometimes causes mild anemia.

Career statistics

Records and achievements

Records

These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.

^ Denotes consecutive streak.

Years 1995–2000 1993–2000 1993–2000 1993–2000 1990–2002 1990–2002 1991–1999

width=200	Championship	|	Record accomplished	Player tied
Grand Slam	|	8 consecutive wins in Grand Slam finals	Stands alone
Grand Slam	|	8 consecutive years with a victory in a slam	Björn Borg Roger Federer
Wimbledon	|	7 wins overall	Stands alone
Wimbledon	|	List of Wimbledon Open Era Singles Finals appearances#Gentlemen>7 finals overall	Boris BeckerRoger Federer^
U.S. Open	|	5 wins overall	Jimmy ConnorsRoger Federer^
U.S. Open	|	List of US Open Singles Finals appearances#Men>8 finals overall	Ivan Lendl^
ATP World Tour Finals	|	5 wins overall	Ivan LendlRoger Federer

Sampras has won 14 Grand Slam titles, second only to Federer's 16.

Sampras is the first male player to win more than 12 Grand Slams, surpassing the old record of 12 Grand Slams by Roy Emerson

Sampras finished the year ranked World No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for a record six years. He is the only player to have been ranked Year End World No. 1 by the ATP for six consecutive years (1993–98).

Sampras was ranked World No. 1 by the ATP for a record 286 weeks.

William Renshaw and Sampras share the record for most Wimbledon men's singles titles won, with seven titles each. Sampras never lost a Wimbledon final.

Sampras is the only male player to win the same Grand Slams (Wimbledon) 7 times in the span of 8 years.

Sampras is the only male player to have won at least three consecutive Wimbledon singles titles twice (1993–95 and 1997–2000).

Sampras is the only male player in the history of tennis to win his first and last Grand Slam 12 non calender years apart and 13 calender years apart(1990 & 2002 US Open).

Sampras is the first player to win combination of 7 Wimbledon and 5 US Open. Nobody has else matched or surpassed this combination of Grand Slam wins.

Only Sampras (1997–2000), Federer (2003–07), and Borg (1976–80) have won at least four consecutive Wimbledon singles titles. During the open era, only Borg (1978–81 French Open and 1976–80 Wimbledon), Sampras (1997–2000 Wimbledon), Federer (2003–07 Wimbledon and 2004–08 US Open), and Rafael Nadal (2005–08 French Open) have won at least one Grand Slam tournament four consecutive times.

Sampras was included in the year-end ATP top ten rankings for 12 years. Only Connors (16), Ivan Lendl (13), and Andre Agassi (16) have stayed in the ATP top ten longer.

Sampras earned US$43,280,489 in prize money (2nd Overall only to Roger Federer).

Sampras captured 64 ATP singles titles, which makes him fifth on the all-time list, behind Connors (109), Lendl (94), McEnroe (77) and Federer (67).

Sampras won 11 ATP Masters Series titles. Only Nadal (19), Agassi (17), and Federer (17) have won more of those titles.

Sampras appeared in at least one Grand Slam final for a record 11 consecutive years (1992–2002) (a record shared with Lendl (1981–91)). Sampras won at least one of those finals for a record eight consecutive years (1993–2000), a record shared with Borg (1974–81) and Federer (2003–10).

Ken Rosewall and Sampras are the only men to have won Grand Slam singles titles as a teenager, in their 20s, and in their 30s.

Sampras won at least one title for 11 consecutive years (1990–2000) and 12 of 13 (except 2001). He won at least four titles per year from 1990 through 1999 and captured at least two per year from 1990 through 2000.

Sampras compiled a 19–9 career Davis Cup record (15–8 in singles) and was a member of the winning teams in 1992 and 1995.

Sampras served a career-high 1,011 aces in 1993 and 974 aces in 1995 to lead the ATP tour.

Sampras won a career-high 10 titles and compiled a personal-best 29-match winning streak in 1994.

Sampras won a career-best 85 matches in 1993 and on April 12 of that year became the 11th player in the history of the ATP rankings to reach World No. 1.

Sampras was the youngest US Open men's singles champion at 19 years, 28 days in 1990.

Sampras won 40 of the 42 singles matches he played on Wimbledon's Centre Court and 63 of the 70 singles matches he played at the All England Club.

Sampras compiled a 762–222 win–loss record in singles during his 15 years on the ATP tour, winning more than 77% of his matches.

Sampras won singles titles in 11 different countries: Austria, Australia, Belgium, People's Republic of China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States.

Sampras is the only male player during the open era who played in at least seven singles finals at two different Grand Slam tournaments (8 US Open and 7 Wimbledon).

Sampras is the only male player to have won the same Grand Slam singles tournament 7 times (Wimbledon).

Only Sampras and Lendl have appeared in 8 finals of the same Grand Slam (US Open).

Sampras won two grand slams in a calendar year four times: (1993–95, 97). Roger Federer surpassed this former record by winning Wimbledon in 2009, the 5th time he has won at least 2 slams in a calendar year. (2004–07, 09)

Only Sampras (2000–02), Federer (2004–09), Lendl (1982–89) and McEnroe (1979–81) have appeared in 3 or more consecutive US Open finals.

Only Sampras (1997–2000), Becker (1988–91), Federer (2003–09), McEnroe (1980–84) and Borg (1976–81) have appeared in 4 or more consecutive Wimbledon Finals.

Sampras won 12 Grand Slam in 8 year periods (1993–2000).

Sampras was the only greek/american to win a grand slam

Awards

Summary of professional awards. Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Player of the Year for six consecutive years from 1993 through 1998. International Tennis Federation World Champion for six consecutive years from 1993 through 1998. U.S. Olympic Committee "Sportsman of the Year" in 1997. He was the first tennis player to receive this award.

GQ Magazine's Individual Athlete Award for Man of the Year in 2000.

Selected the No. 1 player (of 25 players) in the past 25 years by a panel of 100 current and past players, journalists, and tournament directors to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the ATP in 1997.

Voted 48th athlete of Top 50 Greatest North American Athletes of ESPN's SportsCentury (also youngest on list).

In 2005, TENNIS Magazine named Sampras the greatest tennis player for the period 1965 through 2005, from its list, "The 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS Era".

See also

List of Grand Slam Men's Singles champions

References

Further reading

Video

''Wimbledon Classic Match: Federer vs Sampras (2001)'' Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: October 31, 2006, Run Time: 233 minutes, ASIN: B000ICLR98.

''Legends of Wimbledon – Pete Sampras (2006)'' Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: October 31, 2006, Run Time: 60 minutes, ASIN: B000ICLR84.

''The Netjets Showdown: Pete Sampras vs. Roger Federer (2008)'' Arts Alliance Amer, DVD Release Date: April 22, 2008, Run Time: 180 minutes, ASIN: B0013PVGN6.

External links

Text, Audio, Video of Sampras' International Tennis Hall of Fame Induction Speech

{{navboxes|title=Pete Sampras in the Grand Slam Tournaments |list1= }} {{navboxes|title=Pete Sampras career statistics |list1= }}

Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:American male tennis players Category:American people of Greek descent Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United States Category:Greek Orthodox Christians Category:Olympic tennis players of the United States Category:People from Los Angeles County, California Category:People from Washington, D.C. Category:International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Category:Tennis people from California Category:Tennis people from Washington, D.C. Category:Tennis players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Category:United States Open champions (tennis) Category:Wimbledon champions Category:World No. 1 tennis players

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Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
Name	Björn Borg
Nickname	''Ice Man'', ''Ice-Borg''
Residence	Stockholm
Birth date	June 06, 1956
Birth place	Södertälje
Country
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	72 kg (160 lb)
Turnedpro	1973 (international debut in 1971)
Retired	4 April 1983 (comeback from 1991 to 1993)
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	US$3,655,751
Tennishofyear	1987
Tennishofid	björn-borg
Singlesrecord	608–127 (82.7%)
Singlestitles	101 (including 63 listed by the ATP)
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (23 August 1977)
Australianopenresult	3R (1974)
Frenchopenresult	W (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981)
Wimbledonresult	W (1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980)
Usopenresult	F (1976, 1978, 1980, 1981)
Othertournaments	Yes
Masterscupresult	W Masters (1979, 1980) W WCT (1976)
Doublesrecord	86–81 (51.2%)
Doublestitles	4
Highestdoublesranking	890 (22 March 1993)
Updated	24 March 2007 }}

Björn Rune Borg (; born 6 June 1956) is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Sweden. Between 1974 and 1981 he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles(a record shared with Roger Federer) and six French Open singles titles (a record shared with Rafael Nadal). He is considered by many to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

During his relatively brief pro career, Borg won 41% of the Grand Slam singles tournaments he entered (11 of 27) and 89.81% (141–16) of the Grand Slam singles matches he played, both of which are open era male records for an entire career. He is one of four players in the open era to win both Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year and the only player to do so for three consecutive years. He also won three year end championship titles including two Masters Grand Prix titles and one WCT Final title. In addition he won 15 Championship Series titles (1974–1980) the precursors to the current Masters 1000.

Borg was the first professional tennis player to earn more than one million dollars in prize money in a single season (1979).

Life and career

Borg was born in Södertälje, Sweden. As a child, Borg became fascinated with a golden tennis racquet that his father won at a table-tennis tournament. His father gave him the racquet, beginning his tennis career.

A player of great athleticism and endurance, he had a distinctive style and appearance—bowlegged, yet very fast. His muscularity allowed him to put heavy topspin on both his forehand and backhand. He used a then unorthodox two-handed backhand, adapted from the slap shot in hockey, a game he favored as a child. By the time he was 13 he was beating the best of Sweden's under-18 players, and Davis Cup captain Lennart Bergelin cautioned against anyone trying to change Borg's rough-looking, jerky strokes. They were effective.

Borg joined the professional circuit at age 14. In 1972, at the age of 15, Borg became one of the youngest players ever to represent his country in the Davis Cup and won his debut singles rubber in five sets against seasoned professional Onny Parun of New Zealand. Later that year, he won the Wimbledon junior singles title, recovering from a 5–2 deficit in the final set to overcome Britain's Buster Mottram.

In 1973, Borg reached the Wimbledon main draw quarterfinals in his first attempt. Just before his 18th birthday in 1974, Borg won his first top-level singles title at the Italian Open, becoming its youngest winner. Two weeks later he became the then-youngest winner of the French Open defeating Manuel Orantes in the final 2–6, 6–7, 6–0, 6–1, 6–1. Barely 18 at the time, Borg was the youngest-ever male French Open champion (the record has since been lowered by Mats Wilander in 1982 and Michael Chang in 1989).

In early 1975, Borg defeated the great Rod Laver, then 36 years old, in a semifinal of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) finals in Dallas, Texas 7–6, 3–6, 5–7, 7–6, 6–2. Borg subsequently lost to Arthur Ashe in the final.

Borg retained his French Open title in 1975, beating Guillermo Vilas in the final in straight sets (three sets). Borg then reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals, where he lost to eventual champion Ashe 2–6, 6–4, 8–6, 6–1. Borg did not lose another match at Wimbledon until 1981.

Borg won two singles and one doubles rubber in the 1975 Davis Cup final as Sweden beat Czechoslovakia 3–2. With these singles wins, Borg had won 19 consecutive Davis Cup singles rubbers since 1973. That was already a record at the time. But Borg never lost another Davis Cup singles rubber, and, by the end of his career, he had stretched that winning streak to 33—a Davis Cup record that still stands.

In early 1976, Borg won the World Championship Tennis year ending WCT Finals in Dallas, Texas with a four-set victory over Guillermo Vilas in the final.

At the 1976 French Open Borg lost to the Italian Adriano Panatta, who remains the only player to defeat Borg at this tournament. Panatta did it twice: in the fourth round in 1973 (7–6, 2–6, 7–5, 7–6), and in the 1976 quarter-finals (6–3, 6–3, 2–6, 7–6).

Borg won Wimbledon in 1976 without losing a set, defeating the favored Ilie Năstase in the final. Borg became the youngest male Wimbledon champion of the modern era at 20 years and 1 month (a record subsequently broken by Boris Becker, who won Wimbledon aged 17 in 1985). It would be the last time Borg played Wimbledon as an underdog. Ilie Năstase later exclaimed,"We're playing tennis, he's [Borg] playing something else."

Borg also reached the final of the 1976 US Open, which was then being played on clay courts. Borg lost in four sets to World No. 1 Jimmy Connors.

Borg skipped the French Open in 1977 because he was under contract with WTT, but he repeated his Wimbledon triumph, although this time he was pushed much harder. He defeated his good friend Vitas Gerulaitis in a semifinal 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 8–6. In the final, Borg was pushed to five sets for the third time in the tournament, this time by Connors. The win propelled Borg to the #1 ranking on the computer, albeit for just one week in August.

Through 1977 he had never lost to a player younger than himself.

Borg was at the height of his career from 1978 through 1980, completing the difficult French Open-Wimbledon double all three years.

In 1978, Borg won the French Open with a win over Vilas in the final. Borg did not drop a set during the tournament, a feat only he, Năstase (in 1973), and Rafael Nadal (in 2008 and 2010) have accomplished at the French Open during the open era.

Borg defeated Connors in straight sets at the 1978 Wimbledon. At the US Open, now held on hard courts in Flushing Meadow, New York, he lost the final in straight sets to Connors. That autumn, Borg faced John McEnroe for the first time in a semifinal of the Stockholm Open and was upset 6–3, 6–4.

Borg lost to McEnroe again in four sets in the final of the 1979 WCT Finals but was now overtaking Connors for the top ranking. Borg established himself firmly in the top spot with his fourth French Open singles title and fourth straight Wimbledon singles title, defeating Connors in a straight-set semifinal at the latter tournament. At the French Open, Borg defeated big-serving Victor Pecci in a four-set final, and at Wimbledon, Borg took five sets to overcome an even bigger server, Roscoe Tanner. Borg was upset by Tanner at the US Open, in a four-set quarterfinal played under the lights.

At the season-ending Masters tournament in January 1980, Borg survived a close semifinal against McEnroe 6–7, 6–3, 7–6(1). He then beat Gerulaitis in straight sets, winning his first Masters and first title in New York. In June, he overcame Gerulaitis, again in straight sets, for his fifth French Open title. Again, he did not drop a set.

Borg won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon singles title, the 1980 Wimbledon Men's Singles final, by defeating McEnroe in a five-set match, often cited as the best Wimbledon final ever played. Having lost the opening set 6–1 to an all-out McEnroe assault, Borg took the next two 7–5, 6–3 and had two Championship points at 5–4 in the fourth. But McEnroe averted disaster and went on to level the match in Wimbledon's most memorable 34-point tiebreaker, which he won 18–16. In the fourth-set tiebreak, McEnroe saved five match points and Borg six set points before McEnroe won the set. Bjorn served first to begin the 5th set and fell behind 15–40. Borg then won 19 straight points on serve in the deciding set and prevailed after 3 hours, 53 minutes. Borg himself commented years later that this was the first time that he was afraid that he would lose, as well as feeling that it was the beginning of the end of his dominance. Borg married Romanian tennis pro Mariana Simionescu in Bucharest on 24 July 1980.

He defeated McEnroe in the final of the 1980 Stockholm Open, 6–3, 6–4, and faced him one more time that year, in the round-robin portion of the year-end Masters, played in January 1981. With 19,103 fans in attendance, Borg won a deciding third-set tie-break for the second year in a row, 6–4, 6–7, 7–6(2). Borg then defeated Ivan Lendl for his second Masters title, 6–4, 6–2, 6–2.

Borg won his last Grand Slam title at the French Open in 1981, defeating Lendl in a five-set final. Borg has a six French Open Grand Slam titles record equaled only by Rafael Nadal in 2011.

In reaching the Wimbledon final in 1981, Borg stretched his winning streak at the All England Club to a record 41 matches. In a semifinal, Borg was down to Connors by two sets to love before coming back to win the match 0–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–0, 6–4. However, Borg's streak was brought to an end by McEnroe, who defeated him in four sets, 4–6, 7–6, 7–6, 6–4.

Borg went on to lose to McEnroe at the 1981 US Open, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–3. After that defeat, Borg walked off court and out of the stadium before the ceremonies and press conference had begun. There are reports that Borg received threats after his semifinal win over Connors. In later years, Borg apologized to McEnroe. The 1981 US Open would turn out to be the Swede's last Grand Slam final. Major tournaments and tour organizers were enforcing a new rule by 1982, that players had to play at least 10 official tournaments per year. Yet, Borg wanted to curtail his schedule after many years of winning so often. Although he felt in good condition physically, he recognized that the relentless drive to win and defy tour organizers had begun to fade.

Borg failed to win the US Open in 10 tries, losing four finals, 1976 and 1978 to Jimmy Connors, and 1980 and 1981 to McEnroe. He played on hard courts at the US Open from 1978–1981 and reached the final there on three occasions, in 1978, 1980, and 1981. He led 3–2 in the fifth set of the 1980 final, before losing. That match followed Borg's classic encounter with McEnroe at the 1980 Wimbledon. In 1978, 1979 and 1980, Borg was halfway to a Grand Slam after victories at the French and Wimbledon (the Australian Open being the last Grand Slam tournament of each year at the time) only to falter at Flushing Meadow, lefty Tanner his conqueror in 1979.

He appeared only once at the Australian Open, when he was 17, at which he lost in an early round.

In 1982, Borg played only one tournament, losing to Yannick Noah in the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo in April. Nevertheless, Borg's announcement in January 1983 that he was retiring from the game at the age of 26 was a shock to the tennis world. McEnroe tried unsuccessfully to persuade Borg to continue. (He did, however, play Monte Carlo again in March 1983, reaching the second round, and Stuttgart in July 1984.)

Retirement

When he retired Borg had a choice of homes, a penthouse in Monte Carlo, not far from his successful pro shop, and a small island off the Swedish coast. His marriage to the tennis player Mariana Simionescu ended in divorce, he fathered a child by the Swedish model Jannike Bjorling, and he was briefly married to the Italian singer Loredana Bertè. There were rumors of a drug overdose and an attempted suicide, yet Borg laughs them off as silly rumors. He states that he only took sleeping pills, yet the Italian press reported it as a suicide attempt, and he narrowly avoided personal bankruptcy due to bad business partners.

Borg later bounced back as the owner of the Björn Borg fashion label, whose most noted advertising campaigns asked Swedes (from the pages of a leading national newspaper) to "Fuck for the Future." His label has since become extremely successful second only to Calvin Klein in his home country.

Attempted comeback

In the early-1990s, Borg attempted a comeback on the men's professional tennis tour. In doing so, he grew his hair out as it had been when he retired and returned to using a wooden racket – he had kept his hair cut and used modern graphite rackets in exhibitions he played during the later 1980s. This time around, however, he was completely unsuccessful. In fact, Borg failed to win a single match. He faced Jordi Arrese in his first match back, again at Monte Carlo, and fell 2–6, 3–6. In his first nine matches, played in 1991 and 92, Borg failed to win a single set. He fared slightly better in 1993, taking a set off his opponent in each of the three matches he played. He came closest to getting a win in what turned out to be his final tour match, falling 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(7) to Alexander Volkov.

In 1992, Borg, 35, using a Donnay Graphite Midsize racket strung at 85 lbs. tension defeated John Lloyd, 37, at the Inglewood Forum Tennis Challenge 6–4, 6–3.

Borg later joined the champions tour, returning to shorter hair and continuing using modern racquets.

Memorabilia preserved

In March 2006, Bonhams Auction House in London announced that it would auction Borg's Wimbledon trophies and two of his winning rackets on 21 June 2006. Several players then called Borg wondering what he was thinking, but only McEnroe was able to make Borg reconsider. According to Dagens Nyheter – who had talked to Borg – McEnroe called from New York and asked, "What's up? Have you gone mad?" The conversation apparently persuaded Borg to buy out the trophies from Bonhams at an undisclosed amount.

Distinctions and honors

Borg was ranked by the ATP rankings World No. 1 in six different stretches between 1977 and 1981, totaling 109 weeks.

During his career, he won a total of 77 (61 listed on the Association of Tennis Professionals website) top-level singles and four doubles titles.

Borg won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award in 1979.

Borg was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.

On 10 December 2006, the British Broadcasting Corporation gave Borg a Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented by Boris Becker. Borg was named one of the 10 Most Superstitious Athletes by Men's Fitness

Place among the all-time greats

With 11 titles, Borg ranks fourth in the list of male tennis players who have won the most Grand Slam singles titles behind Roger Federer (16), Pete Sampras (14), and Roy Emerson (12). The French Open-Wimbledon double he achieved three times consecutively was called by Wimbledon officials "the most difficult double in tennis" and "a feat considered impossible among today's players." Only Rafael Nadal (in 2008 and 2010) and Roger Federer (in 2009) have managed to achieve this double since, and Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi and Roger Federer are the only male players since Borg to have won the French Open and Wimbledon men's singles titles over their career.

In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, had already included Borg in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time. And in 2003, Bud Collins chose Borg as one of his top-five male players of all time.

In 2008, ESPN.com asked tennis analysts, writers, and former players to build the perfect open era player. Borg was the only player mentioned in four categories—defense, footwork, intangibles, and mental toughness—with his mental game and footwork singled-out as the best in open era history.

Borg never won the US Open or the Australian Open, losing in the final at the US Open four times. The only players to defeat Borg in a Grand Slam final were fellow World No. 1 tennis players John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors. Even though it was then played on grass, a surface where he enjoyed much success, Borg chose to play the Australian Open only once, in 1974, where he lost in the third round. Phil Dent, a contemporary of Borg, has pointed out that skipping Grand Slam tournaments – especially the Australian Open – was not unusual then, before counting Grand Slam titles became the norm. Additionally, another contemporary Arthur Ashe told ''Sports Illustrated'', "I think Bjorn could have won the U.S. Open. I think he could have won the Grand Slam. But by the time he left, the historical challenge didn't mean anything. He was bigger than the game. He was like Elvis or Liz Taylor or somebody."

Playing style

Borg had one of the most distinctive playing styles in the open era. Borg played from the baseline, with powerful ground-strokes and a double-handed backhand (very rare at the time and unorthodox). He hit the ball hard and high from the back of the court and brought it down with considerable topspin, which made his ground strokes very consistent. There had been other players, particularly Rod Laver and Arthur Ashe, who played with topspin on both the forehand and backhand. Yet Laver and Ashe used topspin only as a way to mix up their shots and pass their opponents at the net easily. Borg was one of the first top players to use heavy topspin on his shots consistently.

Complementing his consistent ground-strokes was his fitness. Both of these factors allowed Borg to be dominant at the French Open.

One of the factors that made Borg unique was his dominance on the grass courts of Wimbledon, where baseliners since World War II did not usually succeed. Some experts attributed his dominance on this surface to his consistency, an underrated serve, and his adaptation to grass courts. Against the best players, he almost always served-and-volleyed on his first serves (but he naturally played from the baseline after his second serves).

Another trait usually associated with Borg is his grace under pressure. His calm court demeanor earned him the nickname of the "Ice Man" or "Ice-Borg."

Borg's physical conditioning was legendary and unrivalled. He could outlast most of his opponents under the most grueling conditions. Contrary to popular belief, however, this wasn't due to his exceptionally low resting heart rate, often reported to be near 35 beats per minute. In his introduction to Borg's autobiography ''My Life and Game'', Eugene Scott relates that this rumor arose from a medical exam the 18-year-old Borg once took for military service, where his pulse was recorded as 38. Scott goes on to reveal Borg's true pulse rate as "about 50 when he wakes up and around 60 in the afternoon." Borg is credited with helping to develop the style of play that has come to dominate the game today.

Career statistics

See also

List of Grand Slam Men's Singles champions

List of Swedish sportspeople

Tennis male players statistics

World number one male tennis player rankings

Borg-McEnroe rivalry

Borg-Connors rivalry

References

Bibliography

John Barrett, editor, ''World of Tennis Yearbooks'', London, from 1976 through 1983.

Michel Sutter, ''Vainqueurs Winners 1946–2003'', Paris, 2003. Sutter has attempted to list all tournaments meeting his criteria for selection beginning with 1946 and ending in the fall of 1991. For each tournament, he has indicated the city, the date of the final, the winner, the runner-up, and the score of the final. A tournament is included in his list if: (1) the draw for the tournament included at least eight players (with a few exceptions, such as the Pepsi Grand Slam tournaments in the second half of the 1970s which included only players that had won a Grand Slam tournament); and (2) the level of the tournaments was at least equal to the present day challenger tournaments. Sutter's book is probably the most exhaustive source of tennis tournament information since World War II, even though some professional tournaments held before the start of the open era are missing. Later, Sutter issued a second edition of his book, with only the players, their wins, and years for the 1946 through 27 April 2003, period.

Video

''The Wimbledon Collection – Legends of Wimbledon – Bjorn Borg'' Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 21 September 2004, Run Time: 52 minutes, ASIN: B0002HODA4.

''The Wimbledon Collection – The Classic Match – Borg vs. McEnroe 1981 Final'' Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 21 September 2004, Run Time: 210 minutes, ASIN: B0002HODAE.

''The Wimbledon Collection – The Classic Match – Borg vs. McEnroe 1980 Final'' Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 21 September 2004, Run Time: 240 minutes; ASIN: B0002HOEK8.

''Wimbledon Classic Match: Gerulaitis vs Borg'' Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 31 October 2006, Run Time: 180 minutes, ASIN: B000ICLR8O.

External links

Official Wimbledon website profile

BBC profile

Sunday Times article 5 July 2009

On-line video interview for Czech TV (9. 1. 2011)

{{navboxes|title=Björn Borg in Grand Slam Tournaments |list1= }} {{navboxes|title=Björn Borg's Achievements |list1= }}

Category:French Open champions Category:International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Monte Carlo Category:People from Södertälje Category:People from Stockholm Category:Swedish expatriates in Monaco Category:Swedish tennis players Category:Swedish male tennis players Category:Wimbledon champions Category:Wimbledon junior champions Category:World No. 1 tennis players Category:1956 births Category:Living people

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