prepares to hit a forehand.]]

The forehand in tennis and other racket sports such as table tennis, squash and badminton is a shot made by swinging the racquet across one's body in the direction of where the player wants to place the shot. For a right-handed player, the forehand is a stroke that begins on the right side of his body, continues across his body as contact is made with the ball, and ends on the left side of his body. It is considered the easiest shot to master, perhaps because it is the most natural stroke. Beginners and advanced players often have better forehands than any other shots and use it as a weapon.

Most forehands are hit with topspin because it helps keep the ball from landing outside the court. On some occasions, such as an approach shot, a player can opt to hit with backspin, which can also be called a Slice.

Players with great forehands often build their main strategy around it. They set up a point until they have a good chance of striking a powerful forehand to win the point. A well-known tactic is to run around a ball on their backhand side in order to hit a forehand cross-court, called the inside-out forehand.

Grips

There are four main grips for executing the forehand and their popularity has fluctuated over the years. They are the western, the semi-western, the eastern, and the continental.

Western

The western was widely used in the first two decades of the 20th century. For a number of years the small, apparently frail 1920s player Bill Johnston was considered by many to have had the best forehand of all time, a stroke that he hit shoulder-high using a western grip. Few top players used the western grip after the 1920s, as many of them moved to the eastern and continental, but in the latter part of the 20th century, as shot-making techniques and equipment changed radically, the western forehand made a strong comeback and is now used by many modern players. Some consider it to be an extreme or radical grip, however. The maximum amount of topspin can be generated with this grip. [Most recreational players believe Rafael Nadal uses a Western grip, but in actuality he does not; many high level Tennis professionals will confirm that he uses a Semi-Western Grip.]

Semi-Western

The semi-western grip is also widely used today, and falls in between the western and the eastern. It is popular with players who want to hit a fair amount of topspin.

Eastern

The eastern grip widely replaced the western in the 1920s and thereafter was used by such World No. 1 players as Andrew Ratiu, Ellsworth Vines, Don Budge, and Jack Kramer, all of whom were considered to have very powerful forehands. Many beginners start with the eastern grip because of its comfortable feel. It is often described as shaking hands with the racquet. Forehands hit with the eastern can have either topspin or backspin, as the gripping hand is on the same plane as the racquet, and can thus be tilted up for topspin or down for backspin rather easily.

Continental

The continental grip was popular with many Europeans of the 1920s and 1930s and with many Australians of the 1940s and 1950s. The continental has the advantage of being used for all strokes: serves, volleys, forehands, and backhands, without having to be shifted in the player's hand, as is the case with all the other grips. It is particularly well-suited for hitting low balls — "taking the ball on the rise" — but is generally considered inferior for most forehands.

Two-handed forehand

No matter which grip is used, most forehands are generally executed with one hand holding the racquet, but there have been fine players with two-handed forehands. In the 1940s and 50s the Ecuadorian/American player Pancho Segura used a two-handed forehand with devastating effect against larger, more powerful players. His frequent adversary and even greater player Jack Kramer has called it the single finest shot in the history of tennis.

Monica Seles also used a two-handed forehand very effectively, with 53 career titles that included 9 Grand Slam titles.

Among current players, Raemon Sluiter, Fabrice Santoro and Marion Bartoli employ two-handed forehands.

Some players will use a two-handed forehand when they need a sure-fire in. The constricted movement will generally generate less power.

Great forehands

In his 1979 autobiography Jack Kramer, who had a great forehand himself, devotes a page to the best tennis strokes he had ever seen. He wrote: "FOREHAND—Segura was best, then Perry, followed by Tilden and Vines (although I never saw Big Bill's till he was in his forties). Of the moderns, Năstase's forehand is a superb one, especially on the run.".

At a professional event in 1951, the forehand drives of a number of players were electronically measured. Pancho Gonzales hit the fastest, at 112.88 mph, followed by Jack Kramer at 107.8 and Welby Van Horn at 104.

In the 1980s, Ivan Lendl was famous for the smoothness of his forehand and his ability to strike the ball hard, no matter where he was standing on the court. At the 2007 Australian Open, Gaël Monfils recorded the fastest forehand ever, against Marcos Baghdatis, which clocked in at 118 mph (190 kmh).

The forehand has been used as a major weapon by many players for years.

Amongst the male players, some of the notable players with great forehands are: Bill Johnston, 1920s amateur

Bill Tilden, 1920s and 1930s amateur and professional

Ellsworth Vines, 1930s amateur and professional

Jack Crawford, 1930s amateur

Fred Perry, 1930s amateur and professional

Jack Kramer, 1940s amateur and professional

Pancho Segura, 1940s and '50s professional, first 2-handed forehand

Björn Borg

Ivan Lendl

Jim Courier

Boris Becker

Pete Sampras

Andre Agassi

Rafael Nadal

Roger Federer

Juan Carlos Ferrero

Tommy Haas

Fernando González

Fernando Verdasco

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Gaël Monfils

Juan Martín del Potro

Nikolay Davydenko

Novak Djokovic

Gaël Monfils

Marin Čilić

James Blake

Robin Söderling

Ernests Gulbis

And amongst the female players :

May Sutton Bundy, 1900s amateur

Molla Mallory, 1910s and 1920s amateur

Helen Wills Moody, 1920s and 30s amateur

Dorothy Round, 1930s amateur

Jadwiga Jędrzejowska, 1930s amateur

Christine Truman, 1950s and 60s amateur

Sue Barker, 1970s professional

Martina Navratilova

Steffi Graf, one of whose nicknames was "Fräulein Forehand"

Monica Seles (two-handed)

Maria Sharapova

Justine Henin, whose forehand Lindsay Davenport credited as her biggest weapon, and not her single-handed backhand.

Kim Clijsters

Venus Williams

Serena Williams

Samantha Stosur

Ana Ivanovic, by many the best forehand on the Tour.

Notes

Sources

The Game, My 40 Years in Tennis (1979), Jack Kramer with Frank Deford (ISBN 0-399-12336-9)

The History of Professional Tennis (2003), Joe McCauley

Category:Tennis shots

Playername	Roger Federer
Caption	Federer at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships
Country
Residence	Bottmingen, Switzerland
Birth date	August 08, 1981
Birth place	Basel, Switzerland
Height
Turnedpro	1998
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	US$63,343,910
Singlesrecord	777–182 (81.11%)
Singlestitles	67
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (2 February 2004)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 3 (21 March 2011)
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)
Olympicsresult	4th place (losing bronze-finalist) ()
Doublesrecord	115–74 (60.6%)
Doublestitles	8
Othertournamentsdoubles	yes
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	3R (2003)
Frenchopendoublesresult	1R (2000)
Wimbledondoublesresult	QF (2000)
Usopendoublesresult	3R (2002)
Olympicsdoublesresult	Gold Medal ()
Highestdoublesranking	No. 24 (9 June 2003)
Currentdoublesranking	No. 99 (21 March 2011)
Updated	7 November 2010}}

}}

Roger Federer () (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP number one position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 13 June 2011, 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 5 times. Many sports analysts, tennis critics, and former and current players consider Federer as the greatest tennis player of all time.

Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 23 career Grand Slam finals, of which 10 were consecutive appearances, and appeared in 18 of 19 finals over the four and a half years from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open, excluding 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. In the 2011 French Open he reached his 28th consecutive quarterfinal in the Grand Slam tournaments, breaking the record set by Jimmy Connors.

Federer has won a record five ATP World Tour Finals (shared with Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras) and 17 ATP Masters Series tournaments (tied second all-time). He also won the Olympic gold medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. For the past eight years (2003–2010) he has been in the top two in the year-end rankings.

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, the Swiss Maestro In 2011, Federer was ranked #25 in Forbes Celebrity 100 List.

Early life

Childhood and personal life

Federer was born in Binningen, near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South African-born Lynette. He holds both Swiss and South African citizenships. He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, near Basel, close to the French-German borders and Federer speaks Swiss German, German, French and English fluently. He considers German his first 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 'obligations'.

Marriage and family

Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Mirka Vavrinec. They met while both 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 responded by arranging a collaboration with fellow top tennis players Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Stosur to forgo their final day of preparation for the 2010 Australian Open to form a special charity event called Hit for Haiti, in which all proceeds will go to the Haiti earthquake victims. He was named as a 2010 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in recognition of his leadership, accomplishments and contributions to society.

Similar to the 2010 event, Hit for Haiti, Federer organized and participated in a charity match called Rally for Relief on 16 January 2011, to benefit those that were affected in 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, where he won both the singles tournament over Irakli Labadze 6–4, 6–4 and in doubles teamed up with Olivier Rochus, in which they defeated the team of Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram 6–4, 6–4. In addition, Federer lost the US Open Junior tournament in 1998 to David Nalbandian in 3–6, 5–7. He won four other ITF junior singles tournaments in his career, including the prestigious Orange Bowl where he defeated Guillermo Coria 7–5, 6–3 in the finals. He ended 1998 as the junior World Number One.

1998–2002: Early career in the ATP

Roger Federer's first tournament as a professional was Gstaad in 1998 (12th grade), where he faced Lucas Arnold Ker in the Round of 32, and he lost 4–6, 4–6. Federer's first final came at the Marseille Open, which was in 2000, and he lost to fellow Swiss Marc Rosset 6–2, 3–6, 6–7(5). Federer won in 2001 the Hopman Cup representing Switzerland, with Martina Hingis. Federer's first win was at the 2001 Milan Indoor tournament, where he defeated Julien Boutter by a score of 6–4, 6–7(7), 6–4. In addition, Federer won his first Master Series event at the 2002 Hamburg Masters on clay in 6–1, 6–3, 6–4 over Marat Safin; the victory made him a top-10 player for the first time. From 1998 to 2002, Federer made six finals in doubles. Of note are Federer and partner Max Mirnyi's defeat in the final of the Indian Wells Masters in 2002, and their victory in the same year in the final of the Rotterdam 500 series event. Federer had won the latter the year earlier with partner Jonas Björkman. Federer won his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 event in Miami with Max Mirnyi, and made it to one singles Masters Series 1000 event in Rome on clay, which he lost. Federer defeated the 2001 US Open champion, Lleyton Hewitt, at the US Open for his first title there 6–0, 7–6(3), 6–0. Federer would also take four ATP Masters Series 1000 wins: Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati (on hard court) and Hamburg (on clay). Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon Championships final 6–0, 7–6(5), 6–7(2), 6–3, which was the start of their storied rivalry. In the Australian Open, Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2 Federer made five ATP Masters Series 1000 finals in 2007, winning the Hamburg and Madrid titles. Federer was defeated by Nadal in two Grand Slam finals, at the French Open 6–1, 6–3, 6–0 and at Wimbledon 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–7(8), 9–7, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg's record.

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

At the start of the 2011 season, Federer defeated Nikolay Davydenko 6–3 6–4 to win the 2011 Qatar Open without dropping a set, it was his third title following wins in 2005 and 2006. Federer was defeated in straight sets during the semifinals of the 2011 Australian Open by Novak Djokovic, marking the first time since July 2003 that he did not win any four of the Grand Slams he appeared in consecutively. He went on to make it to the final in Dubai, losing 3–6 3–6 to Djokovic. Federer then entered the first Masters 1000 event of the year, the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, receiving a first round bye, he faced Igor Andreev of Russia in the first round 7–5 7–6(4), he blitzed 29th seed Juan Ignacio Chela in the third round 6–0 6–2, in the fourth round, he beat American qualifier Ryan Harrison 7–6(4) 6–3, in the quarterfinals, he beat compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka 6–3 6–4. He then fell to world number 3, Novak Djokovic, 6–3, 3–6, 6–2 relinquishing the number 2 ranking. Federer also reached the doubles final alongside Swiss compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka, beating rival Rafael Nadal along the way. Federer and Wawrinka lost to Alexandr Dolgopolov and Xavier Malisse 6–4, 6–7, 10–7 in the doubles final. Federer then entered the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. He defeated Radek Stepanek in the second round 6–3, 6–3. He beat Juan Monaco 7–6, 6–4 and then Olivier Rochus 6–3, 6–1. He then beat Gilles Simon 3–0 retired due to Simon's neck injury. This set up a 23rd match up with arch-rival, Rafael Nadal. Nadal dominated the match and beat Federer 6–3, 6–2 which made the hard court head to head between Federer and Nadal 4–4. Roger Federer then moved on to the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monte Carlo, Monaco; after receiving a first round bye Federer played an impressive match showing his intent on winning this event by defeating world number 34 Philipp Kohlschreiber 6–2, 6–1 in the second round of the tournament. Federer then moved onto the third round of the tournament where he faced world number 22 Marin Cilic, and again played an outstanding match defeating the Croat 6–4, 6–3. Federer faced world number 9 Jürgen Melzer in the quarterfinals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters but suffered a surprise straight sets loss, 4–6, 4–6, giving Melzer his first victory against Federer in 4 meetings. His next appearance was at the Madrid Masters. He struggled through his opening match and barely came out with a win against Feliciano Lopez after three tiebreak games, finishing with a score of 7–6(13), 6–7(1), 7–6(7). He then flew through the next two rounds, defeating Xavier Malisse and Robin Söderling with tallies of 6–4, 6–3, and 7–6(2), 6–4, respectively. He met Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and fought to advance to the final, winning the first set, but Nadal took control of the rest of the game, defeating Federer 5–7, 6–1, 6–3. Federer then moved to compete in the Rome Masters, where he opened with a victory over Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6–4, 6–2. He faced Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the third round, but lost a very close match in the third set tiebreak, 6–4, 6(2)-7, 6(4)-7. Federer then competed in the 2011 French Open, expressing relief that some pressure was off of him and more on Novak Djokovic, who had not yet lost to that point in 2011. He won the first round with 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(3) on Feliciano Lopez. He faced Maxime Teixeira on the second round and achieved a straight set victory 6–3, 6–0, 6–2. He defeated Janko Tipsarević of Serbia 6–1, 6–4, 6–3 in the third round to reach the last 16. He then defeated his fellow countryman, Stanislas Wawrinka 6–3,6–2,7–5 to reach his 28th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. In the corresponding quarterfinal, he beat the only French remaining in the tournament Gael Monfils 6–4, 6–3, 7–6 to setup a semifinal with Novak Djokovic. In the semifinal, he ended Novak Djokovic's streak of 43 consecutive wins and hopes of attaining the number 1 ranking by winning 7–6 (7–5), 6–3, 3–6, 7–6 (7–5) to setup a final with Rafael Nadal, which he lost 5-7, 6-7(3), 7-5, 1-6.

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 17–8. However, most of their matches have been on clay, which is Nadal's best surface. Federer has a winning record on the other surfaces. 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). Federer lost to Nadal on June 5, 2011 in the French Open final.

Federer vs. Hewitt

Federer and Lleyton Hewitt have played each other on 25 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 15 of the last 16 meetings to emerge with a 17–8 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 6–0, 7–6, 6–0 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 10–8, 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. Djokovic

These two have met 23 times with Federer leading 14–9, and 5–3 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, and the only player besides Nadal to defeat Federer in consecutive grand slam tournaments (2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open). Djokovic is one of two (the other again being Nadal) players 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 more than 22 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.

Federer vs. Murray

These two have met 14 times, all hard courts, with Murray leading 8–6. Federer has won each of their Grand Slam matches (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. Apart from Nadal, Murray is the only other current top ten 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 20–2. 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 summarized 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 style of play and shot making. Federer mainly plays from the baseline but is also comfortable at the net being one of the best volleyers in the game today. He has a very effective smash and very effectively performs rare elements in today's tennis, such as backhand smash, half-volley and jump smash (slam dunk). David Foster Wallace described Federer's exceptional speed, fluidity and brute force of this forehand motion as "a great liquid whip," while John McEnroe has referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport." Federer plays with a single-handed backhand which gives him great variety. He employs the slice, occasionally using it to lure the opponent to the net and pass him. Federer can also fire topspin winners and possesses a 'flick' backhand where he can generate pace with his wrist; this is usually used to pass the opponent at the net. however, he is capable of serving at 220 km/h (137 mph). and used this tactic especially frequently in his early career. His speciality is a half-volley from the baseline which enables him to play very near to the baseline and to pick up balls (even deeper ones) very early after their bounce, thus giving his opponents less time to react on his shot. Late in his career Federer also added the drop shot to his game and utilizes a well-disguised one off of 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 match point.

Equipment, apparel, endorsements

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

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

Grand Slam tournament 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!!width=65|Career SR!!width=65|Career W-L!!width=65|Career % |- | colspan="18" 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 |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: yellow"|SF |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: yellow"|SF |style="background: thistle"|F |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: yellow"|SF |style="background: #efefef"|4 / 12 |style="background: #efefef"|59–8 |style="background: #efefef"|88.06 |- | 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 |style="background: 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 |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: thistle"|F |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: #ffebcd"|QF | |style="background: #efefef"|6 / 12 |style="background: #efefef"|55–6 |style="background: #efefef"|90.16 |- | 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 |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: thistle"|F |style="background: yellow"|SF | |style="background: #efefef"|5 / 11 |style="background: #efefef"|56–6 |style="background: #efefef"|90.32 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|Win–Loss |style="background: #efefef"|0–0 |style="background: #efefef"|0–2 |style="background: #efefef"|7–4 |style="background: #efefef"|13–4 |style="background: #efefef"|6–4 |style="background: #efefef"|13–3 |style="background: #efefef"|22–1 |style="background: #efefef"|24–2 |style="background: #efefef"|27–1 |style="background: #efefef"|26–1 |style="background: #efefef"|24–3 |style="background: #efefef"|26–2 |style="background: #efefef"|20–3 |style="background: #efefef"|11–2 |style="background: #efefef"|16 / 48 |style="background: #efefef"|219–32 |style="background: #efefef"|87.25 |}

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

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

"*" means that the tournament is ongoing.

;Finals: 23 (16 titles, 7 runner-ups) {|class="sortable wikitable" |- |width=100|'''Outcome |width=50|'''Year |width=200|'''Championship |width=75|'''Surface |width=200|'''Opponent in the final |width=200|'''Score in the final |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2003||Wimbledon (1)||Grass|| Mark Philippoussis||7–6(5), 6–2, 7–6(3) |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2004||Australian Open (1)||Hard|| Marat Safin||7–6(3), 6–4, 6–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2004||Wimbledon (2)||Grass|| Andy Roddick||4–6, 7–5, 7–6(3), 6–4 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2004||US Open (1)||Hard|| Lleyton Hewitt||6–0, 7–6(3), 6–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2005||Wimbledon (3)||Grass|| Andy Roddick||6–2, 7–6(2), 6–4 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2005||US Open (2)||Hard|| Andre Agassi||6–3, 2–6, 7–6(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) |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2006||Wimbledon (4)||Grass|| Rafael Nadal||6–0, 7–6(5), 6–7(2), 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(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(7), 4–6, 7–6(3), 2–6, 6–2 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2007||US Open (4)||Hard|| Novak Djokovic||7–6(4), 7–6(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(5), 7–6(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), 6–3, 2–6 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2009||French Open (1)||Clay|| Robin Söderling||6–1, 7–6(1), 6–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2009||Wimbledon (6)||Grass|| Andy Roddick||5–7, 7–6(6), 7–6(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), 6–4, 6–7(4), 2–6 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2010||Australian Open (4)||Hard|| Andy Murray||6–3, 6–4, 7–6(11) |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2011||French Open (4)||Clay|| Rafael Nadal|| 5–7, 6–7(3), 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!!width=65|Career SR!!width=65|Career W-L!!width=65|Career % |- | colspan="18" style="text-align:left;"|'''Year-End Championship tournaments |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|YEC |NQ |NQ |NQ |NQ |style="background: yellow"|SF |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: thistle"|F |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: #afeeee"|RR |style="background: yellow"|SF |style="background: lime"|'''W | |style="background: #efefef" rowspan=2|5 / 9 |style="background: #efefef" rowspan=2|34–7 |style="background: #efefef" rowspan=2|82.93 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|Win–Loss |style="background: #efefef"|0–0 |style="background: #efefef"|0–0 |style="background: #efefef"|0–0 |style="background: #efefef"|0–0 |style="background: #efefef"|3–1 |style="background: #efefef"|5–0 |style="background: #efefef"|5–0 |style="background: #efefef"|4–1 |style="background: #efefef"|5–0 |style="background: #efefef"|4–1 |style="background: #efefef"|1–2 |style="background: #efefef"|2–2 |style="background: #efefef"|5–0 | |}

;Finals (5 titles, 1 runner-up)

{|class="sortable wikitable" |- |width=100|'''Outcome |width=50|'''Year |width=200|'''Championship |width=75|'''Surface |width=200|'''Opponent in the final |width=200|'''Score in the final |- 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(4), 7–6(11), 2–6, 1–6, 6–7(3) |- 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 |}

Olympic games

;(1 gold medal) {|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), 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 |- | Wimbledon 2003 — Australian Open 2010 || 16 titles || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2003 — French Open 2009 || Career Grand Slam || Rod Laver Andre Agassi Rafael Nadal |- | Wimbledon 2003 — French Open 2011 || 23 finals || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2005 — US Open 2007 || 10 consecutive finals || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2004 — Australian Open 2010 || 23 consecutive semifinals ||Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2004 — French Open 2011 || 28 consecutive quarterfinals ||Stands alone |- | 2006–2007 || 2 consecutive years winning 3+ titles || Stands alone |- | 2004 & 2006–2007 || 3 years winning 3+ titles || Stands alone |- | 2004–2007 || 4 consecutive years winning 2+ titles || Stands alone |- | 2004–2007 & 2009 || 5 years winning 2+ titles || Stands alone |- | 2003–2010 || 8 consecutive years winning 1+ title || Björn Borg Pete Sampras |- | Australian Open 2004 — Australian Open 2010 || 9 hard-court titles ||Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2003 — Australian Open 2006 || First 7 finals won ||Stands alone |- | Australian Open 2004 — US Open 2010 || 7 consecutive years winning 20+ matches || Ivan Lendl |- | French Open 2006 — US Open 2009 || Runner-up finishes at all 4 grand slams || Ivan Lendl |- | US Open 2006 — French Open 2007 || 36 consecutive sets won || Stands alone |- | US Open 2007 || 35 consecutive service points won || Stands alone |- | US Open 2007 || $2.4 million earned at one event || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2009 || 50 aces in a final || Stands alone |- | French Open 2004 — Wimbledon 2008 || 18 consecutive No. 1 seeds || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2003 — Australian Open 2010 || 4+ titles at 3 different grand slams || Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon - 2011 French Open||5+ finals at all 4 grand slams|| 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 |- | Australian Open || 2004–2010 || 5 finals overall || Stefan Edberg |- | Australian Open || 2004–2011 || 8 consecutive semifinals || Stands alone |- | Australian Open || align=center|2007 || Won without dropping a set || Ken Rosewall |- | Australian Open || 2000–2011 || 59 singles match wins || 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 |- | 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 victories || 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 |- | October 2003 — January 2005 || 26 consecutive match victories vs. top 10 opponents || Stands alone |- | 2005–2006 || 56 consecutive hard-court match victories|| Stands alone |- | 2003–2008 || 65 consecutive grass-court match victories || Stands alone |- | 2003–2005 || 24 consecutive tournament finals won || Stands alone |- | 2006 || 9 hard court titles in 1 season || Jimmy Connors |- | 2006 || 94.12% of tournament finals reached in 1 season || Stands alone |- | 2005–2006 || 2-season match winning percentage of 95.05% || Stands alone |- | 2004–2006 || 3-season match winning percentage of 94.27% || Stands alone |- | 2004–2007 || 4-season match winning percentage of 92.92% || Stands alone |- | 2002–2010 || 29 Masters 1000 finals reached || Rafael Nadal |- | 2005–2006 || 29 consecutive Masters 1000 match victories || Stands alone |- | 2004–2008 || 2 consecutive Olympic games as wire-to-wire No. 1 || Stands alone |- | 2005–2007 || 3 consecutive calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1|| Stands alone |- | 2005–2007 || 3 calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1 || Jimmy Connors |- | 2003–2010 || 5 ATP World Tour Finals titles|| Ivan LendlPete Sampras |- | 2007 || $10 million earned in a season || Rafael Nadal |- | 2005–2007 || 2 winning streaks of 35+ matches || Björn Borg |- | 2004–2009 || 6 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

References and notes

Further reading

Video

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

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

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

External links

Official Site

Portrait Of The Champion – Roger Federer

Roger Federer Foundation

Roger Federer – Grand Slam History

Sortable list of Grand Slam opponents and stats

Profiles

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