Roger Federer (FedEx)

Swiss Maestro Roger Federer is the current #1 ranked tennis player in the world, having previously held the number one position for a record 237 consecutive weeks. He is considered to have the talent to be the best tennis player of all time. He is an all-court player known for his fluent style of play and shot making. He plays with an excellent single-handed backhand which gives him great variety.

He was born August 8, 1981, in Basel, Switzerland. His parents, Robert and Lynette, both worked in the pharmaceutical industry. Robert was an executive for Ciba-Geigy. He met Lynette, a native South African and also a Ciba-Geigy employee, during a business trip. Their marriage also produced a daughter, Diana, in 1979. He and his older sister grew up in the town of Munchenstein, just outside the city of Basel. A 2,000-year-old city on the Rhine, it is home to Switzerland’s oldest university, dozens of museums and the famous Theater Basel.

From the age of 10 to 13, Roger spent more time with Carter (A tough player from Australia) than his own parents. The coach taught Roger flawless technique on his ground strokes and serve, and watched him grow into his body and start dominating opponents. The two also discussed the mental side of the game—not just strategy and psychology, but also about the importance of being gracious and polite and reigning in your emotions. In 1994, at the age of 13, Roger decided it was time to leave home and accept an invitation to Switzerland’s national training center in Ecublens, near Lausanne. He would come home on weekends and spend time with his family, but every Sunday night, when it was time to board the train for the two-hour ride back, he was terribly depressed. The training center was in the French-speaking part of the country. Roger, who spoke German, found himself isolated by many of the students and coaches.

Roger Federer met his long-time girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec in 2000. She was in the top 100 players in the world and in Switzerland's team for the Sydney Olympics. This was the time when he met Mirka and ever since then, they are inseparable. The Swiss tennis star revealed in a message on his Web site on 12th march 2009 that girlfriend Mirka is pregnant with the couple's first child. Later on they got married in Basel on 11 April 2009. Both blessed with twin baby girls.

The only man who has given really a good fight to Roger is Nadal. They both have played each other in 7 Grand Slam finals (Wimbledon; 2-1 Federer , French Open; 3-0 Nadal and Australian Open; 1-0 Nadal). Rodick is the second well know oponent name who played so many matches against him, including 4 Grand Slam finals (3 Wimbledon and 1 US Open). Roger won all four. He has won 15 Grand Slam single titles (Wimbeldon 6 times, US Open 5 times, Aussie Open 3 times and French Open 1 time). He was chosen Swiss Sportsman of the Year in 2003, 2004 and 2006; European Sportsman of the Year from 2004 to 2006; Laureus World Sportsman of The Year in 2005 and 2006 and "L'Equipe" Magazine's Champion of Champions in 2006 and 2007.

Actually, I am not that fond of watching tennis as a game but I watch whenever he plays. He plays so aggressively that sometime I used to stop eating in between just for watching his amazing shots especially the single-handed backhand shot, uff.... just superb. During my school days, I used to hear Pete Sampras and Steffi Graf's winning stories so frequently but this guy really has beaten everyone as far as the consistent wins are concerned. The way the guy played in Cincinnati last couple of weeks, he is even hungrier than before. If he keeps this going for the next three years, he is going to get 20 slams for sure, no doubt in that. He is playing on the tour without a coach or a trainer and has no plans to find one as long as he keeps winning. He appears to be a cricket fan, and played the game in 2006 with children displaced by the 2004 Tsunami in Tamil Nadu.

Your comments are most welcome on his sketch!!

~Atul Ojhal