Federer, Roger

▪ 2006

      Switzerland's Roger Federer dominated the game of tennis with unwavering assurance and athleticism in 2005, just as he had in 2004. In those two sterling seasons, the gifted shotmaker captured five of the eight major championships: one Australian Open and back-to-back All-England (Wimbledon) and U.S. Open titles. No one in the men's game had taken that many Grand Slam events over a two-year span since Australia's Rod Laver in 1968–69. Moreover, Federer became the first man since American Don Budge (1937–38) to sweep Wimbledon and the U.S. Open for two straight years and the first since Sweden's Mats Wilander in 1988 to win three Grand Slam events in one calendar year.

      Federer was born in Basel on Aug. 8, 1981. He started playing tennis at the age of eight, but he was also immersed in association football (soccer). At age 12 he made tennis his top priority, and two years later he established himself as Switzerland's junior champion. In 1998 he captured the Wimbledon junior singles championship and secured the Orange Bowl junior tournament crown in Miami. The precocious Federer made his debut on the Swiss Davis Cup team in 1999 and became the youngest tennis player ever (at 18 years 4 months) to end the year among the world's top 100, finishing that season at number 64.

      He reached the competition for the bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and concluded that year at number 29 in the world rankings. At Wimbledon in 2001 he toppled seven-time champion Pete Sampras of the U.S. to reach the quarterfinals, in which he lost to Britain's Tim Henman. Federer kept surging forward, however, and finished 2002 ranked number six in the world after having recorded three tournament triumphs in singles (he also won two doubles titles with partner Max Mirnyi of Belarus).

      In 2003 Federer took his first Grand Slam tournament title at Wimbledon and advanced to number two in the world. He was beaten only 6 times in 80 matches that season and was victorious in 11 of 17 tournaments he played in 2004. After losing twice in August 2004, he won 17 consecutive matches to conclude his season. In 2005 his numbers were similarly remarkable; he won 11 of 15 tournaments and 81 of 85 matches, including a 35-match winning streak during June–November. Federer won a modern-record 24 straight finals he played from July 2003 until November 2005, when he was narrowly beaten by Argentina's David Nalbandian in a fifth-set tiebreaker at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. Federer finished 2005 at the top of the world rankings for the second straight year. Although he had already demonstrated that his game was among the most complete ever assembled by a champion, many fans, other players, and tennis experts claimed that Federer had not yet fully explored the boundaries of his potential.

Steve Flink

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▪ Swiss tennis player

born Aug. 8, 1981, Basel, Switz.

 

 Swiss tennis player, who dominated the sport in the early 21st century with his exceptional all-around game.

      Federer, who started playing tennis at age eight, became Switzerland's junior champion when he was 14. In 1998 he captured the Wimbledon (Wimbledon Championships) junior singles championship and secured the Orange Bowl junior tournament crown in Miami. The following year Federer made his debut on the Swiss Davis Cup team and became the youngest tennis player (at 18 years 4 months) to end the year among the world's top 100, finishing that season at number 64.

      Federer competed at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, advancing to the bronze medal match. The following year at Wimbledon he defeated Pete Sampras (Sampras, Pete) to reach the quarterfinals, and by the end of 2002 he was ranked number six in the world. In 2003 Federer won his first grand slam tournament title, at Wimbledon. The following year he captured his first Australian Open and his first U.S. Open (United States Open Tennis Championships) and defended his Wimbledon title. A gifted shot maker, he was victorious in 11 of the 17 tournaments he played in 2004 and finished the year ranked number one in the world. In 2005 Federer's numbers were similarly remarkable, as he won 11 of 15 tournaments, including Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. From July 2003 to November 2005 he also won a modern-record 24 straight finals.

      In 2006 Federer continued to be the game's best player. In addition to winning Wimbledon, he was victorious at the Australian Open and the U.S. Open, becoming the first player to win the latter two tournaments three years in a row. He also reached the finals at Roland Garros (the French Open) but was defeated by Rafael Nadal (Nadal, Rafael) of Spain. In all, Federer competed in 17 tournaments in 2006, capturing 12 titles and reaching the finals in all but one tournament. At the Australian Open in 2007, he won his 10th grand slam title. Later that year, however, his bid for his first French Open was again derailed by Nadal, who defeated him in the finals. Federer's rivalry with Nadal continued at Wimbledon in 2007. There he bested Nadal in a thrilling five-set final to become only the second male player (after Björn Borg (Borg, Björn)) in more than 100 years to capture five consecutive Wimbledon titles. Federer continued to make history in 2007 when he won his fourth consecutive U.S. Open, a men's record in the open era. In 2008 Federer's record 65-match grass-court winning streak came to an end when he lost to Nadal in the Wimbledon final. Federer later teamed with Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka to win the men's doubles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Federer lost his number one world ranking to Nadal in August 2008, ending his record run of 237 consecutive weeks atop the rankings. The following month Federer won the U.S. Open.

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