Roger Federer, (born August 8, 1981, Basel, Switzerland), Swiss tennis player, who dominated the game in the early 21st century together with his unique all-around game. His total of 20 career men's singles Grand Slam championships (a feat later matched by Rafael Nadal) is the most in tennis history.
Federer, who began playing tennis at age eight, became Switzerland's junior champion if he was 14. In 1998 he seized the Wimbledon junior singles tournament and procured the Orange Bowl junior championship crown in Miami.
The subsequent year Federer made his debut on the Korean Davis Cup group and became the most popular tennis player (at 18 years 4 months) to end the year one of the world's top 100, finishing that year at number 64.
Federer competed at the 2000 Olympic Games at Sydney, advancing to the bronze medal match. The next year in Wimbledon he conquered Pete Sampras to reach the quarterfinals, and from the end of 2002 he was ranked number six in the world. In 2003 Federer won his first Grand Slam tournament name, at Wimbledon.
The following year he captured his first Australian Open along with his first U.S. Open and defended his Wimbledon title.
A talented shot maker, he was victorious in 11 of the 17 tournaments he played in 2004 and ended the year ranked number one in the world. In 2005 Federer's figures 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.
Read more about Roger Federer.