Roger Federer

Roger Federer, 27, is one prolific tennis player. He is considered by those in the tennis world as the greatest player ever, and that is quite a statement considering other great players such as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Bjorn Borg. His mastery of the court have left not only opponents shaking their heads, but announcers and spectators as well. Born in Switzerland, Roger started playing tennis at the age of six. He did not start private lessons until he was 10. Roger also loved and played football, but gave it up at 12 to concentrate on tennis.

Roger Federer became a professional in 1988. He played his way to the number two in the world in 2003, finishing behind American Andy Roddick. In 2004, the overall dominance of Federer emerged. He reached the number one ranking and held that position for an astonishing record of 237 consecutive weeks from February 2, 2004 to August 17, 2008. He won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2008 for a record fourth consecutive year. So far in his career, Roger holds 13 Grand Slam singles titles, 56 overall singles wins and 8 doubles wins, and 14 ATP Master Series Titles. In earnings, Roger is the all time leader with over 43 million dollars.

In 2008, it began to look as if Roger was losing his magic. During his disastrous tournament run, he played in 14 tournaments, losing 12. He lost to Rafael Nadal, James Blake and Maximo Gonzalez, making people wonder if his tennis days were over. Federer never felt as if he were through but merely going through a dry spell. He proved that he was not finished by displaying his magic during the 2008 US Open and winning the tournament with a straight set beat down of Andy Murray. The King of Swing has returned!