of all time, Roger
Federer is a household
name in every tennis-
around the globe.
77 singles titles, eight doubles titles and two
Olympic medals, and played more than 1100
matches and 301 tournaments. He holds,
among others, the records for the most Grand
Slam tournaments won; most Grand Slam
finals played, 24; most consecutive weeks at
number one in the ATP rankings, 237; and
most weeks at number one all round, 302.
He also holds first place in all-time career
earnings, having won prize money totalling
$78,209,589.
fabulous career and call it quits, opting to
leave on a high note, Federer looks to be far
from hanging up his tennis racquet. So then:
to retire or not to retire? Apparently that is
the million-dollar question right now and, in
the fringe world where tennis is more religion
than sport, it is the topic of much debate,
argument and foaming at the mouth.
he owes it to the sport, to his fans and to the
integrity of the tennis history he himself has
written to retire now and go out in a blaze
of glory. Staring them down from the other
camp, are fans who aren't quite ready to see
their messiah of men's tennis disappear from
their lives, and who argue that he has at least
one, if not more, Grand Slams in him.
dismissed the notion of retirement and
having done so, has turned his back on the
debate, just as he does to his opponents
yet another impossible point.
retire tomorrow, right now it seems he's not
ready to do that and frankly, why should he?
it been embarrassing or fruitless. By end-
October he had played 16 tournaments, won
the singles title at Germany's Gerry Weber
Open, played in the finals of another two
tournaments, the semi-finals of three more
and was ranked a very respectable number
six in the world. If you were Australian Lleyton
Hewitt who like Federer is 32, turned pro
in 1998 and did his time at number one
you'd take that number six ranking over your
number 63 any day.
magician on court turns in his racquet for the
night, he is a husband, father and benefactor
to millions of children who have benefited
from his largesse via the Roger Federer
Foundation.
The two first met at the Summer Olympics in
2000 and were married in April 2009. In July
of that year, the new Mrs Federer gave birth
to the couple's identical twin daughters Myla
Rose and Charlene Riva.
daughters and their nanny don't accompany
him on his many trips and tournaments
around the world. Federer has in fact
frequently attributed his ability to continue to
play tennis at the highest levels to the fact
that his family is always there to support him.
alive who doesn't know that the world's
most famous and greatest ever tennis
player has ties to their country via his South
African mother. Federer was born on 8
August 1981 in Basel, Switzerland to Swiss
father Robert Federer and Mother Lynette
Federer (nee Durand), who hails from
Kempton Park in Gauteng.
Switzerland and South Africa. The tennis
player is proud of his heritage and over the
years has been a frequent visitor to South
Africa, where he comes to reconnect with
family and get involved, in a hands-on
capacity, with the projects supported by the
Roger Federer Foundation. The player's
projects in Southern Africa and Switzerland.
moves give meaning to the phrase "poetry in
motion." For 15 years he has dominated the
men's tennis scene and enthralled the world
with his on-court magic.