title: Roger Federer

text: He finished the season as the year-end No. 1 for the fourth year in a row, demonstrating his dominance, and during these four years he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. After his phenomenal triple Grand Slam season yet again, Federer became the only player in history to win three majors in a year for three years (2004, 2006, 2007). It was the third consecutive season that Federer held the No. 1 ranking for all 52 weeks of the year.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer's success in 2008 was severely hampered by a lingering bout of mononucleosis, which he suffered during the first half of the year. At the end of the year he suffered a back injury.


title: Roger Federer

text: In 2008, Federer captured one Grand Slam, a singles title at the US Open over Andy Murray. Federer was defeated by Nadal in two Grand Slam finals, the French Open and Wimbledon, which was regarded as the best match of tennis history by many, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg's record. He came back from two sets down to force a fifth set, where he fell just two points from the title. At the Australian Open Federer lost in the semifinals to eventual winner Djokovic, which ended his record of 10 consecutive finals. He lost twice in Masters finals on clay to Nadal, at Monte Carlo and Hamburg. Federer captured three titles playing in 250-level events at Estoril, Halle, and Basel.


title: Roger Federer

text: At the Olympic Games Federer and Stan Wawrinka won the gold medal in doubles, after beating the Bryan brothers American team in the semifinals and the Swedish duo of Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson in the final. However, Federer could reach only the quarterfinals in the singles draw, bowing out to then No. 8 James Blake, ceding his No. 1 ranking to Nadal after being at the top for a record 237 consecutive weeks. He ended the year ranked No. 2.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer entered the 2009 season with 13 Grand Slams, only one behind Pete Sampras' all-time record. The season began with a loss to Nadal in the final of the Australian Open in a hotly contested five-set match. Federer struggled following the defeat in Melbourne and entered the clay season without a title.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer's season turned around in the final Masters event of the clay season when he defeated Nadal on clay for only the second time to capture the Madrid Masters. Federer entered the French Open with few predicting him to win the elusive Parisian title having lost to Nadal in the final weekend for the past four seasons. After Nadal's unexpected defeat to Robin Söderling, Federer became the overwhelming favorite. In his next match, he came from two sets and break point down in the third set to defeat Tommy Haas in five sets. He also fought back from a two-sets-to-one deficit against a young Juan Martín del Potro to win a five setter in the semifinals. In the final, he faced Söderling, and with straight sets victory, he finally captured the Coupe des Mousquetaires and career Grand Slam. This victory also tied him with Pete Sampras for the most Grand Slam singles titles.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer turned his sights to the grass courts of Wimbledon, where he breezed his way up to the final. In the championship match he faced long-time rival Andy Roddick in what was their eighth and final meeting at a Grand Slam. Roddick pushed Federer into a record-setting fifth set, which Federer claimed 16–14 to win his 15th Grand Slam singles title, breaking the all-time record of Pete Sampras.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer continued his summer run by winning his third title on the lightning-fast courts of the Cincinnati Masters, defeating Novak Djokovic in the final. At the US Open he defeated Söderling in the quarters and Djokovic, for the third consecutive year, in the semifinals. On the penultimate point of the Djokovic match he hit what many consider to be the greatest shot of his career, a tweener winner, to set up match points. Federer was defeated by del Potro in the final despite leading two sets to one and falling just two points from the title in the fourth set.


title: Roger Federer

text: The 2009 season was perhaps the most historically relevant of Federer's career as he completed a career Grand Slam by winning his first French Open title and won a men's record fifteenth Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, surpassing Pete Sampras's mark of fourteen. The Wimbledon final was also historic for being the longest Grand Slam final in terms of games played with Federer prevailing 16–14 in the fifth set.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer started the year with a win at the Australian Open, where he defeated Andy Murray in the final, extending the Grand Slam singles record to sixteen titles and matching Andre Agassi's record of four Australian Open titles. Since Wimbledon 2005 Federer had made 18 out of 19 finals in Grand Slam tournaments, a period of sustained excellence unparalleled in the Open Era. This tournament, however, marked the end of his dominance at the majors.


title: Roger Federer

text: At the French Open, Federer won his 700th tour match and 150th tour match on clay. However, he failed to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since the 2004 French Open, losing to Söderling in the last 8 and relinquishing his No. 1 ranking, having been just one week away from equaling Pete Sampras's record of 286 weeks as world No. 1. In a huge upset at Wimbledon, Federer lost in the last 8 again to Tomáš Berdych and fell to No. 3 in the rankings for the first time in 6 years and 8 months.


title: Roger Federer

text: Towards the middle of July, Federer hired Pete Sampras' old coach Paul Annacone on a trial basis to put his tennis game and career back on track. At the 2010 US Open Federer reached the semifinals, where he lost a five-set match to Novak Djokovic after holding two match points. Federer made it to four Masters finals prevailing against Mardy Fish at the Cincinnati Masters.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer finished the year in strong form, winning indoor titles at the Stockholm Open, Swiss Indoors, and the ATP Finals in London bringing his tally to 66 career titles. Federer won the year-end championships in London by beating rival Rafael Nadal for his fifth title at the event. He beat all contenders except Nadal in straight sets. It remains the only tournament in his career where Federer defeated all fellow members of the Big Four. In 2010 Federer finished in the top two for the eighth consecutive season.


title: Roger Federer

text: The year 2011 was a lean year for Federer, although great by most player's standards. He was defeated in straight sets in the semifinals of the 2011 Australian Open by eventual champion Novak Djokovic, marking the first time since July 2003 that he did not hold any of the four major titles. In the French Open semifinals, Federer ended Djokovic's undefeated streak of 43 consecutive wins with a four-set victory. Federer then lost in the final to Rafael Nadal. At Wimbledon Federer advanced to his 29th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. It marked the first time in his career that he had lost a Grand Slam tournament match after winning the first two sets.


title: Roger Federer

text: At the US Open Federer lost in the semifinals to Novak Djokovic in five sets. In a repeat of previous year's semifinal event, Federer again squandered two match points on his own serve before losing after winning first two sets for second consecutive time in the year. The loss meant that it was the first time since 2002 that Federer had not won any of the four grand slam titles.


title: Roger Federer

text: In September 2011, in a South African poll, Federer was voted the second most trusted and respected person in the world next to Nelson Mandela.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer finished the season successfully in the indoor season, winning his last three tournaments of the year at the Swiss Indoors, Paris Masters, and ATP Finals, forming a 16 match winning streak. Federer finished the year ranked No. 3.


title: Roger Federer

text: The 2012 season for Federer had his most match wins since 2006 and his highest winning percentage and number of titles won since 2007.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer reached the semifinal of the 2012 Australian Open, setting up a 27th career meeting with Nadal, a match he lost in four sets.


title: Roger Federer

text: He then won the Rotterdam Open for the first time since 2005, defeating Juan Martín del Potro. Federer played in the 2012 Dubai Tennis Championships, where he defeated Andy Murray in the final and won the championship title for the fifth time in his career. Federer then moved on to the Indian Wells Masters, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, and John Isner in the final. Federer won the title for a record fourth time, and, in doing so, equalled Nadal's record of 19 ATP Masters titles.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer went on to compete at the Madrid Masters on the new blue clay surface, where he beat Tomáš Berdych in the final, thus regaining the No. 2 ranking from Rafael Nadal. In the French Open, Federer made the semifinals before losing to Djokovic in straight sets, in a rematch of previous year's semifinal.


title: Roger Federer

text: At Wimbledon, Federer had a five-set match in the third round against Julien Benneteau on his way to the winning the tournament. Federer defeated Andy Murray in four sets in the 2012 Wimbledon final, regaining the No. 1 ranking in the process. "It's amazing. It equals me with Pete Sampras, who's my hero. It just feels amazing," Federer said of winning his seventh Wimbledon championship, tying Sampras' Open Era record. By defeating top-ranked Djokovic in the semifinals and winning in the finals, Federer returned to the top spot in the world rankings and, in doing so, broke Sampras' record of 286 weeks atop the list.


title: Roger Federer

text: In the 2012 Summer Olympics, Federer played a 4-hour 26-minute semifinal against del Potro where Federer won 19–17 in the third and final set. In a lopsided match, he lost to Murray in straight sets in the final, winning a silver medal for his country.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer won the Cincinnati open in August, beating Novak Djokovic in the final. In the US Open, five-time champ Federer was defeated by Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinals. At the Shanghai Masters after defeating Wawrinka in the third round, Federer confirmed his 300th week at No. 1. Federer made it to the finals of the ATP Finals, where he lost to Djokovic in two sets.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer developed back injuries in March and July and his ranking dropped from No. 2 to No. 6. Federer's first and only title of 2013 came at the Gerry Weber Open (defeating Mikhail Youzhny), where he also played doubles with good friend Tommy Haas. With the victory in Halle, he tied John McEnroe for the third-most ATP titles won by a male player in the Open Era. Federer, however, was unable to maintain his form into Wimbledon, suffering his worst Grand Slam tournament defeat since 2003 in the second round against Sergiy Stakhovsky. Not only did the loss end Federer's record streak of 36 consecutive quarterfinals at Grand Slam tournaments, it meant he would drop out of the top 4 for the first time since July 2003.


title: Roger Federer

text: During the summer, he experimented with various different racquets and played the German Open with a blacked-out 98-inch Wilson racquet, instead of his regular Pro Staff 6.1 90 BLX racquet with the smaller 90-inch hitting area. He returned to his regular racquet for the second half of the season. After Wimbledon, Federer continued to be upset early in tournaments in Hamburg and Gstaad because of a serious back injury through October, when he announced that he was parting ways with Paul Annacone, his coach for the last three years. Federer made the final in Basel, succumbing to Juan Martín del Potro in three sets, and indicated it was a mistake to have played certain tournaments while suffering from a back injury.


title: Roger Federer

text: On 27 December 2013, Federer announced that Stefan Edberg was joining his team as co-coach with Severin Lüthi.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer began the season by changing rackets for the first time in his career, from his longtime frame of 90 square inches to one measured at 97 square inches. He had long been at a comparative disadvantage in equipment as almost the entire tour, including his top rivals Nadal and Djokovic, used more powerful frames of between 95 and 100 square inches. At the Australian Open, Federer defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray to reach his 11th consecutive semifinal in Melbourne, before losing to Rafael Nadal in straight sets.


title: Roger Federer

text: At the Dubai Tennis Championships, he defeated Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, and then defeated Tomáš Berdych in the final to win his sixth Dubai crown and his first title since Halle in 2013. Federer made the final at the Indian Wells Masters, but lost to Novak Djokovic in a final-set tiebreaker. At the Davis Cup quarterfinals, Federer won both of his singles rubbers against Kazakhstan, the second of which was the first live deciding rubber of his Davis Cup career. Federer then took a wild card into the Monte-Carlo Masters defeating Novak Djokovic on his way to the finals, but lost to compatriot Stan Wawrinka in a tight final.


title: Roger Federer

text: In June, Federer announced that after the end of his third term, he would resign as President of the ATP Players Council, a position he had held since 2008. At the Halle Open, Federer reached both the singles and the doubles finals and won his seventh Halle singles title, beating Alejandro Falla in the final. At Wimbledon, Federer reached a record ninth final, but he was defeated by Djokovic in an epic five-set match.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer made the final of the Canadian Open but was defeated by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Federer defeated Spain's David Ferrer in three sets to capture his sixth Cincinnati crown and 22nd ATP Masters title, his first in Cincinnati since 2012. He then reached the semifinals at the US Open but lost in straight sets to eventual champion Marin Čilić. At the Davis Cup semifinals, Federer won both his singles matches against Italy in straight sets and led Switzerland to the final for the first time since 1992.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer then played in the Shanghai Masters. He beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, ending the Serb's 28-match unbeaten run on Chinese soil. He battled Frenchman Gilles Simon in his second Shanghai final, defeating him in two tiebreak sets and collected the 23rd Masters title of his career. The victory saw Federer return to the No. 2 ranking for the first time since May 2013. Federer then played the Swiss Indoors in October, where he won a record sixth title and his 82nd ATP men's singles title overall. Federer also reached the finals of the 2014 ATP Finals to face Djokovic again, but withdrew from the final because of another back injury from his semifinal match against Stan Wawrinka.


title: Roger Federer

text: Despite his injury, Federer finished the season on a high by defeating Richard Gasquet to clinch the Davis Cup for Switzerland for the first time in its history. The final was held at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, France attracting over 27,000 spectators per match; this broke attendance record for the highest ever officially sanctioned competition tennis match.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer started his season at the Brisbane International. He defeated Milos Raonic in the final, thereby becoming only the third man in the Open Era to have 1,000 or more wins, joining Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl, as well as the first man in the Open Era to win at least one title in each of 15 consecutive years. In Dubai, Federer successfully defended his title with a straight-set victory over Novak Djokovic in the final, marking his seventh title at the tournament and, after Wimbledon and Halle, was the third time he had won seven or more titles in a tournament. Additionally, Federer became the fourth person since 1991 to surpass 9,000 career aces. In March, he reached the final of the Indian Wells but lost in three sets to defending champion Djokovic.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer won his third title of the season at the inaugural Istanbul Open clay-court tournament, ending a title drought on red clay since the 2009 French Open. Federer made it to the final of the Italian Open in May, but was unable to win his first title there, losing to Djokovic in the final. In the French Open, he made it through the first rounds losing just one set, to Gaël Monfils in the 4th. In the quarterfinals, he was eventually beaten in straight sets by the later champion Stan Wawrinka.


title: Roger Federer

text: As the new expanded grass season began, Federer won his record eighth Gerry Weber Open and become only the third man in the Open Era to win a title eight times. Federer entered Wimbledon as the second seed. He played a flawless match to defeat Andy Murray in straight sets in the semifinals and advance to his tenth Wimbledon final in a repeat against Novak Djokovic. Federer lost the match in four sets.


title: Roger Federer

text: He defeated Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win the Cincinnati Masters for the seventh time. This marked the first time that Federer defeated the top two players in the world at the same event. At the US Open, he advanced to his first final there since 2009 without dropping a set, including a win over Stan Wawrinka in the semifinals. In the final, he was once again beaten by top seed Djokovic in four sets. At the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel, Federer won his sixth singles title of the year, and his 88th ATP title, defeating his old rival Rafael Nadal in the final. It was the seventh time he won his hometown tournament.


title: Roger Federer

text: In December, Federer announced that he would enter the 2016 ATP Tour season with a new-look coaching team, having additionally announced that Stefan Edberg would not be travelling with him next year. While countryman Severin Lüthi remained Federer's head coach, joining the team in 2016 was Croatian former world No. 3 player Ivan Ljubičić. Federer revealed that Edberg originally signed on to the coaching team for one season only in 2014 but agreed to stay on in 2015.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer started his season in the Brisbane International as the defending champion, despite having a virus when the tournament started. However, in a rematch of the previous year's final, he lost in the final to Milos Raonic in straight sets. Federer then participated at the 2016 Australian Open and rebounded from his third round defeat by Andreas Seppi in 2015 by reaching the semifinals but lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in four sets. The day after his loss to Djokovic, Federer sustained a knee injury and in early February, he underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee and missed the tournaments in Rotterdam, Dubai, and Indian Wells in February and March. He was scheduled to return to action in Miami. Due to a stomach virus he had to withdraw from the Miami Open thus prolonging his time on the sidelines.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer made his comeback at the Monte-Carlo Masters, losing in the quarterfinals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three sets. In Madrid, he suffered a back injury during practice and withdrew shortly after arriving. He then participated in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia where he lost in the third round to Dominic Thiem. His withdrawal from the French Open broke a record run of 65 consecutive participations in the main draw of Grand Slam tournaments, stretching back to the 2000 Australian Open.


title: Roger Federer

text: Still suffering from recurring knee pain during the grass season he lost in the semifinals of Stuttgart and Halle. On 6 July, he came back from two sets down to defeat Marin Čilić in five sets in the 2016 Wimbledon quarterfinals, equalling Jimmy Connors' all-time records of eleven Wimbledon semifinals and 84 match wins. He suffered his first defeat in a Wimbledon semifinal two days later in a five-set loss to Raonic, re-injuring his knee in the fifth set.


title: Roger Federer

text: On 26 July, Federer announced that he would miss the 2016 Summer Olympics and the remainder of the 2016 season to fully recover from his knee injury. The sudden withdrawal not only implied that 2016 was his first season since 2000 that Federer failed to win a title, but it also meant that he would have to drop out of top ten for the first time in fourteen years. This, combined with a grand slam drought spanning over four years, led to many analysts believing that his outstanding career was finally coming to an end and he would never win any major titles again.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer's 2017 season marked a return to Grand Slam wins since 2012, the most titles since 2007, and the highest win percentage since 2006. Statistically, this season was his best since 2007.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer played in the Hopman Cup and Australian Open in January 2017. His withdrawal from most of the injury affected 2016 season lead his ranking slip to No. 17 at the start of Australian Open, his lowest in over fifteen years. At the Australian Open, he beat top-10 players Tomáš Berdych and Kei Nishikori on his way to semifinals, making Federer the oldest man to compete in a grand slam semi-final since Jimmy Connors in 1991. In the semi-finals, he defeated Stanislas Wawrinka in five sets, making him the oldest player to compete in a Grand Slam final since Ken Rosewall in 1974. Coming back from a break down in the fifth set, Federer defeated Rafael Nadal to win the Australian Open, which also marked Federer's 100th match at the Australian Open; it was the first time Federer had won a match against Nadal in a Grand Slam event since the 2007 Wimbledon final, and also marked Federer's first ever Grand Slam victory over Nadal outside the grass courts of Wimbledon. With this victory, he re-entered the top ten.


title: Roger Federer

text: In March, Federer won his 25th Masters title at Indian Wells, defeating Wawrinka in the final and gaining another victory over Nadal in the 4th round. This was also Federer's 90th career title and he climbed to No. 6 in the ATP rankings. Federer collected his 26th Masters title by defeating Nadal in the final of the Miami Masters in straight sets and climbed to No. 4 in the ATP rankings. This marked the third time Federer had won in Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back, colloquially referred to as the Sunshine Double (2005, 2006 and 2017).


title: Roger Federer

text: Due to concerns about his longevity, Federer decided that he would skip the entire clay-court season. He returned to the tour at the beginning of the grass-court season in Stuttgart, where he suffered a shock defeat to Tommy Haas in the second round despite holding match points, the lowest-ranked player (No. 302) to beat him since No. 407 Bjoern Phau in 1999. He rebounded the following week by winning a record-extending ninth title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, doing so without the loss of a set. In the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, Federer made it to the final without dropping a set, defeating Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals and Tomáš Berdych in the semifinals. In the final, Federer defeated a physically and mentally out of sorts Marin Čilić in straight sets to win a record-breaking eighth Wimbledon gentlemen's singles title and his record-extending 19th major title overall, becoming the oldest male player to win Wimbledon in the Open era. Federer became the second man in the Open era to win Wimbledon without dropping a set after Björn Borg in 1976. It marked the second time in his career that he had won a grand slam tournament without losing a set, matching his performance at the 2007 Australian Open. Federer moved up to become No. 3 in the ATP rankings after the event and qualified for the ATP Finals for a record 15th time.


title: Roger Federer

text: At the opening of the summer hard court swing Federer was defeated in the final of the Montreal Masters by Alexander Zverev after injuring his back during the match. Due to the injury, he opted to withdraw from the Cincinnati Masters to be fit for the US Open. However, Federer lost to del Potro in the quarterfinals at the US Open, in a tournament characterized by inconsistent play from Federer, unlike the major portion of the season.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer's next participation was in September in the inaugural Laver Cup, representing team Europe. Federer won both his singles matches against Sam Querrey and Nick Kyrgios, with the latter win sealing the cup for Europe. The tournament was also notable for Federer playing doubles teaming with longtime rival Nadal for the first time. The two legends emerged victorious against world duo of Sam Querrey and Jack Sock.


title: Roger Federer

text: At the Shanghai Masters Federer captured his third Masters title of the season, defeating No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the final. This was Federer's fifth straight victory over Nadal in their rivalry and his 94th career title, drawing him level with 2nd-placed Ivan Lendl. During the indoor season, Federer defeated Juan Martín del Potro in the final of his hometown tournament, the Swiss Indoors in Basel, earning a record eighth championship there and winning his 95th career title, surpassing Ivan Lendl in number of career titles. Federer qualified for the 2017 ATP Finals, but was beaten by David Goffin in the semifinals in three sets.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer started his season winning the Hopman Cup partnering with Belinda Bencic. This was his second Hopman Cup title, having won previously in 2001 with Martina Hingis. At the 2018 Australian Open, Federer reached the final without dropping a set, and successfully defended his title beating Marin Čilić in a five-set final. It was Federer's sixth title at the Australian Open, equaling the then record held by Roy Emerson and Novak Djokovic, which was surpassed by Djokovic in 2019. He also became the first man to win twenty Grand Slam titles. It was also the first time since the 2008 US Open that Federer successfully defended a major title.


title: Roger Federer

text: In mid-February, Federer won his third Rotterdam Open title to return to No. 1 in the ATP rankings, clinching the spot with a quarterfinal victory over Robin Haase. He beat Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets in the final. At 36 years and 195 days of age, he became the oldest ATP world No. 1 by more than three years. He also broke the ATP record for the longest span between a player's first and last weeks to attain the No. 1 ranking at 14 years and 17 days apart, as well as the most time between two successive reigns at No. 1 at 5 years and 106 days.


title: Roger Federer

text: In March, Federer entered the Indian Wells Masters as defending champion. He defeated Chung Hyeon in the quarterfinals, ensuring that he retained the world No. 1 ranking, and Borna Ćorić in the semifinals, solidifying a career-best start to a season at 17–0. His previous best season start was n 16–0 during the 2006 season. Despite holding three championship points, Federer was defeated by Juan Martín del Potro in a close three-set final. At the Miami Open Federer received a first-round bye, but lost in the second round to Thanasi Kokkinakis. With this early exit from the tournament, Federer lost his No. 1 ranking to Nadal on 2 April. He announced that he would miss the clay court season, including the French Open, for the second consecutive season. Nevertheless, he regained the No. 1 ranking in May after Nadal failed to defend one of his Masters titles at the Madrid Open. He then lost the top spot the following week after Nadal won the title at the Italian Open.


title: Roger Federer

text: In June, Federer regained the No. 1 ranking after defeating Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals at the Stuttgart Open. He won the tournament, defeating Milos Raonic in the final in straight sets. However, he lost his No. 1 ranking the following week when he failed to defend his Halle Open title, losing in the final to Borna Ćorić in three sets. At Wimbledon, Federer was looking to defend his 2017 title and was seeded first at a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2012 US Open but lost in the quarterfinals against South African Kevin Anderson in five sets, despite winning the first two sets and having a match point in the third set. This was only his second Wimbledon defeat after winning the first two sets, the other being his defeat to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer next played in Cincinnati where he lost in the final to Novak Djokovic, who won a record Career Golden Masters, in straight sets. The loss ended Federer's run of 100 consecutive service holds and 14-match winning streak in Cincinnati. Federer entered the US Open as the second seed but was upset by John Millman in the 4th round, citing extreme conditions of heat and humidity that took a toll on his body. Federer then played at the Laver Cup where he successfully helped Team Europe defend their title, winning both his singles matches against Nick Kyrgios and John Isner. He also paired up with Djokovic for the first time in doubles, losing their match against Jack Sock and Kevin Anderson in three sets. Federer then played at the 2018 Shanghai Masters as the defending champion but lost in the semifinals to Borna Ćorić in straight sets.


title: Roger Federer

text: At the Swiss Indoors in October, Federer shared that he had sustained a hand injury in training prior to the grass season that had caused severe pain up his forearm. He stated that this injury significantly hindered his play, particularly his forehand, since the Stuttgart Open. Federer went on to defend his title with a straight-sets win over Marius Copil in the final, winning his ninth title at the event and his 99th career singles title. Federer entered the Paris Masters, continuing his good run of form defeating Fabio Fognini and Kei Nishikori in straight sets. In the semi-finals, he played a very close match with Novak Djokovic, but ultimately lost to him in three sets. At the Nitto ATP Finals, Federer lost in straight sets to Alexander Zverev in the semifinal.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer opened his campaign by retaining the Hopman Cup alongside Belinda Bencic, becoming the first player to win the mixed-gender event three times.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer was seeded third at the 2019 Australian Open, entering as the two-time defending champion. He defeated Denis Istomin, Dan Evans, and Taylor Fritz to reach the fourth round, where he faced 14th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. In a stunning upset, Tsitsipas defeated Federer in four close sets. Critically, Federer was unable to convert any of the twelve break points he held throughout the match, including four set points in the second set. After the match Federer announced he would play the clay court season for the first time since 2016.


title: Roger Federer

text: At the Dubai Tennis Championships Federer won his 100th Career Singles Title, beating Tsitsipas in straight sets in the final. It was his eighth title in Dubai and he became only the second man after Jimmy Connors to reach the three figure mark in the Open Era. Federer then reached the final of the 2019 Indian Wells Masters where he lost to Dominic Thiem in three sets. On 31 March, Federer defeated John Isner at the 2019 Miami Open in straights sets to win his 4th Miami Open title and 28th Masters title. Federer then played his first clay court tournament in three years at the 2019 Madrid Open and secured his 1200th career win, beating Gaël Monfils in the third round. In the quarterfinals he lost to Dominic Thiem again in three sets, despite having two match points in the second set.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer then played at the Italian Open and reached the quarterfinals but was forced to withdraw from his quarterfinal match against Stefanos Tsitsipas due to a right leg injury.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer next played at the French Open for the first time in 4 years and seeded 3rd in the draw. Federer achieved comfortable straight-set victories against Lorenzo Sonego, Oscar Otte, Casper Ruud and Leonardo Mayer to reach the quarterfinals, where he faced good friend and compatriot Stan Wawrinka. Federer managed to avenge his loss to Wawrinka at the same stage of the tournament 4 years ago, winning in 4 sets after 3 hours and 35 minutes. With the victory Federer returned to the semifinals of the French Open for the first time since 2012, where he lost to defending and 11-time champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer then began his grass court season at the Halle Open where he won his tenth title at the event, defeating David Goffin in the final in straight sets. This marked the first time Federer had won a singles tournament ten times or more. At Wimbledon, Roger Federer reached his record 12th final at the tournament after ousting his nemesis Rafael Nadal in four sets in the semifinal; thus, exacting revenge for his earlier defeat to him at the French Open. This was also the first time Federer played Nadal at Wimbledon since the 2008 Wimbledon final, a match regarded by some as the greatest match in the history of tennis. Federer then faced Novak Djokovic in the final, against whom he lost in a five set thriller lasting 4 hours and 57 minutes, despite having two championship points on serve in the fifth set. The match also marked the first time a fifth set tiebreaker was played at 12 games all in the men's singles and was the longest men's final in Wimbledon history.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer next played at the 2019 Cincinnati Masters and reached the third round where he lost in straight sets to Andrey Rublev. This was his quickest defeat in 16 years, taking just 62 minutes. At the 2019 US Open, he was seeded third. He dropped the first set against both Sumit Nagal and Damir Džumhur in the first two rounds, but pulled out convincing straight sets wins over Dan Evans and David Goffin in the third and fourth. In the quarterfinals, he faced Grigor Dimitrov, who was ranked No. 78 going into the tournament. Despite taking a two sets to one lead, Federer ultimately lost the match in five sets. At the 2019 Shanghai Masters, Federer defeated David Goffin in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals. However, he lost the quarterfinal to Alexander Zverev in three sets.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer advanced to the Swiss Indoors as the two-time defending champion. His first round match, against Peter Gojowczyk, was remarkable for being the 1500th match of his career. In the final, he defeated Alex de Minaur in straight sets for a record-extending tenth Swiss Indoors title. Federer then played in the Björn Borg group at the 2019 ATP Finals where in the round robin, he lost his opening match to Dominic Thiem in straight sets but beat Matteo Berrettini and Djokovic (his first win over Djokovic since 2015) in straight sets to qualify for the semifinals. He then lost the semifinal to Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer began his 2020 season at the 2020 Australian Open. He reached the semifinals after straight sets wins over Steve Johnson and Filip Krajinović, a five-set win over John Millman and a four-set win over Márton Fucsovics. Federer saved seven match points in his five-set quarterfinal win over Tennys Sandgren. Federer then lost his semifinal match to Djokovic in straight sets, having sustained a groin injury earlier in the tournament. In February, Federer underwent arthroscopic surgery for a right knee injury and subsequently withdrew from the Dubai Championships, Indian Wells, Miami Open, and the French Open to give time for his knee to recover, announcing that he would return in the grass season. On 10 June, due to a setback from his initial rehabilitation from the knee injury suffered earlier in the year, Federer announced that he had to have an additional arthroscopic procedure on his right knee. He officially shut down his season to take the necessary time to recover, vowing to return in 2021. This was only the second year in Federer's career since he won his first title that he finished without a title.


title: Roger Federer

text: In January, Federer withdrew from the 2021 Australian Open due to still recovering from knee surgery and strict COVID-19 quarantine measures in Australia. On 8 March, Novak Djokovic surpassed him for the most career weeks spent as the ATP number 1 ranked player. On 10 March, he made his return to the ATP Tour at the Qatar Open. He won his first ATP match in 14 months against Dan Evans, but lost to Nikoloz Basilashvili in the quarterfinals.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer then played at the Geneva Open where he lost his opening match to Pablo Andújar in three sets. After defeating Dominik Koepfer of Germany in four sets in the third round, Federer advanced to the fourth round at the French Open. However, he withdrew from the tournament before his fourth-round match citing knee problems, giving a walkover to Matteo Berrettini of Italy.


title: Roger Federer

text: In 2021 Halle Open where he was seeded fifth, he lost in the second round to Félix Auger-Aliassime. Federer was playing against the 20-year-old for the first time. Their 19-year age difference was the biggest in Federer's 1,521 career matches. This was the earliest exit at this tournament for Federer who was seeking his 70th match win in Halle, and his 18th quarterfinal at this event in as many appearances. At Wimbledon, 39-year-old Federer advanced to the quarterfinals and thus became the oldest Wimbledon quarterfinalist in the Open Era, breaking the record held by Ken Rosewall, following wins over Adrian Mannarino by retirement, Richard Gasquet, 29th seed Cameron Norrie, and 23rd seed Lorenzo Sonego. However, he was then upset by 14th seed Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinal in straight sets. This was the first time in 19 years at Wimbledon he had lost in straight sets, and only the second time he had lost a set 6–0 in the 21st century (the previous occasion was against Nadal in the 2008 French Open final).


title: Roger Federer

text: On 15 August, Federer announced that he underwent another knee surgery after further injury during the grass court season. He withdrew from the US Open and stated that he would be off the tour for "many months," but he hoped to make a return to the tour in 2022.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer did not play after Wimbledon 2021, and dropped out of the top 50 on 13 June 2022. On 11 July 2022, he became unranked for the first time since his professional debut.


title: Roger Federer

text: However, Federer announced that he was set to return to the tour at the 2022 Laver Cup in September. On 15 September 2022, he announced his impending retirement from professional tennis on the ATP Tour, noting that the Laver Cup would be his final ATP event. He stated that he "will play more tennis in the future, of course, but just not in Grand Slams or on the tour." His final match resulted in a loss in doubles partnering long-time rival and friend Rafael Nadal, against Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe. The match was his 1750th on the tour.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer made his Olympic debut at Sydney in 2000, where he entered the singles competition. He surprised many by reaching the semifinals, where he lost to Tommy Haas and then to Arnaud Di Pasquale in the bronze medal match, causing Federer to leave Sydney empty-handed. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Federer was the clear favorite after claiming the world No. 1 ranking earlier in the year and capturing the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles. However, he lost in the second round to 18-year-old Tomáš Berdych. In doubles, he and compatriot Yves Allegro lost in the second round.


title: Roger Federer

text: At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Federer was again the top seed and favorite in singles, but lost in the quarterfinals to James Blake. He found more success in men's doubles, winning the gold medal with compatriot Stan Wawrinka, defeating Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson of Sweden. At both the Athens and Beijing Olympics, Federer was the flagbearer for Switzerland in the opening ceremony. At the London 2012 Olympics Federer entered again as the top seed and won his first singles medal, a silver to Andy Murray in the final. He and Wawrinka failed to defend their gold medal in doubles, losing in the second round to Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram of Israel.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer did not compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics after taking the rest of the season off after Wimbledon to recover from a knee injury. Similarly, Federer chose not to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to a setback to recovering from a knee surgery.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer made his Davis Cup debut for Switzerland in the World Group first round against Italy in 1999 at 17 years of age. In his first match he defeated Davide Sanguinetti in four sets and recorded a second singles victory in a dead rubber two days later for Switzerland to advance to the World Group quarterfinals. There, Federer suffered his first Davis Cup loss when he was defeated by Belgian Christophe Van Garsse in five sets. The Swiss team went on to lose the rubber 3–2. A year later, Federer competed in his first Davis Cup doubles rubber where he teamed with countryman Lorenzo Manta to defeat Australians Wayne Arthurs and Sandon Stolle in four sets. Despite the doubles victory, Federer lost both singles rubbers to Mark Philippoussis and Lleyton Hewitt which sent Switzerland to the World Group Playoffs for the first time in Federer's career. He returned for the playoffs in July 2000 and led Switzerland to a 5–0 win over Belarus, recording wins in singles and doubles.


title: Roger Federer

text: His first Davis Cup highlight came in 2003 as the newly crowned Wimbledon champion led his country to an historic semifinal run. After recording five wins in ties against the Netherlands and France, the Swiss team traveled to Melbourne to play the highly rated Australians. Federer once again defeated Wimbledon runner-up Mark Philippoussis in the second rubber but dropped the doubles rubber in five sets. Federer then played Lleyton Hewitt in a sudden death situation for Switzerland and despite leading two sets to love, lost in five sets. Australia went on to claim the Davis Cup title as Federer's interest in Davis Cup began to wane and his focus shifted to his personal career. He skipped many ties over the years but often competed in the World Group Playoffs in order for Switzerland to maintain their place in the top division.


title: Roger Federer

text: The emergence of countryman Stanislas Wawrinka as a Grand Slam singles champion in 2014 renewed hope for Federer in his Davis Cup quest, and the pair both committed to playing each tie that year. Their commitment paid off as wins over Serbia, Kazakhstan and Italy allowed the Swiss team to advance to the 2014 Davis Cup Final. Leading up to the final, Federer was suffering from a back injury that threw serious doubt over Switzerland's chance to claim the title, and lost in straight sets to Gaël Monfils. However, a rejuvenated Federer returned the next day to help claim the doubles rubber, which set up a fourth rubber singles tie between Federer and Richard Gasquet. Federer defeated Gasquet in straight sets and in doing so won Switzerland its first (and only to date) Davis Cup title.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer holds many Davis Cup records for Switzerland that includes most total wins, most singles wins and most years played.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer won the Hopman Cup in 2001 representing Switzerland, along with Martina Hingis. The duo defeated the American pair of Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill in the finals.


title: Roger Federer

text: He also played the next year along with his current wife Mirka Vavrinec, but they lost in the round robin stage.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer played at the Hopman Cup again in 2017 with Belinda Bencic. They won all of their ties except the last one, and as a result did not make the final.


title: Roger Federer

text: In 2018, Federer won his second Hopman Cup title and third overall for Switzerland, partnering Belinda Bencic again. The Swiss team won all its ties and Federer won every match he played. They defeated the German pair, Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber, in the final 2–1.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer won his third and second consecutive Hopman Cup title in 2019 alongside Belinda Bencic. They again defeated Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber of Germany in the final, and won the final tie 2–1 by a tiebreak in the decisive set (5–4). Federer again won all of his singles matches. The Swiss team only lost one tie to Greece (1–2).


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer founded the Laver Cup, which pits Europe against the rest of the world. The tournament is named in honor of Rod Laver and the inaugural edition was played in 2017.


title: Roger Federer

text: Europe won the inaugural Laver Cup in 2017. Federer played his first singles match on day two, when he dispatched Sam Querrey in straight sets. Later on day two, he partnered with his long-time rival Rafael Nadal in doubles, where they defeated the Team World duo of Sam Querrey and Jack Sock in the match tie breaker, which took place at one set all. This was the first time Federer and Nadal competed on the same side of a doubles match. On day three, Federer competed in the final match of the tournament, where he sealed victory for Team Europe by defeating Nick Kyrgios in the champion's tiebreak (saving a match point). With three wins and seven points, Federer was the most accomplished player of the tournament.


title: Roger Federer

text: The second edition was played in 2018. The European team led by Federer retained the title after defeating Team World, 13–8. Federer won both his singles matches, against Nick Kyrgios and John Isner, but lost both his doubles matches, one of which was partnering with his long-time rival Novak Djokovic.


title: Roger Federer

text: In 2019, the ATP announced that the Laver Cup would be an official event on the ATP Tour, with match wins and losses to be counted as official on every player's career record in singles and doubles.


title: Roger Federer

text: The third edition was held in Geneva, Switzerland. Federer and the European team captured their third consecutive title. Team World was closer than ever to win their first title, losing 11–13 after having led during the final day. Like in 2018, Federer won singles matches against Kyrgios and Isner. He went 1–1 in doubles.


title: Roger Federer

text: The 2022 edition marked Federer's final professional-level tournament. He played alongside long-time rivals and fellow Big Four members Nadal, Djokovic, and Andy Murray, and his final match was in doubles partnering Rafael Nadal.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer and Rafael Nadal played 40 times, with Federer trailing 16–24. Federer has a winning record on grass 3–1 and hard courts 11–9, while Nadal leads on clay 14–2. Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 24 of their matches were in tournament finals which have included an all-time record nine major finals (tied with Djokovic–Nadal matches). Federer and Nadal played each other from 2004 to 2019, and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers. The last encounter was at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, where Federer won to reach the final.


title: Roger Federer

text: They held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 until 17 August 2009, when Nadal fell to No. 3 (Andy Murray became the new No. 2), and again from 11 September 2017 until 15 October 2018 (Novak Djokovic became the new No. 2). They are the only pair of men to have ever finished six consecutive calendar years at the top. Federer was ranked No. 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held it for 160 consecutive weeks, before surpassing Federer in August 2008.


title: Roger Federer

text: From 2006 to 2008, they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final. They then met in the 2009 Australian Open final, the 2011 French Open final, and the 2017 Australian Open final. Nadal won six of the nine, losing the first two Wimbledon finals and the second Australian Open final. Four of these finals were five-set matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 and 2017 Australian Open), with the 2008 Wimbledon final being lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts. Of their 40 meetings, 13 reached a deciding set. They have also played in 12 Masters finals, including their lone five-hour match at the 2006 Rome Masters which Nadal won in a fifth-set tie-break, having saved two match points.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer and Novak Djokovic played 50 times, with Federer trailing 23–27. They are tied 4–4 on clay while Federer trails 18–20 on hard-courts and 1–3 on grass. The Federer–Djokovic rivalry is the most prolific rivalry in men's major history with a joint-record 17 matches played against each other (tied with Djokovic–Nadal). Djokovic is the only player besides Nadal to defeat Federer in consecutive majors (2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open, also 2015 Wimbledon, US Open and 2016 Australian Open), and the only player besides Nadal and Murray who has double-figure career wins over Federer. Djokovic is one of two players (the other again being Nadal) on tour to have defeated Federer in straight sets at a major multiple times (2008 Australian Open, 2011 Australian Open, 2012 French Open, 2020 Australian Open), but Djokovic alone has done so four times.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer and Djokovic first played in a Grand Slam final at the 2007 US Open where the three-time defending champion and No. 1 Federer emerged victorious in straight sets. Federer ended Djokovic's perfect 41–0 start to the 2011 season in the semifinals of the French Open, but Djokovic avenged this loss at the 2011 US Open in five sets after saving two match points against Federer for the second straight year. In the semifinals of Wimbledon 2012, Federer beat defending champion and No. 1 Djokovic in four sets. The two met again during the finals of the 2014 Wimbledon Championships with Djokovic emerging victorious after five sets. Federer also ended Djokovic's 28 straight wins in China at 2014 Shanghai Open. Federer and Djokovic rematched in the 2015 Wimbledon Championships with Djokovic once again claiming victory in four sets. The pair met once more for the final major of the season, the 2015 US Open and once more Djokovic prevailed in four sets. At the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, Djokovic bested Federer in an almost 5-hour match, whose final set went to a tiebreak. This was the fifth consecutive time that Djokovic defeated Federer in Grand Slam matches. Some experts have included the rivalry between Federer and Djokovic as one of the best rivalries in the Open Era.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer and Andy Murray played 25 times, with Federer leading 14–11. Federer leads 12–10 on hard courts, and 2–1 on grass; they never met on clay. After Federer won the first professional match they played, Murray dominated the first half of the rivalry, leading 8–5 in 2010, while the second half of the rivalry was dominated by Federer, who leads 9–3 from 2011 onwards. The two have met six times at the majors, with Federer leading 5–1. Their first three major matches were finals, with Federer winning all three of these matches; at the 2008 US Open and the 2010 Australian Open, both of which he won in straight sets, and at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships in which Murray took the opening set, but went on to lose in four sets. However, Murray won their encounter in the semifinals of the 2013 Australian Open, defeating Federer for the first time at a major in five sets. At the 2014 Australian Open, Federer reversed that result, defeating Murray in four sets in the quarterfinals. The final meeting between the two in a major was in the semifinals of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, where a dominant Federer triumphed in straight sets.


title: Roger Federer

text: They met in the final of the 2012 Summer Olympics, in which Murray defeated Federer in straight sets, denying Federer a career Golden Slam. Murray also leads 6–3 in ATP 1000 tournaments, 2–0 in finals. They have also met five times at the ATP Finals, with Murray winning in Shanghai in 2008, and Federer in London in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2014. Murray is one of only three players to have recorded ten or more victories over Federer (the other two being Nadal and Djokovic).


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer and Andy Roddick played 24 times, and Federer leads their head-to-head 21–3. Roddick lost his No. 1 ranking to Federer after Federer won his first Australian Open in 2004. Their rivalry includes four Grand Slam event finals, three at Wimbledon and one at the US Open, all won by Federer. Roddick himself said it was not much of a rivalry, being so one-sided.


title: Roger Federer

text: In the 2009 Wimbledon final, Roddick lost to Federer in five sets. The match included a 30-game fifth set (a Grand Slam final record) and lasted over four hours. In the final game of the deciding set, Roddick's serve was broken for the first time in the match. With that victory, Federer broke Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam singles titles, and Roddick apologised to Sampras (who was in attendance) for not being able to stop Federer.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer and Lleyton Hewitt played 27 times, with Federer leading 18–9. Early in their careers, Hewitt dominated Federer, winning seven of their first nine meetings, including a victory from two sets down in the 2003 Davis Cup semifinal which allowed Australia to defeat Switzerland. This marked a turning point in the rivalry, as Federer won 16 of the next 18 meetings from 2004 onwards. This is Hewitt's longest rivalry as these two first played each other as juniors in 1996. They met in one Grand Slam tournament final, the 2004 US Open final, where Federer won his first US Open title in a lopsided encounter in which Federer scored a bagel on both sides of a second-set tiebreak. Federer met Hewitt at six of the Grand Slam tournaments in which he lifted the trophy, including all five of his triumphs between 2004 and 2005. Their last meeting was at the 2014 Brisbane International, where Hewitt triumphed over Federer in three sets for his first title since 2010, when he also beat Federer to the Halle title.


title: Roger Federer

text: Hewitt and Federer teamed up in the men's doubles at Wimbledon in 1999. They lost in the third round to Jonas Björkman and Pat Rafter.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer and David Nalbandian played 19 times, with Federer leading 11–8. David Nalbandian was Federer's biggest rival in his early career. Nalbandian dominated early on, winning their first five matches from 2002 to 2003. Federer reversed this trend at the 2003 Masters Cup, where he recorded his first victory, and went on to win 11 of their last 14 meetings. Federer leads 6–5 on hard courts, 1–0 on grass, and 3–1 on clay courts, while Nalbandian leads 2–1 on carpet. Notable meetings include Nalbandian's win in a fifth-set tiebreaker to win the 2005 Masters Cup, and Federer's win in the 2006 French Open semifinals. They met each other six times in Grand Slam tournaments, with Federer leading 4–2.


title: Roger Federer

text: Marat Safin and Federer played 12 times, with Federer leading 10–2. Federer and Safin turned pro within one year of each other, with Safin turning pro in 1997 and Federer in 1998. Federer leads 4–1 on hard courts, 3–0 on grass, and 3–0 on clay courts, while Safin leads 1–0 on carpet. Notable meetings include Federer's defeating Safin at the 2002 Hamburg Masters to win the first Masters title of his career, as well as Federer's emerging victorious in the semifinals of the 2004 Tennis Masters Cup, after winning a tiebreak 20–18 on his eighth match point. Federer also defeated Safin in the finals of the 2004 Australian Open to capture his first Australian Open and second Grand Slam tournament title. However, Safin defeated Federer in the 2005 Australian Open semifinals, having saved one match point in the fourth-set tiebreak, to end a 26-match winning streak by Federer. They met each other five times in Grand Slam tournaments, with Federer leading 4–1.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer and Andre Agassi played 11 times, and Federer leads their head-to-head 8–3. This was Federer's most significant rivalry with a dominant player of the previous generation. They first met in only the third tournament of Federer's career at the 1998 Swiss Indoors in Federer's hometown, with Andre Agassi prevailing over the 17-year-old. Agassi also defeated Federer at the 2001 US Open and the finals of the Miami Masters in 2002. Federer began to turn the tide at the Masters Cup in 2003, when he defeated Agassi in both the round robin and the final. They played a memorable quarterfinal match at the 2004 US Open that spanned over two days, with Federer eventually prevailing in five sets. At the 2005 Dubai Championships, Federer and Agassi attracted worldwide headlines with a publicity stunt that saw the two men play on a helipad almost 220 meters above sea level at the hotel Burj al-Arab. Their final match was at one of the most prestigious platforms in the sport when they played in the finals of the 2005 US Open. Federer was victorious in four sets, claiming the 6th Grand Slam tournament of his career and denying Agassi his 9th.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer and his countryman Stan Wawrinka played each other 26 times, with Federer leading 23–3. Federer leads 7–1 in majors, 17–0 on hard courts, 1–0 on grass courts and 5–3 on clay courts. The pair are 1–1 in finals. Their first meeting in a final came at 2014 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters where Wawrinka defeated Federer in three sets to win his first Masters title before Federer avenged his loss at the 2017 BNP Paribas Open by beating him in the final. While the rivalry is one-sided in Federer's favour, the two contested some close matches. Wawrinka defeated Federer in straight sets during the 2015 French Open quarterfinals en route to winning his first French Open title, although Federer then won a straight-sets victory in the 2015 US Open semifinals. Other close matches include the 2012 Shanghai Masters and the 2013 Indian Wells Masters, both of which Federer won in three sets, the 2014 Wimbledon quarterfinal, which Federer won in four sets, the 2014 ATP Finals semifinal, which Federer won in three sets after saving four match points, and the 2017 Australian Open semifinal, which Federer won in five sets. Despite their on-court rivalry, they are friends off court, and played doubles together on numerous occasions, most notably when they won the doubles Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and when winning the 2014 Davis Cup.


title: Roger Federer

text: Juan Martín del Potro and Roger Federer played 25 times, with Federer leading 18–7. They met seven times in majors, with Federer leading 5–2. Their two most famous major meetings came in 2009. The first was in the French Open semifinals, when Federer survived a five-set clash on his way to the only French Open title of his career. The second was in the final of the US Open, where del Potro beat five-time defending champion Federer in five sets, ending his 20-match winning streak at majors. Another high-profile match was in the semifinals of the 2012 London Olympics, where Federer prevailed 19–17 in the final set to secure the Olympic silver medal. They also met in the finals of the Swiss Indoors in 2012, 2013 and 2017, with del Potro prevailing on first two occasions, and Federer on last one of them in tight three-set matches.


title: Roger Federer

text: In the 2017 US Open quarterfinals, in a rematch of the 2009 final, del Potro again beat Federer in four sets to end his unbeaten streak in majors that year. With this win, Del Potro also denied the first Federer–Nadal match at US Open, as in 2009 where he beat Nadal in straight sets in the semifinals. Federer, however avenged this loss at the Shanghai Masters semifinals, where he beat del Potro in three sets after coming from a set down. In the final at the 2018 BNP Paribas Open del Potro beat Federer in three close sets, after facing match points in the third set. With this win del Potro won his first Masters title of his career.


title: Roger Federer

text: Tomáš Berdych and Federer played 26 times, with Federer leading 20–6. Federer leads 12–5 on hard courts, 3–1 on grass courts, 4–0 on clay courts, and 1–0 on carpet. Berdych won their first professional match, notably upsetting then-No. 1 Federer at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Federer then went on to win their next eight meetings, before Berdych ended the losing streak in 2010. Between 2010 and 2013, Berdych won 5 of 8 meetings. Federer again dominated the matchup after 2014, leading 9–0 since then. They met ten times in Grand Slam tournaments, with Federer leading 8–2, and Berdych is one of five players, along with Arnaud Clément, Álex Corretja, David Nalbandian, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, to defeat Federer multiple times in majors before the semifinal stage. Their most notable Grand Slam matches took place in the 2009 Australian Open, when Federer prevailed in five sets after dropping the first two sets, the 2010 Wimbledon Championships and the 2012 US Open, both of which Berdych won in four sets. Berdych went on to reach the only Grand Slam final of his career after the Wimbledon quarterfinal victory, ending Federer's run of seven consecutive finals at Wimbledon dating back to 2003.


title: Roger Federer

text: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Federer played 18 times, with Federer leading 12–6. Federer leads 5–3 on outdoor hard courts and 4–0 on indoor hard. They are 1–1 on grass and 2–2 on clay courts. The pair have met six times in majors, including their five-set matches in the quarterfinals of 2011 Wimbledon and 2013 Australian Open. They have also one major semifinal meeting in the 2010 Australian Open, with Federer winning in straight sets. Federer and Tsonga have played in the 2011 ATP Finals final, with Federer winning his record-sixth year-end championship in three sets. The pair have also met in two Masters finals. The first was in the 2011 BNP Paribas Masters, with Federer winning his first title in Bercy, and the second was in the 2014 Rogers Cup, with Tsonga winning his second Masters title.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer and Marin Čilić played 11 times, with Federer leading 10–1. Čilić's only victory came in the 2014 US Open semifinals, after which he went on to win his first major title. Their first encounter was in the 3rd round in the 2008 Paris Masters, which Federer won in straight sets. They have played six major matches, two in Wimbledon, two in the US Open, one at the 2018 Australian Open and one at the 2021 French Open; Federer leads these matches 5–1. Two of these have been major finals – the 2017 Wimbledon final, which Federer won in straight sets, and the 2018 Australian Open final, which Federer won in five sets.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer has won the third most Grand Slam tournament titles (20), trailing Rafael Nadal (22) and Novak Djokovic (21). He is the first men's singles player to have reached ten consecutive Grand Slam tournament finals and a total of 31 Grand Slam finals. He has earned a men's doubles gold medal, and a men's singles silver medal at the Olympics in 2008 and 2012, respectively. He has spent the second-most time at the top of the ATP rankings (310 weeks). He also holds the record, shared with Djokovic, for the most titles (6) at the year-end championships, where only the year-end eight highest-ranked players participate. Federer was ranked among the top eight players in the world continuously for 14 years and two weeks — from 14 October 2002 until 31 October 2016, when injuries forced him to skip much of the 2016 season.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer has won the ATP Player of the Year five times (2004–07, 2009), and has been named the ITF World Champion five times (2004–07, 2009). He has won the ATP Fans' Favourite award a record 18 times consecutively (2003–20), and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award (voted for by the players) a record 13 times (2004–09, 2011–17) — both indicative of respect and popularity. He also won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award twice (2006, 2013), the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award five times (2005–08, 2018), and the Laureus World Comeback of the Year award once, following his 2017 comeback season.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer is one of the founders, via his management company TEAM8, of the Laver Cup; the annual team tennis tournament which pits Europe against the rest of the world. He co-founded the tournament in honor of tennis legend Rod Laver and the inaugural edition was played in 2017.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer has huge popularity in the world of sport, and is widely considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, with many players and analysts in the period between 2009 and 2018 considering him to be the greatest player ever. He has also been called the greatest athlete of his generation. Tennis.com listed him as the greatest male player of the Open Era. Federer himself has downplayed these claims, stating in 2012 that it is impossible to compare tennis players from different eras and that past champions are needed to pave the way for future champions. In 2014, Frank Sedgman ranked Federer number two, behind Jack Kramer, in his greatest male tennis players of all-time list in his autobiography 'Game, Sedge and Match'. In May 2020, the Tennis Channel ranked Federer as the greatest male tennis player of all time. In May 2021, Serena Williams described Federer as a "genius" and the "greatest". In July 2021, BBC Sport users picked Federer as the greatest male tennis player of all time. During an interview with "L'Équipe" in July 2021, Richard Gasquet said 'aesthetics and grace' are more important than the number of Grand Slam titles when it comes to deciding who is the greatest. He named Federer, Djokovic and Nadal as the three best players in history, but singled out Roger Federer as the greatest.


title: Roger Federer

text: Until 2020, no other male tennis player had won 20 major singles titles (the record has since been surpassed by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic). Federer has also been in 31 major finals (one less than Novak Djokovic), including a record 10 in a row. He has held the world No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings for the second-longest amount of time for a male player, behind Djokovic. He was ranked No. 1 at the age of 36 and has won a record eight Wimbledon titles. He won five consecutive US Open titles, which is the most in the Open Era.


title: Roger Federer

text: He has been voted by his peers to receive the tour Sportsmanship Award a record 13 times and voted by tennis fans to receive the ATP Fans' Favorite award for 17 consecutive years. He has been named the Swiss Sports Personality of the Year a record seven times. He has been named the ATP Player of the Year and ITF World Champion five times, and has won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award a record five times, including four consecutive awards from 2005 to 2008. He is also the only person to win the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award four times.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer helped to lead a revival in tennis known by many as the Golden Age, leading to increased interest in the sport and higher revenues for many tennis venues. Rising revenues led to exploding prize money: When Federer first won the Australian Open in 2004, he earned $985,000. When he won in 2018, the prize had increased to AUD 4million.


title: Roger Federer

text: On winning the 2009 French Open and completing the career Grand Slam, Federer became the first male tennis player to grace the cover of "Sports Illustrated" since Andre Agassi in 1999. He was also the first non-American player to appear on the cover of the magazine since Stefan Edberg in 1992. He again made the cover of "Sports Illustrated" following his record-breaking 8th Wimbledon title and second Grand Slam of 2017, becoming the first male tennis player to be featured on the cover since himself in 2009.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer has been nicknamed the "Federer Express" (shortened to "Fed Express" or "FedEx"), and the "Swiss Maestro." He has also been referred to as "King Roger" on occasion.


title: Roger Federer

text: In 2003, he established the Roger Federer Foundation to help disadvantaged children and to promote their access to education and sport.


title: Roger Federer

text: Since May 2004, citing his close ties with South Africa (his mother is South African) he has been supporting the South Africa-Swiss charity IMBEWU, which helps children better connect to sports as well as social and health awareness. In 2005, he visited South Africa to meet children who had benefited from his support. Also in 2005, he auctioned his racquet from his US Open championship to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.


title: Roger Federer

text: At the 2005 Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Federer arranged an exhibition with several top players from the ATP and WTA tour called Rally for Relief, whose proceeds went to the victims of the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. In December 2006, he visited Tamil Nadu, one of the areas in India most affected by the tsunami. He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF in April 2006 and has appeared in UNICEF public messages to raise public awareness of AIDS.


title: Roger Federer

text: In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Federer arranged a collaboration with fellow top tennis players for a special charity event during the 2010 Australian Open called 'Hit for Haiti', whose proceeds went to Haiti earthquake victims. He participated in a follow-up charity exhibition during the 2010 Indian Wells Masters, which raised $1million.


title: Roger Federer

text: The Nadal vs. Federer "Match for Africa" in 2010 in Zürich and Madrid raised more than $4million for the Roger Federer Foundation and Fundación Rafa Nadal. In January 2011, Federer took part in Rally for Relief, an exhibition to raise money for the victims of the Queensland floods. In 2014, the "Match for Africa 2" between Federer and Stan Wawrinka, again in Zurich, raised £850,000 for education projects in Southern Africa.


title: Roger Federer

text: In 2007, Swiss Post in Basel released a special edition stamp for Federer. Three years later, in 2010, Federer was awarded a special edition stamp by Austria's Postal Service.


title: Roger Federer

text: In 2011, on the Reputation Institute's study of the World's most respected, admired and trusted personalities, Federer ranked No. 2 just behind Nelson Mandela but ahead of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey and Bono.


title: Roger Federer

text: In 2012, the city of Halle, in Germany, unveiled "Roger-Federer-Allee" in recognition of Federer's success on the grass at the Gerry Weber Open. In 2016, the city of Biel, Switzerland, location of the national centre for Swiss Tennis where Federer trained as a junior, named the street in his honour as "1 Allée Roger Federer".


title: Roger Federer

text: In July 2016, Federer ranked No. 1 in the list for the most recognizable people in Switzerland, surpassing personalities such as Albert Einstein and William Tell. In a poll of more than 9,000 people from 15 countries, Federer topped the list of most recognizable Swiss with 600 more votes than the country's second national hero, William Tell, who came up second. Federer got 916 votes, Tell got 316 and Einstein ranked third with 204. The other three in the first six were Henry Dunant, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and novel character Heidi.


title: Roger Federer

text: In January 2017, Federer named the Most Marketable Sports Person for 2016 by researchers of London School of Marketing. He earned £49.2 million in endorsements and sponsorships.


title: Roger Federer

text: On 24 November 2017, Federer received an honorary doctorate from his home university, the University of Basel, in recognition of his role in increasing the international reputation of Basel and Switzerland, and for his work for children in Africa through his charitable foundation.


title: Roger Federer

text: In December 2019, Federer became the first living person to be celebrated on Swiss coins. His face will be on the 20-franc coin and in May 2020, Swissmint issued a Federer 50-franc gold coin featuring a different design.


title: Roger Federer

text: In December 2019, Federer was voted by "GQ" readers as the Most Stylish Man of the Decade (2010–2019), ahead of celebrities including Timothée Chalamet, LeBron James, Harry Styles, David Beckham, Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Ryan Gosling.


title: Roger Federer

text: In 2020, Federer topped "Forbes" list of the world's highest paid athletes, with $106.3 million in total earnings from salary, winnings and endorsements. As of the 2021 list, he has also appeared in the top-10 every year since 2012.


title: Roger Federer

text: On 20 July 2020 Federer was featured by Swiss National Museum in their 100-part chronicle of Swiss history and culture.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer's versatility has been described by Jimmy Connors: "In an era of specialists, you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist... or you're Roger Federer."


title: Roger Federer

text: An elite athlete, Federer is an all-court, all-around player known for his speed, fluid style of play, and exceptional shot making. Federer mainly plays from the baseline but is also comfortable at the net, being one of the best volleyers in the game. He has a powerful, accurate smash and very effectively performs rare elements of professional tennis, such as the backhand smash and skyhook, half-volley, jump smash (slam dunk) and an aggressive serve return known affectionately as SABR (Sneak Attack By Roger, a half-volley attack on an opponent's second serve). David Foster Wallace compared the brute force of Federer's forehand motion with that of "a great liquid whip", while John McEnroe referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport." Federer is also known for his efficient, deceptively effortless movement around the court and excellent footwork, which enables him to run around shots directed to his backhand, usually considered his weaker wing, and instead hit a powerful and penetrating inside-out or inside-in forehand, one of his best shots. He also has great variety with his forehand, able to hit with topspin or pace (or both) in opening up the court and going into the forecourt for aggressive volleys.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer plays with a single-handed backhand, which gives him great variety. He employs the slice, occasionally using it to lure his opponent to the net and deliver a passing shot. Federer can also fire topspin winners and possesses a 'flick' backhand, with which he can generate pace with his wrist. This is usually used to pass the opponent at the net. He has averaged 90% of service games won throughout his career, oftentimes coming up victorious in clutch or pressure service games. His serve is difficult to read as he always uses a similar ball toss, regardless of what type of serve he is going to hit and where he aims to hit it, and turns his back to his opponents during his motion. He is often able to produce big serves on key points in a match. His first serve is usually about 200km/h (125mph), but he is capable of serving at 220km/h (137mph). Federer is also accomplished at serve and volleying, and employed this tactic frequently in his early career.


title: Roger Federer

text: Later in his career, Federer added the drop shot to his arsenal and can perform a well-disguised one off both wings. He sometimes uses a between-the-legs shot, which is colloquially referred to as a "tweener" or "hotdog". His most notable use of the tweener was in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open against Novak Djokovic, bringing him triple match point. Federer is one of the top players who employ successfully the "squash shot", when he gets pushed deep and wide on his forehand wing. Since Stefan Edberg joined his coaching team at the start of the 2014 season, Federer has played a more offensive game, attacking the net more often, and improved his volley shots. In the lead-up to the 2015 US Open, Federer successfully added a new unique shot to his arsenal called SABR (Sneak Attack by Roger), in which he charges forward to receive the second serve and hits a return on the service line. The SABR is a unique shot that Federer owns, in the way that he manages to add enough power and placement into the shot, which makes it very difficult, or close to impossible for the opponent to reach it.


title: Roger Federer

text: With the switch to a bigger 97 inch racket from 90 inches, Federer has gained easy power while relinquishing some control on his shots. The bigger racket has enabled easier serving and better defense on both wings with fewer shanks. However this has diminished control and power on his forehand, slice backhand and dropshot. Since his comeback in 2017, Federer is noted for his improved backhand both down the line and cross court which was cited as the reason for his win against Nadal in the 2017 Australian Open Final and Indian Wells 4th round.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer is also noted for his cool demeanour and emotional control on the court. In contrast to his early career, most of his professional game has been characterised by lack of outbursts or emotional frustration at errors, which gives him an advantage over less controlled opponents. Federer declared:


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer plays with his signature Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph racquet. It has a 97 square inch head, 16x19 string pattern, 366 gram strung weight, 340 gram swing weight, 68 RA stiffness, and 9 point head light balance. Federer strings his racquets using Wilson Natural Gut 16 gauge for his main strings and Luxilon ALU Power Rough 17 gauge (polyester) for his cross strings. In an interview in November 2017, Federer stated his favorite stringing tension is mains & crosses.


title: Roger Federer

text: As a junior player, Federer played with a Wilson Pro Staff 6.0 85 square inch head racquet. He switched to a bigger custom-built Wilson 90 square inch head racquet in 2003. His grip size was inches (L3). When asked about string tensions, Federer stated "this depends on how warm the days are and with what kind of balls I play and against who I play. So you can see– it depends on several factors and not just the surface; the feeling I have is most important."


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer first signed with Nike footwear and apparel in 1994. For the 2006 championships at Wimbledon, Nike designed a jacket emblazoned with a crest of three tennis racquets, symbolising the three Wimbledon Championships he had previously won, and which was updated the next year with four racquets after he won the Championship in 2006. At Wimbledon 2008, and again in 2009, Nike continued this trend by making him a personalised cardigan that also had his own logo, an R and an F joined, which was originally designed by his wife, Mirka.


title: Roger Federer

text: Federer's contract with Nike expired in March 2018, and he later signed a deal with Uniqlo. It was reported that Uniqlo signed Federer for roughly $300million for 10 years ($30million per year), as opposed to Nike's previous deal with Federer, which was for roughly $10million per year. Since 2021, Federer has worn tennis shoes produced by On, a Swiss-based athletic shoe and sports apparel manufacturer in which he became a shareholder in November 2019. A limited edition lifestyle shoe named "The Roger" was released by On in July 2020.


title: Roger Federer

text: In May 2020, Federer became the first tennis player to reach the top of "Forbes" list of highest-paid athletes in the world. He is endorsed by Japanese clothing company Uniqlo and Swiss companies , Credit Suisse, On, Rolex, Lindt, Sunrise, and Jura Elektroapparate. In 2010, his endorsement by Mercedes-Benz China was extended into a global partnership deal. His other sponsors include Gillette, Wilson, Barilla, and Moët & Chandon. Previously, he was an ambassador for Nike, NetJets, Emmi AG, and Maurice Lacroix.


title: Roger Federer

text: As of 2019 Federer holds the third highest number of Guinness World Records within one discipline, a total of 30, which include 18 performance based records.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's second supreme leader from 1994 to 2011, and Ko Yong-hui. He is a grandson of Kim Il-sung, who was the founder and first supreme leader of North Korea from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. Kim Jong-un is the first leader of North Korea to have been born in the country after its founding in 1948.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: From late 2010, Kim was viewed as successor to the leadership of North Korea. Following his father's death in December 2011, state television announced Kim as the "Great Successor". Kim holds the titles of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and President of the State Affairs. He is also a member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea, the highest decision-making body. In July 2012, Kim was promoted to the highest rank of Marshal in the Korean People's Army, consolidating his position as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. North Korean state media often refer to him as "Respected Comrade Kim Jong-un" or "Marshal Kim Jong-un". He has promoted the policy of "byungjin", similar to Kim Il-sung's policy from the 1960s, referring to the simultaneous development of both the economy and the country's nuclear weapons program.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: Kim rules North Korea as a totalitarian dictatorship, and his leadership has followed the same cult of personality as his father and grandfather. In 2014, a landmark United Nations Human Rights Council report suggested that Kim could be put on trial for crimes against humanity. He has ordered the purge or execution of several North Korean officials; he is also widely believed to have ordered the 2017 assassination of his half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, in Malaysia. He has presided over an expansion of the consumer economy, construction projects and tourist attractions. Kim also expanded North Korea's nuclear program which led to heightened tensions with the United States and South Korea. In 2018 and 2019, Kim took part in summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump. He has claimed success in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea; the country did not report any confirmed cases until May 2022, although many experts doubt this claim.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: North Korean authorities and state-run media have stated Kim's birthdate was 8 January 1982, but South Korean intelligence officials believe the actual date is a year later. It is thought that Kim's official birth year was changed for symbolic reasons; 1982 marks 70 years after the birth of his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, and 40 years after the official birth of his father Kim Jong-il. Before 2018, the US Treasury Department listed Kim Jong-un's official birthdate as 8 January 1984. Now, the birthdate is listed as 8 January 1983, aligning with South Korea's birthdate for Kim Jong-un. The claim that he was born in 1984 matches that given by his aunt and uncle, who moved to the United States in 1998 and were interrogated by the CIA.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: Kim Jong-un is the second of three children Ko Yong-hui born to Kim Jong-il; his elder brother Kim Jong-chul was born in 1981, while his younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, is believed to have been born in 1987. He is a grandson of Kim Il-sung, who was the founder of and led North Korea from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. Kim is the first leader of North Korea to have been born a North Korean citizen, his father having been born in the Soviet Union and his grandfather having been born during the Japanese colonial period.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: All the children of Kim Jong-il are said to have lived in Switzerland, as well as the mother of the two youngest sons, who lived in Geneva for some time.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: First reports said that Kim Jong-un attended the private International School of Berne in Gümligen in Switzerland under the name "Chol-pak" or "Pak-chol" from 1993 to 1998. He was described as shy, a good student who got along well with his classmates, and was a basketball fan. He was chaperoned by an older student, who was thought to be his bodyguard. However, it was later suggested that the student at the Gümligen school was not Kim Jong-un, but his elder brother Kim Jong-chul.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: Later, it was reported that Kim Jong-un attended the Liebefeld Steinhölzli state school in Köniz near Bern under the name "Pak-un" or "Un-pak" from 1998 until 2000 as the son of an employee of the North Korean embassy in Bern. Authorities confirmed that a North Korean student from North Korea attended the school during that period. Pak-un first attended a special class for foreign-language children and later attended the regular classes of the 6th, 7th, 8th and part of the final 9th year, leaving the school abruptly in the autumn of 2000. He was described as a well-integrated and ambitious student who liked to play basketball. However, his grades and attendance rating are reported to have been poor. The ambassador of North Korea in Switzerland, Ri Chol, had a close relationship with him and acted as a mentor. One of Pak-un's classmates told reporters that he had told him that he was the son of the leader of North Korea. According to some reports, Kim was described by classmates as a shy child who was awkward with girls and indifferent to political issues, but who distinguished himself in sports and had a fascination with the American National Basketball Association and Michael Jordan. One friend claimed that he had been shown pictures of Pak-un with Kobe Bryant and Toni Kukoč.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: In April 2012, new documents came to light indicating that Kim Jong-un had lived in Switzerland since 1991 or 1992, earlier than previously thought.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: The Laboratory of Anatomic Anthropology at the University of Lyon, France, compared the picture of Pak-un taken at the Liebefeld Steinhölzli school in 1999 with a picture of Kim Jong-un from 2012 and concluded that the faces show a conformity of 95%, suggesting that it is most likely that they are the same person.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: "The Washington Post" reported in 2009 that Kim Jong-un's school friends recalled he "spent hours doing meticulous pencil drawings of Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan". He was obsessed with basketball and computer games, and was a fan of Jackie Chan action movies.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: Most analysts agree that Kim Jong-un attended Kim Il-sung University, a leading officer-training school in Pyongyang, from 2002 to 2007. Kim obtained two degrees, one in physics at Kim Il-sung University and another as an Army officer at the Kim Il-sung Military University.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: In late February 2018, Reuters reported that Kim and his father had used forged passports—supposedly issued by Brazil and dated 26 February 1996—to apply for visas in various countries. Both 10-year passports carry a stamp saying "Embassy of Brazil in Prague". Kim Jong-un's passport records the name "Josef Pwag" and a date of birth of 1 February 1983.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: For many years, only one confirmed photograph of him was known to exist outside North Korea, apparently taken in the mid-1990s, when he was eleven. Occasionally, other supposed images of him surfaced but were often disputed. It was only in June 2010, shortly before he was given official posts and publicly introduced to the North Korean people, that more pictures were released of Kim, taken when he was attending school in Switzerland. The first official image of him as an adult was a group photograph released on 30 September 2010, at the end of the party conference that effectively anointed him, in which he is seated in the front row, two places from his father. This was followed by newsreel footage of him attending the conference.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: Kim Jong-un's eldest half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, had been the favorite to succeed, but reportedly fell out of favor after 2001, when he was caught attempting to enter Japan on a fake passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland. Kim Jong-nam was killed in Malaysia in 2017 by suspected North Korean agents.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: Kim Jong-il's former personal chef, Kenji Fujimoto, revealed details regarding Kim Jong-un, with whom he had a good relationship, stating that he was favored to be his father's successor. Fujimoto also said that Jong-un was favored by his father over his elder brother, Kim Jong-chul, reasoning that Jong-chul is too feminine in character, while Jong-un is "exactly like his father". Furthermore, Fujimoto stated that "if power is to be handed over then Jong-un is the best for it. He has superb physical gifts, is a big drinker and never admits defeat." Also, according to Fujimoto, Jong-un smokes Yves Saint Laurent cigarettes, loves Johnnie Walker whisky and has a Mercedes-Benz 600 luxury sedan. When Jong-un was 18, Fujimoto described an episode where Jong-un once questioned his lavish lifestyle and asked, "we are here, playing basketball, riding horses, riding jet skis, having fun together. But what of the lives of the average people?" On 15 January 2009, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that Kim Jong-il had appointed Kim Jong-un to be his successor.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: On 8 March 2009, BBC News reported that Kim Jong-un was on the ballot for 2009 elections to the Supreme People's Assembly, the rubber stamp parliament of North Korea. Subsequent reports indicated that his name did not appear on the list of lawmakers, but he was later elevated to a mid-level position in the National Defense Commission, which is a branch of the North Korean military.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: From 2009, it was understood by foreign diplomatic services that Kim was to succeed his father Kim Jong-il as the head of the Korean Workers' Party and "de facto" leader of North Korea. He has been named "Yŏngmyŏng-han Tongji" (), which loosely translates to "Brilliant Comrade". His father had also asked embassy staff abroad to pledge loyalty to his son. There have also been reports that citizens in North Korea were encouraged to sing a newly composed "song of praise" to Kim Jong-un, in a similar fashion to that of praise songs relating to Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung. Later, in June, Kim was reported to have visited China secretly to "present himself" to the Chinese leadership, who later warned against North Korea conducting another nuclear test. The Chinese foreign ministry has strongly denied that this visit occurred.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: In September 2009, it was reported that Kim Jong-il had secured support for the succession plan, after a propaganda campaign. It is believed by some that Kim Jong-un was involved in the "Cheonan" sinking and the bombardment of Yeonpyeong to strengthen his military credentials and facilitate a successful transition of power from his father.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: Kim Jong-un was made a "daejang", the equivalent of a four-star general in the United States, on 27 September 2010, a day ahead of a rare Workers' Party of Korea conference in Pyongyang, the first time North Korean media had mentioned him by name and despite him having no previous military experience. Despite the promotion, no further details, including verifiable portraits of Kim, were released. On 28 September 2010, he was named vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and appointed to the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, in an apparent nod to become the successor to Kim Jong-il.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: On 10 October 2010, Kim Jong-un was alongside his father when he attended the ruling Workers' Party's 65th-anniversary celebration. This was seen as confirming his position as the next leader of the Workers' Party. Unprecedented international press access was granted to the event, further indicating the importance of Kim Jong-un's presence. In January 2011, the regime reportedly began purging around 200 protégés of both Jong-un's uncle-in-law Jang Song-thaek and O Kuk-ryol, the vice chairman of the National Defence Commission, by either detention or execution to further prevent either man from rivaling Jong-un.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: On 17 December 2011, Kim Jong-il died. Despite the elder Kim's plans, it was not immediately clear after his death whether Kim Jong-un would in fact take full power, and what his exact role in a new government would be. Some analysts had predicted that when Kim Jong-il died, Jang Song-thaek would act as regent, as Kim Jong-un was too inexperienced to immediately lead the country.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: Following his father's death, Kim Jong-un was hailed as the "great successor to the revolutionary cause of "Juche"", "outstanding leader of the party, army and people", and "respected comrade who is identical to Supreme Commander Kim Jong-il", and was made chairman of the Kim Jong-il funeral committee. The Korean Central News Agency described Kim Jong-un as "a great person born of heaven", a propaganda term only his father and grandfather had enjoyed. The ruling Workers' Party of Korea also said in an editorial, "We vow with bleeding tears to call Kim Jong-un our supreme commander, our leader."


title: Kim Jong-un

text: He was publicly declared Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army on 24 December 2011, and formally appointed to the position on 30 December 2011 when the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea "courteously proclaimed that the dear respected Kim Jong Un, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the WPK, assumed the supreme commandership of the Korean People's Army".


title: Kim Jong-un

text: On 26 December 2011, the leading North Korean newspaper "Rodong Sinmun" reported that Kim Jong-un had been acting as chairman of the Central Military Commission, and supreme leader of the country, following his father's demise.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: On 9 January 2012, a large rally was held by the Korean People's Army in front of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to honor Kim Jong-un and to demonstrate loyalty.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: On 27 March 2012, Kim was elected to the Fourth Conference of the Workers' Party of Korea. On 11 April, that conference wrote the post of general secretary out of the party charter and instead designated Kim Jong-il as the party's "Eternal General Secretary". The conference then elected Kim Jong-un as leader of the party under the newly created title of First Secretary. Kim Jong-un also took his father's post as Chairman of the Central Military Commission, as well as his father's old seat on the Politburo Presidium. In a speech made prior to the Conference, Kim Jong-un declared that "Imbuing the whole society with Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism is the highest programme of our Party". On 13 April 2012, the 5th Session of the 12th Supreme People's Assembly appointed Kim Jong-un First Chairman of the National Defence Commission.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: On 15 April 2012, during a military parade to commemorate Kim Il-sung's centenary, Kim Jong-un made his first public speech, "Let Us March Forward Dynamically Towards Final Victory, Holding Higher the Banner of Songun". That speech became the basis of a hymn dedicated to him, "Onwards Toward the Final Victory".


title: Kim Jong-un

text: In July 2012, Kim Jong-un was promoted to wonsu (translated as marshal), the highest active rank in the military. The decision was jointly issued on by the Central Committee and the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, the National Defence Commission, and the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, the Korean Central News Agency subsequently announced. The only higher rank is Taewonsu (roughly translated as Grand Marshal or Generalissimo) which was held by Kim's grandfather, Kim Il-sung, and which was awarded posthumously to his father, Kim Jong-il, in February 2012. The promotion confirmed Kim's role as top leader of the North Korean military and came days after the replacement of Chief of General Staff Ri Yong-ho by Hyon Yong-chol.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: In November 2012, satellite photos revealed a half-kilometer-long () propaganda message carved into a hillside in Ryanggang Province, reading, "Long Live General Kim Jong-un, the Shining Sun"!


title: Kim Jong-un

text: On 30 November 2012, Kim met with Li Jianguo, first-ranking vice chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, who "briefed Kim on the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China", according to the state's official news agency, the Korean Central News Agency. A letter from Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, was hand-delivered during the discussion.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: On 9 March 2014, Kim Jong-un was elected to a seat in the Supreme People's Assembly, the country's unicameral legislature. He ran unopposed, but voters had the choice of voting yes or no. There was a record turnout of voters and, according to government officials, all voted "yes" in his home district of Mount Paekdu. The Supreme People's Assembly subsequently elected him first chairman of the National Defence Commission.


title: Kim Jong-un

text: In May 2016, the Workers' Party of Korea held its first congress since 1980. In the congress, Kim became the Chairman of the WPK. On 29 June 2016, Kim became the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, after the State Affairs Commission replaced the National Defence Commission. The office of the Supreme Commander of the armed forces was linked to this office because of the 2019 constitutional amendment.