TENNIS: January 2012

Roger Federer

Profile:

Birthdate :August 8, 1981 (30 years old)
Birthplace: Basel, Switzerland
Residence :Bottmingen, Switzerland
Height: 6'1'' (185 cm)
Weight: 187 lbs (85 kg)
Plays: Right-handed
Turned Pro: 1998 (15 yrs on tour)
Official Site: www.rogerfederer.com
Nickname: Rog, Fed
Biography:
Roger Federer was born August 8, 1981, in Basel, Switzerland. (Click here for today's sports birthdays.) His parents, Robert and Lynette, both worked in the pharmacuetical industry. Robert was an executive for Ciba-Geigy. He met Lynette, a native South African and also a Ciba-Geigy employee, during a business trip. Their marriage also produced a daughter, Diana, in 1979.
Roger and his older sister grew up in the town of Munchenstein, just outside the city of Basel. A 2,000-year-old city on the Rhine, it is home to Switzerland’s oldest university, dozens of museums and the famous Theater Basel.
Tennis was a family passion in the Federer home, though neither Roger’s parents nor his sister had any special aptitude for the game. Everyone enjoyed it, however, and Roger showed enough promise to earn entry into Basel’s crack junior program at the age of eight.
Roger’s first sports hero was Boris Becker, the young German who won Wimbledon in 1985. Roger recalls watching Becker play Stefan Edberg in the 1988 Wimbledon final. He cried when his idol lost. Controlling his temper was a problem that would plague Roger throughout his childhood.