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Father of a set of twins, who also happens to be the only player in the history to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open consecutively for three straight years. Here're 44 facts about him that you should absolutely know:
- Roger Federer was born on August 8, 1981 in Basel, Switzerland
- His father, Robert Federer, is from Berneck and his mother, Lynette Federer, from Kempton Park, Gauteng.
- Roger has an older sister Diana.
- Because his mother was South African, Federer holds both Swiss and South African citizenship.
- He speaks Swiss German, standard German, English and French fluently.
- Federer was raised as a Roman Catholic.
- He met Pop Benedict XVI while playing the 2006 International BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome.
- He married Mirka Vavrinec on April 11, 2009 in Riehen, Basel.
- Mirka is a former Women's Tennis Association player and met Roger while both were competing for Switzerland in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
- Roger and Mirka had identical twin girls Myla Rose and Charlene Riva on July 23, 2009 and another set of twin boys Leo and Lenart.
- Federer was a vegetarian until the age of 14.
- He was the 7th most prominent citizen of Switzerland in 2012.
- In 2003, the 'Roger Federer Foundation' was established in aid of children in South Africa. The agency undertakes relief operations to provide food, shelter and other basic of life.
- Federer owns houses and luxury penthouses in Dubai, Swiss village of Valbella, and in Zurich.
- He won his first career title in 2001, at the age of 19.
- He is the only player in history to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open consecutively for three straight years.
- In 2006, Federer finished his year with a career-high 92 match wins, 11 more that he had in 2005.
- On Feb. 2, 2004, Federer took the No. 1 ranking away from Andy Roddick.
- In 2006, by winning the Masters Cup, Federer became the first player to earn $8 million in a season.
- When Mirka was pregnant, Federer opted out of the Madrid Open, which he won thrice.
- Roger Federer has a record total of 17 Grand Slam titles.
- Roger Federer is good friends with golf star Tiger Woods.
- His favorite vacation spots are Maldives, Dubai and Swiss Mountains.
- He also plays the piano.
- After winning his first-ever Wimbledon title, he was gifted a milking cow, which he named 'Juliette'.
- His loss to Novak Djokovic in 2014 Wimbledon marks two years without a Grand Slam title - his longest winless streak.
- His tennis idols are Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg.
- In 2003, he launched his very own fragrance named 'RF- Roger Federer'.
- He is the first Swiss man to win a Grand Slam singles title.
- In 2007, he became the first living person of Swiss origin to be featured on a Swiss Stamp.
- Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Noval Djokovic and Andy Murray dominated tennis in the years 2008-2012.
- He defeated Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 2001.
- Federer became world number one in 2004, and he has held that position for more than 300 week
- Federer has won over 70 tournaments and won more than $70 million in prize money
- Mirka and Roger competed together just once, playing in the Hopman Cup, held in Perth, Australia.
- After retiring from playing tennis, Mirka has helped manage Roger's career.
- His wife has been accused of heckling Roger's opponents.
- Federer struggled with serious back injuries sustained in March and again in July and saw his ranking drop from 2nd to 6th.
- The 2013 season was the first since 1999 in which Federer failed to reach a final in the first four months of the year.
- Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004 and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers.
- Nadal leads their head-to-head 23-10. Of their 33 matches, 15 have been on clay, which is by far Nadal's best surface.
- Federer and Djokovic have met 39 times with Federer leading 20-19.
- Federer and Andy Murray have met 23 times with Federer narrowly ahead at 12-11.
- Federer is one of the highest-earning athletes in the world. He is listed at number two on Forbes World's Highest Paid Athletes list.
