Interesting Roger Federer facts you might not know
Roger Federer is unequivocally the greatest tennis player of all time. Among his many records, he is widely known for winning 20 Grand Slam singles titles, the most majors won by a male player. With his latest win at the Rotterdam Open quarterfinals, Federer became the oldest player to become the World number 1. Read on to find some lesser known facts about Federer.
Tennis could have lost Federer to football
As a child, Roger Federer was a multi-talented sportsman. He played as a striker for Concordia Basel in their age-group teams but stopped playing other sports as he went on to focus on tennis. He is a staunch supporter of football clubs Basel FC and AS Roma. Did you know that the world number 1 was a vegetarian well into his teens, until 16?
Federer's number 8 sentiment
Born on 8/8/1981, Federer's favorite number is '8'. He reportedly carries eight racquets to every match, uses eight water bottles, and uses a towel eight times after every set.
Was declared 'unfit' to serve in military
Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer was required to serve in national military but was deemed 'unfit' in 2003 owing to long-standing back problem. In his formative years, Federer suffered from anger issues and had trouble controlling his emotions on court. Personal tragedy involving the death of close friend and coach Peter Carter was a turning point which changed his approach.
Swiss Open gifted Federer cows?
Swiss Open organizers presented Federer a cow on two occasions- first in 2003 after he won his first major at Wimbledon and later in 2013. The cows are named Juliette and Desiree, respectively. He also has his own stamp and street. While Switzerland issued a stamp featuring Federer in 2007, a Swiss street in Biel was named after him, "Allee Roger Federer".
Federer never retired from a match
Of the 1,392 matches he has played since turning pro in 1998, Federer has never retired from a match even once.
Tennis idols and music choices
Federer idolized former tennis greats, Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker while growing up. He is also a Pete Sampras admirer. While he is fan of rock band AC/DC and musician Lenny Kravitz, Roger himself is good at playing instruments like piano and flute, which he plays in spare time. In fact, he performed flute at a music festival.
Polyglot and dual citizenship
Born to a Swiss father and a South African mother, he holds citizenship of both nations. He can also fluently speak Swiss German, standard German, English, and French. He can also manage a little Italian, Spanish, and Swedish.
