Roger Federer

He tied the nuptial knot with tennis player, Mirka Vavrinec, a former member of the Women’s Tennis Association on April 11, 2009. The two had first met during the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

The couple was blessed with identical twins, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva on July 23, 2009.

Roger Federer was born to Swiss father Robert Federer and South African mother Lynette Federer at Basel, Switzerland. His mother had a Dutch and French ancestry.

Since young, Federer spent most of his early life near the French and German border, which made him fluent in German, French and English. Raised as a Roman Catholic, he took to playing tennis and soccer at an early age.

Though everyone in his family enjoyed the game, it was young Federer who showed promise of making it big. By the time he turned 11, he became one of the Top 3 Junior Tennis Players in Switzerland.

He concentrated his energies on tennis alone, leaving behind all other sports. At the age of 14, he started playing tournaments, practicing and conditioning himself to become a professional. Thereafter, he clinched the National Junior Championship in Switzerland.

His prodigious talent and playing skills earned him a sponsorship at the Swiss National Tennis Center in Ecublens. No sooner than in 1996, he was a part of the International Tennis Federation junior tennis circuit.

Turning professional, his first match was against Lucas Arnold Ker in Gstaad, Switzerland which he lost. Though he had already established himself in amateur tennis, replicating the success professionally required time and experience.

After a couple of losses, he won the Hopman Cup in 2001 along with Martina Hingis defeating American contenders, Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill. The same year, he recorded his first singles victory defeating Julien Boutter at the Milan Indoor Tournament.

The series of victories continued to bloom and blossom as he displayed a power packed performance both at the French Open and Wimbledon reaching the quarter finals in these tournaments. His performance against reigning champion Pete Sampras at Wimbledon left everyone amused.

Throughout 2002, he levelled his performance and displayed exceptional skills and talent for the game, getting better with each passing game. He bettered his own record by finishing the year at no.6 in the ATP ranking – this was the first time he finished under 10.

The year 2003 was a breakthrough one for him as he made it to the nine finals in the ATP tour winning seven of them. He won his first Wimbledon singles victory. Riding strong on his talent, he moved past other players to reach the no.2 position at the ATP ranking.

From 2003 until 2012, he was felicitated by the Fans' Favorite Award from the ATPWorldTour.com.

His colleagues, rivals and competitors have voted him for the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for a record eight times, from 2004 until 2009, in 2011 and 2012.

He is the proud recipient of the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award for a record four times, from 2005 to 2008.

In 2006, he was conferred with the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award.