Tennis ace, Roger Federer was born on 8 August 1981 in Basel, Switzerland. The great Swiss right-hander began playing tennis at eight and turned pro in 1998.

Federer is the only player to win his first four grand slam finals and has won both the junior and men's title at Wimbledon, his reward from the Swiss organisers of the tournament? - A cow?!? He has just sealed his third Wimbledon win with a straight sets victory over US player Andy Roddick.

If you take a look at his career you'll find that his path to the top was not easy at all: In 1998 – aged 17 – he entered 4 ATP tournaments and lost 3 times in the first round. In 1999 he played 21 ATP tournaments and even played at Ljubljana Challenger – the capital of Slovenia. (That’s my home country) And he lost 8 times in the first round and 4 times in the second. He won one challenger event in the whole year. In 2000 - aged 19 – he lost 5 times in a row and later 7 times in row in the first round but started to get higher and higher in the tournaments. All in all he lost 14 times in the first round! He also lost two finals that year and finished the year at nr. 28. Interesting fact - he lost to Michael Chang at Halle on grass in the 3rd round!

Roger Federer on the other hand seems to explode in the finals. Last year's US Open against Agassi was a perfect example. Roger didn't play at his best a couple of previous rounds but when he started the match against Agassi he was simply destroying him with aggressive and attacking play. How does Roger do that? He is focused on what he wants. He wants to win, he can feel how it would be to win and with that feeling and that positive thinking he generates a lot of energy. He goes for what he wants and doesn't think what he wants to avoid. The only thoughts in his mind are about the winning, the trophy and his feeling about it.

Federer is a national hero in his native Switzerland and in 2004 was named Swiss of the Year; he also had the honour of carrying the Swiss flag in the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Athens.

Federer acknowledges the responsibility that comes with his star status: "It's important for me to represent the sport correctly and be a good role model for the kids."