Roger Federer
Second seed Roger Federer
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Thursday, 18, Jun 2009 12:09
Date of birth: 08/08/1981 (Age: 27).
Nationality: Swiss
Height: 6ft 1in
Weight: 187lbs
Plays: Right-handed
Turned professional: 1998
Current ATP singles ranking: 2
Best Wimbledon performance: Winner (5) - 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Grass court pedigree
A little, perhaps. Federer won five Wimbledon titles in a row between 2003 and 2007 and was only denied a sixth by a Herculean performance by Rafael Nadal in last year's epic final.
Nevertheless, he shares the five-in-a-row record with the legendary Bjorn Borg who, remarkably, also lost in his sixth straight final against his greatest rival, John McEnroe.
Federer is widely considered as one of the greatest grass-court players of all time and will make that accolade his own if he can surpass Pete Sampras' open era record of seven victories at SW19.
The Swiss maestro has also won the Halle warm-up tournament on five occasions and has a staggering 87 per cent career win-loss ratio on grass (singles and doubles), with 81 victories and just 12 defeats.
Wimbledon seeding: 2nd
Chances of SW19 success?
Federer arrives at Wimbledon having finally secured his maiden French Open title, becoming the sixth man to claim the career Grand Slam and moving alongside Sampras' all-time record of 14 major wins.
Some critics had begun to write off the 27-year-old after Nadal's victory at SW19 last year, claiming that he had lost his touch and even suggesting that he would not win another grand slam.
While it might be fair to say that he produces the impossible with less regularity nowadays, there is no denying the fact that watching him still leaves you in no doubt of his genius.
His response to that crushing loss against Nadal was one of a true champion - who would have believed that the pair would hold two grand slams each 12 months later?
With the Spaniard struggling to be fit with tendinitis in his knees, Federer will fancy his chances of reigning supreme again and officially becoming the most successful player of all time.
As Jimmy Connors once famously put it: "In an era of specialists, you're either a clay-court specialist, a grass-court specialist or a hard-court specialist ... or you're Roger Federer."
Prediction: Winner
Federer's detractors will point to the fact that he has only won two tournaments this year and only three in total since his (yes, fifth successive) US Open title last September.
The frustration of failing to win the French was undoubtedly building up in the great man, but his victory at Roland Garros should see an abnormally huge monkey removed from his back.
Combine this with the fact that his wife Mirka Vavrinec is expecting their first child this summer and it should be a happy, relaxed Federer who descends on the All England Club.
This mindset could lead him to play even better - a scary thought for all his rivals.
Expect him to show his class and seal his 15th grand slam - the record he really wants - and there won't be too many dry eyes in the house on Centre Court if he does it, Federer's included.
Chris Bryant