34 unusual facts and observations about Roger Federer.

1. Did you know…
34 quirky, crazy fun-facts and observations about Fed and his
world . 17 off-court and 17 on-court
( all of you may know some and some of you may know all, but
still…. )

2. Off-court

3. Happy Birthday
Both born on the 8th of August.
Both on top of their game. One playing, the other acting.
Roger Fedman – Dustin Hoffman

4. Fedrock
Fed stated in an interview that he listened to ACDC as a pre-match ritual.
He has been to see them live twice, but never in Dubai !!!
( ACDC has not come to Dubai yet )

5. Brand Equity
+ 4 =
RF-Fragrances ( the precursor ) + Rocco Forte Hotels ( the inspiration )
=
RF ( Nike designed )
The most famous monogram in sport

6. Milk(a) Federer
Milk has an early connection with Fed.
Emmi, leading Swiss dairy was one of the earliest sponsors of Fed ( if not
the first ) since 2002 before he became an international star.
And then Juliette of course…..

7. Anything for the have-nots
Fed despises push-ups and prefers weights instead .
But when an Indian businessman offered to donate 500 USD per push-up
for ‘poor tennis kids’ Fed was right there, on stage, in a suit, doing 30.
Raising 15000 USD alongwith his hero Pete Sampras.

8. The Power of 10
Fed has something in common with all these footballers who sported the 10
number to achieve great success.
As per Pierre Paganini, Fed’s physical trainer, the key to Fed’s incredible
physical fitness , apart from the standard gym etc. is…..
10 hours of undisturbed sleep every night.

9. ‘Court’manteaus
Fedal, Fedrinka, Fedberg are some famous ones. Some easily coinable ones
are Fedbandian, Fedfin, Feddick, Fedkovic etc.
But coming soon in June 2016, is an illustrated biography by Mark
Hodgkinson, called Fedegraphica.

10. Agent 017
Fed had gone on record after his triumph in Wimbledon 2012 that he
watched three Bond movies during the tournament, to relax.
Which three ? Your guess is as good as mine.
But, there is still chance for Fed to play Bond.

11. Behind every successful man…
Two undisputed GOATs. For the uninitiated ,Fed with Sachin Tendulkar,
ace batsman. Phenomenal mutual respect between the two.
Coincidentally, both are married to women who are fairly older than them.
It figures, right.

12. Tell me a story…
Two Swiss legends. One pierced the apple, the other knocked off the can,
Story has it that both are true.
We will never know, will we.

13. Mount Fedmore
This meme shows Federer as the lone non- American amongst Michael
Phelps ( swimming ), Michael Jordan ( Basketball ) & Babe Ruth ( Golf ).
Looks like Connors, McEnroe, Agassi & Sampras were not even considered.

14. Goodwill
One of the favourite movies of the ‘cerebral’ Fed
But with more than 2 million followers on Twitter, Fed need not go
goodwill hunting !!!

15. Non-violinist
Fed tried his hand at the violin for the 75th anniversary of the Lucerne
Festival sponsored by Credit Suisse, whom he endorses.
As he himself says ,he better stick to tennis ( after some discordant playing )
You can check it out at http://www.classicfm.com/music-news/latest-
news/roger-federer-plays-violin-lucerne-festival/ at your own peril

16. Mixed Doubles ??
Not a new on-court partner, but the Argentinian President - Cristina
Koerchner - who had a message for the girls that though she found Fed a
‘cute boy’ he is married and has twins too.
So hands off !!!

17. Best of both worlds
Two GOAT contenders ( ?? ) with the HGOAT ( Hottest Girl Of All Time )
– not coined by me, I should hasten to add, just came across it on the net !!!
Fekira – UNICEF Ambassadors and Shakirafa in the Gypsy video.

18. Home away from home
Fed normally stays at the on-site Jumeira Creekside Hotel during the Dubai
Open but for the past 2 years has stayed at his own apartment with full
family.
Somewhere, up, in one of those high-rises at the Dubai Marina.

19. The Young Ones
Two Wimbledon regulars - one off-court and the other on it.
One a bachelor boy, one a family man.
One 74 & the other just turning 34
Congratulations, celebrations & jubilations as Cliff would sing

20. On-court

21. Out of this world
Interviewer : Who are the best players in tennis history ?
Marat Safin : Borg, Sampras, Nadal
Interviewer ( surprised ) : What about Federer ?
Marat Safin : Oh Federer, I thought you said on planet Earth.

22. Heads or (pony)tails
Weeks as No 1 – 302 Weeks as No 1 – 1
Fed – Rafter – H2H – 0 -3
( So much for Head-to-Head )

23. Underhead Smash
Nate Ferguson, ace racket stringer has one smashed racket –
against Rafa in 2005. Fed did not give the other one he
smashed against Novak in 2009
There’s something about Miami

24. Swiss Family…
Between them, they have won everything - all Grand Slam
titles, Year-end Finals, Davis Cup, Hopman Cup, Olympics
Gold in doubles and….. Olympics Gold in singles too.
That’s where Mr. Rosset is one up on Fed !!!

25. The Indian Connection
Sania Mirza was in the same IPTL team as Fed ( India Aces )
and she won Wimbledon recently with Martina
But this year Fed is leading UAE Royals

26. For crying out loud
Marco & Fed cried alternatively during their first match ( not
after, during !!! ) when they were 12. Don’t know about Marco,
but we haven’t seen the end of Fed crying yet.
Was hoping during this Wimbledon. Will wait for it.

27. Fed Set Go
We all know that Fed has reached the Finals of 9 ATP World
Tour Finals and won 6 of them.
In the Round Robin stage, however, Fed’s dominance is
unparalleled. Of these nine times, he has qualified for the
semis with a 3-0 score a whopping seven times.

28. Two Much
Though others have double-bagelled extremely lowly-ranked
players, Fed is the only one has who has done it at the semi-
finals of a major event and that too an opponent who was a
French Open champion the previous year.
Roger Federer – Gaston Gaudio – 6 - 0, 6 - 0
Tennis Master Cup Semis, 2005 in Shanghai

29. The Big Points
Games won : Roddick - 39 Federer - 38
Break Points converted : Roddick - 2 Federer - 1
Poor Andy, still ended up losing in the Wimbledon 2009 final
enabling Fed to overhaul Sampras and get back to No 1.

30. Left, Right, Left….
Goran – the greatest server in tennis history - over 1000 aces
Wild spirit & Wild card Wimbledon Winner
Fed took his help by practising with him to defeat Rafa is the
2007 Wimbledon final. In order to unravel the leftie mystery.

31. Dubious Record
What do these two legends have in common ? Longevity – yes.
But they both just won 4 games in a Grand Slam final –
Connors against Mac at Wimbledon and Fed against Rafa at
French Open.
It happens sometimes…

32. Shock Tactics
The single-handed backhand is dying. The first nail in the
coffin is pictured right here !!!
Of course Fed is not jumping ship. But he has stated that he
finds it tough to play this ugly shot as his chest pains. But he
wished he had Agassi’s two-handed backhand.

33. Don’t cry for me Argentina
Nalbandian ended Fed’s streak of wins in 24 consecutive finals
reached, in the 2005 Masters Cup
Canas ended Fed’s 41 match streak at Indian Wells, protecting
his namesake Vilas’s record of 46.
Delpo ( 0 in H2H ) ended Fed’s 20 match streak in majors at
the US Open 2009 finals

34. Contemporaries
Ivan Ljubicic – born 1979 – Coach
Fernando Gonzalez – born 1980 - Coach
Andy Roddick - born 1982 – Commentator
David Nalbandian – born 1982 - Retired
Marat Safin – born 1980 – Politician
Nikolay Davydenko – born 1981 –Retired
Mardy Fish – born 1981 – Retiring this year
Lleyton Hewitt – born 1981 – Retiring this year
Roger Federer – born 1981 – World No. 2

35. Fedborg vs Macrafa
Borg & Fed’s 5 consecutive Wimbledon streak was ended by
McEnroe & Nadal respectively ( both lefties )
Borg & Fed both lost their first and last matches against Mac
& Rafa too.
Fed has a chance to change the equation though.

36. Volley & Serve
Elegance. Single-handed backhand. Most difficult to beat on
fast surfaces. Winners of both Junior & Senior Wimbledon
titles. Keen squash players. Impeccable court-side manners….
The similarities are aplenty. But above all… Both have been
rated as the best when it comes to sportsmanship. Super-
combo.

37. Roderer / Rover
Laver won The Calendar Grand Slam in 1962 & 1969. Fed is
closest to this amazing feat - 3 majors in a year thrice and 3
majors in a row twice.
The striking coincidence is that Laver was born on 9th August
1938. As he was born in Australia, it would have been 8th
August in Switzerland !!!

38. Wishing Roger Federer a very happy and momentous 34th
birthday and hope that he continues to be fit and
continues to enthral millions around the world for as
long as possible.