Roger Federer

[Annie]

Federer ties Connors' record for consecutive weeks as top-ranked player

By CHRIS LEHOURITES, AP Sports Writer
February 19, 2007

LONDON (AP) -- Roger Federer tied Jimmy Connors' record of 160 consecutive weeks as the top-ranked player in men's tennis Monday.

The 10-time Grand Slam champion has held the No. 1 ATP Tour ranking since Feb. 2, 2004. The Swiss star is assured of breaking the record next week.

"Breaking records and doing something that hasn't been done for a long time, it's really nice," Federer said recently.

Connors was No. 1 from July 1974 to August 1977. He is now coaching one of Federer's biggest rivals, Andy Roddick.

Federer, who has won six of the last seven Grand Slam titles, hasn't played since beating Fernando Gonzalez in the Australian Open final on Jan. 28. He returns to action next week at the Dubai Open.

Federer has 8,120 points in the year-based rankings. Rafael Nadal, the man who beat Federer at the French Open last year, is second with 4,705 points. Nadal also beat Federer in the Dubai Open final last year.

The 25-year-old Federer has dominated tennis for the past three seasons, but is still trying to win a Grand Slam title on clay.

"That's the only way I can make this season a better one than last year," Federer has said. "Otherwise it won't be possible."

Last season, only Nadal and Andy Murray managed to beat Federer, who finished the season with 12 titles and 16 finals appearances in his 17 tournaments. He earned $8.34 million and also won the season-ending Masters Cup.

Federer couldn't be reached for comment Monday, but his mother was happy to hear that her son reached yet another milestone.

"Of course I'm proud. It's super that my son has been No. 1 for three years," Lynette Federer said.

Connors won eight Grand Slam titles in his career, which lasted more than 20 years. Although he also only failed to win the French Open, Connors did win the 1976 U.S. Open on clay.

The American is the only man to win the U.S. Open on all three surfaces -- grass, clay and hardcourt.

The ATP rankings began on Aug. 23, 1973.

Associated Press writer Eliane Engeler in Geneva contributed to this report.

[Annie]

A classic ;D

[davis]

OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D

He was a lot cuter as a little boy...

[Happiness]

Hi everyone

These ones are especially for our dear administrator Annie!!! ;D ;D ;D



Roger Federer of Switzerland speaks to the press during a conference for the ATP Dubai Duty Free Open 25 February 2007. Roger Federer will overtake Jimmy Connors' record of 160 consecutive weeks as world number one tomorrow irrespective of what he does while trying to win back the Dubai Open title next week. Federer has several reasons for wanting to regain it, and not merely that of revenge on Rafael Nadal, who last year surprisingly ended his three-title sequence at one of the world number one's favourite venues.


Roger Federer of Switzerland listens to a question during a press conference for the ATP Dubai Duty Free Open 25 February 2007. Roger Federer will overtake Jimmy Connors' record of 160 consecutive weeks as world number one tomorrow irrespective of what he does while trying to win back the Dubai Open title next week. Federer has several reasons for wanting to regain it, and not merely that of revenge on Rafael Nadal, who last year surprisingly ended his three-title sequence at one of the world number one's favourite venues.


Take Care




Happiness

[Annie]

Hey, it's been a while Smurfy ;D ;D ;D Thanks Happiness

[love15]

What a cutie as a young one! well i still think he is a cutie

[maribrasil]

The smurf lost !!!!!!!!!

[sabz]

Awww he was actually sooo cute wen he was little!
and i know this happened AGES ago but i still gotta say it - OMFG FEDERER ACTUALLY LOST IN STRAIGHT SETS (and about time too! )
there i said it - i feel better now

[jenhatter06]

interesting article talking about Fed & Tiger, and also something cool they're doing down in Miami:

Commentary: Tiger, Roger share rare air
By Dave George

Palm Beach Post Columnist

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Tiger Woods and Roger Federer are only the best that's ever been in their respective sports, which means that their arrival in Miami for simultaneous competitions is well beyond the usual springtime sweep of stars across South Florida.

Try a collision of comets, the kind that may pass just once in a lifetime.

Promoters at Doral and Key Biscayne are teaming up to mark the moment, offering a $65 ticket that combines a one-day grounds pass to the CA Championship for a look at Tiger and a one-time entry to the Sony Ericsson Open over a flexible three-day period that almost certainly will feature a Federer match.

For marketers to butt heads over the loyalty of fans would be counterproductive in this special case, and more than a little ridiculous.

After all, Tiger has made clear his interest in tracking the dominance of Roger, right up to sitting in the family and friends box at last September's U.S. Open tennis final, which Federer won for the third straight time to go with his three consecutive Wimbledon titles.

Federer, in a similar show of appreciation, has popped up at tournaments in Dubai and China to walk outside the ropes with Tiger's frantic followers, and has indicated he may do the same next month at the Masters.

"I would love to try and catch one of his matches (at Key Biscayne), if not two of his matches," Tiger said this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando. "What he does, he makes it look so effortless, and it's not. The shots and the angles and the things he can create, no one in the history of the game has ever been able to do. I mean, it's pretty neat for all of us to be watching a living legend play."

That's the highest praise imaginable, lobbed Roger's way from a peer who is every bit as revolutionary. The parallel career tracks of Federer and Woods are remarkably comparable in terms of their dominance and youth, and thoroughly beyond comparison with the other stars of today.

Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky represent the most recent pairing of sports stars who coexisted on this lofty plane of historic excellence.

In truth, the list should end right there, in order to guard against dilution, though we offer today a sampling of additional tandems whose unquestioned command of their respective industries and of the broadest swath of public interest made them the most dominant figures of their time.

You already know about Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, heroes of a baseball age when records seemed dipped in gold. Same goes for Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, who came into the NBA together and dragged the rest of us up and down the court with them for years to come.

The fascination increases, however, when the great ones meet each other from different sports and find a solid connection.

Sam Snead, for instance, was a partner of Ted Williams in a fishing-lure company based in Miami. The business didn't quite pan out but the relationship between the two fishing buddies never suffered. Brashness was their bond, which explains how Sammy could famously jab at Ted over the strident position that hitting a baseball thrown at 100 mph is infinitely more difficult than hitting a golf ball.

"Sure," said Snead, "but when we hit a foul ball, we've got to go out and play it."

Federer showed that same casual connection with Tiger when they got together for a recent photo shoot in their role as Gillette pitchmen. This time somebody asked the soft-spoken Swiss for an opinion on who is the greater athlete, he or Tiger.

"Well, he's got it easier," Federer said. "He's playing on grass all the time, whereas I have to go to different surfaces. He was like, 'Oh, there you go.' It was quite funny."

That's about as open as it gets with Federer, whose streak of 163 weeks atop the ATP rankings passed the 30-year-old record of Jimmy Connors last month.

Roger is the diver whose perfect entry to the pool barely causes a ripple.

With Tiger, it's more of a cannonball splash, impossible to miss.

Either way, they are the sharks in the pool, never resting, seldom satisfied.

"Everybody tells me Federer is about as nice a guy as ever came down the road," said Frank Deford of Sports Illustrated, an author of several sports books and a commentator for HBO and National Public Radio. "If he were American, he would own the world.

"If Woods and Federer were to win the Grand Slam in the same year, that would be the most extraordinary thing ever. Is it harder for Woods, who has to beat a whole field, or is it harder for Federer, who has one bad day and he's out? The answer is that it's impossible to compare. The fascinating thing is that they both are in their prime. Federer is a little younger than Woods, but golfers are always a little older. It's amazing, really."

Amazing to us and, evidently, to each other.

Tiger has 12 major golf titles at the age of 30, with Jack Nicklaus' record 18 as the ultimate goal of the ultimate competitor. Federer, 25, has 10 Grand Slam titles, four short of Pete Sampras' record.

When Federer won the Australian Open in January, Tiger sent him a text message that said "12 to 10" and nothing more, a reminder of where they stand in major titles and confirmation that they can kid about it.

"Sometimes we talk about the mind-set that it takes, the discipline and the practice sessions, as well as the things you do off the court or off the course, to train and prepare," Tiger said. "But a lot of the stuff is mainly BS. We're just giving each other a lot of grief all the time and it's a lot of fun."

Perhaps there is no one else to push them, or at least no one who has earned the right.

"They both have these great engines that keep them going, not just year in and year out but day in and day out," said Mary Carillo, for 20 years a leading television commentator at Grand Slam tennis events and at the Olympics, too. "We've heard so many champions complain about the burden of fame, people who don't wear the crown lightly on their heads. Roger and Tiger don't even think about taking the crown off their heads. It suits them.

"The only reason I follow golf with any kind of interest level is because of Tiger. His excellence is so undeniable, it would be like not paying attention to Michael Jordan. Tiger and Federer, they share the same air.

"Apart from their magnificent athletic gifts is the mental aspect. Both sports require such an extremely high level of mental fitness. That's the only way to stay that good that long. I'm such an admirer of consistency in any endeavor, even if it's being a good parent. It's the single hardest thing to do."

Michael MacCambridge, an adjunct professor of journalism at Washington College in St. Louis, has written a number of sweeping books on sports and society, including The Franchise: A History of Sports Illustrated Magazine, and America's Game: The Epic Story of How Professional Football Captured a Nation. His view on Woods and Federer reflects the way we all are changing in the 21st century.

"It's definitely true that the world that superstars see is different, even from the world that other professional athletes experience," said MacCambridge, "and that can lead to interesting friendships.

"In the '60s, Jim Brown and Bill Russell forged a friendship across sports that lasts to this day. Of course, in that era, superstars - especially African-Americans - bore a special, social responsibility that doesn't really translate in today's era.

"But for modern athletes like Woods and Federer, a case can be made that their popularity has transcended sports, in a way that Brown's and Russell's never did. Living in this media-intensive fishbowl, constantly being hounded for comments and autographs, the lives that Woods and Federer lead may have as much in common with Mick Jagger or Julia Roberts as they do with other athletes."

To have anything in common with Jordan requires a particularly elite status. He is on the brief list of Tiger confidants, warranting along with Charles Barkley an invitation to the 2004 wedding of Woods and former model Elin Nordegren in Barbados.

Jordan appears to appreciate such rare connections, and to understand the need to get away. Derek Jeter talked recently at spring training about getting a spur-of-the-moment opportunity to tag along with Jordan soon after the New York Yankees were eliminated by Detroit in the first round of October's American League playoffs. On a six-day promotional tour for the NBA legend's merchandise, Jeter marveled at being able to walk unnoticed in Paris, London, Milan, Berlin, Hamburg and Barcelona, even as Jordan was mobbed at every turn.

Playing the game of celebrity is only part of it. Playing to win, no matter how much or how little is at stake, that's the obsession that the great ones share, or they wouldn't be greats at all.

Babe Ruth went to the 1929 U.S. Open at Winged Foot to watch Bobby Jones win, a show of admiration for one of the few athletes to approach his level of name recognition.

The Babe also played golf frequently with Walter Hagen, the pioneer touring pro, and reportedly caroused many a night away in more casual competition with The Haig, who sometimes showed up for early-morning tee times wearing the same tuxedo he had on at the previous night's party.

That's not the sort of training Tiger and Roger will do for their Miami appearances. They are perfectly fit, perfectly suited to stay No. 1 for years to come, and perfectly willing to hound each other about being anything less.

It's a tug-of-war that we all win, and a symbol of what makes the dynamic duos of every sports generation worth talking about forever.

[jenhatter06]

didn't where else to post this, and I know the Masters Cup was forever ago already, but I happened to stumble upon two group pics (singles & doubles) from MC last year the other day here:

www.masters-cup.com/1/portraits/

they're huge files & took forever to load, but they're pretty sweet group pictures of the guys

[Mrs. Fabregas]

Interview with RF after his win against Lee

Thursday, April 19, 2007

R. FEDERER /H. Lee

6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Can you tell us your view of the meeting and how it went and what you foresee?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. I'm happy he came. We had the chance to meet, you know. Of course, we need more meetings. There's just many issues we need to talk about. We explained our sides much. Carlos was there, Ivan, Rafa, and myself. We had a meeting for about two hours.
Yeah, we have to kind of go from here, you know, and just keep on talking to each other.

Q. Does it seem like it's possible that there's going to be progress from your view?
ROGER FEDERER: I don't know. Look, we have to we asked just for more information too, because we felt the information flow was not very good. He definitely promised us to do that.
On the other side, that's what I'm saying. We just got to keep on talking to him at the moment even though time's tight.

Q. I talked with Ricci Bitti and he said he asked to have a meeting with you; is that correct? And apparently, he said he didn't know that you were not happy about scheduling and the calendar of the Davis Cup. He was never told by anyone that you wanted to play week after the slam.
ROGER FEDERER: What is he talking about? I'm going to see him later on anyway.

Q. Your next opponent hasn't got a very good record. He's never won a set against you. How are you feeling about that? Is that something is that is going to work to your advantage?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I would hope so. But, no, listen, I've played him here last year. We played an excellent match. It was a fantastic match for me. We got really close, tough points, and in the end I came through on a beautiful day.
So I have to get used to the conditions here. I had a really quick court the first match and a really slow court the second match. It's really good I played in both conditions so I'm ready for anything in the next match.
He's an excellent player, especially on clay. This is where he's got the most confidence, so it's going to be difficult to beat him here. I had a very tough match with him in Basel last year. Not an easy three sets, having not lost a set doesn't mean much.

Q. Did you feel like you were moving a little bit better today than you had the other day?
ROGER FEDERER: May have been a little bit. But still, I think it was an average match from my side. I was really struggling with the conditions. Maybe it was just my timing in the beginning. You know, I was just shanking a lot of balls and not able to keep the ball in play.
Once I was able to do that I was in total control. So I never felt worried too much today, which is a good sign, especially early on in the clay court seen.

Q. You are a human being. How much difficult is it to change your level from an average match and then click, go? How difficult is it?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean it's never a guarantee. You just have to put yourself in that position that when you're going to play well you're going to make a difference. So for this reason you have to stay even or stay ahead.
When you're behind things are always difficult. It's the same in every sport: Soccer and golf and hockey. You have to press the issue much more. You have to make sure in the beginning of the sets when it's maybe a little bit boring that you don't get behind.
It's important that at 4 3 that you're not break down 4 3, but that you're even or 4 3 up. This is when you can maybe make a difference and in the end show you're best at the end of the set.

Q. Against Seppi and today we see you always in control just the time you need to go.
ROGER FEDERER: Yes. I'm happy I was able to turn it on a little bit, you know, when I had to. Tiebreakers was important, like I said. That's always a good thing to win. And, yeah, now it was a convincing two setter. Hopefully next match will be better.

Q. Just on the political thing again. You and Rafa came in a couple days ago and the president of the ATP and the president of the ITF flies in. Makes you kind of aware of the responsibility and the power that the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the world have. When they want something to change everyone comes running. What do you make of that? Do you wish you had those conversations before, or does it just go to understand what power and what influence you have on the sport?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, we don't want bad press for tennis, but what we want is that we is also have some say, I and think we made that point very clear. It's good to see that Etienne and Francesca came down here to sort of calm us down after the issues we had a few days ago.
That's why we're speaking a lot in the locker room to each other now, the players, to see what the further plan is. But for now we need for us to get together and see, are we a happy with what Etienne said and what Francesca is going to tell me? It is more to listen and to analyze from there.

Q. Were you happy with the way it was played out? You did your piece. Did you read or did you listen to what the press
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, both sides what was written in the press, that's a different thing. But, you know, we had we brought our points across from the players' side and he did his. So from that standpoint it was a good meeting. No screaming, it was a normal meeting. We've had different ones before, I can tell you that.

Q. You going to play Rafa in Mallorca in May. What do you feel about it?
ROGER FEDERER: I think it's exciting. The idea was there already six or nine months ago, and I said I was that would be fun to do something like this. It never happened before. It's a bit crazy and people might say, Why then? It's a bad timing.
We also enjoy playing tennis for fun for a change. It doesn't always need to be crazy serious out on the match courts. And I think we enjoyed the match against each other in South Korea, we enjoy playing each other in exhibitions.
The result is not the most important thing, it's about having fun out there. And Mallorca, it's a place I've never been to. It's his home city. He's been to Basel. It's going to be exciting and a good atmosphere.

Q. On Ricci Bitti again, he said that you have been informed by the ATP more than from him, because he say
ROGER FEDERER: He says. I will see tonight what he says.

Q. Yeah.
ROGER FEDERER: Please.

Q. From these meetings do you get the sense that this has really brought the players closer together?
ROGER FEDERER: Yes, absolutely. And I think it's been like this for the last year or two. We've been trying to get the players together more often and talk to each other. I'm happy that finally we're moving together in one direction.
You always have the hard court players, the grass court players, the indoor players and the clay courters, but it's good that we're talking to each other. I think when you have that I think the game is moving in the right direction.
I hope that we're going to be able to solve issues and move forward together, because I think that's most important that everybody's happy.

[Mrs. Fabregas]

Federer Featured on Cover of Men's Vogue

A dashing Roger Federer is the latest cover boy on Men's Vogue and is also the subject of an expansive photo spread and feature story inside the magazine.

Men's Vogue caught up with Federer and photographed the ATP World No. 1 and his girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec in Dubai, where Federer recently bought an apartment.

The story opens: "You'd never guess from meeting him on vacation in Dubai, still less from watching him play tennis, but Roger Federer, at 25, has a problem. The number one player in the world for more than three years is currently forced to ask himself a question that few have ever had to confront: How do you reveal the perfection of your game when there is no one around to push you to your limits?


www.atptennis.com/en/news/2007/federermensvogue.asp

With this link, you can visit the Men's Vogue website and read the article and see the pictures...... Have to warn you, the article is very long ;D About 9 pages

[Happiness]

And these photos are only an appetizer!!! ;D ;D


Roger Federer has a shot at becoming one of the greatest athletes ever, and he's not even playing at his peak yet.

Photos by Annie Leibovitz

VOGUE'S COVER:



A Completely Fashionnable and Classy Federer ;D ;D

Roger Federer in a Calvin Klein suit and shirt and John Varvatos tie.

INSIDE ARTICLE:




Federer jets past the skyline of Dubai, his adopted home on the Persian Gulf. Prada trench coat, wool suit, striped shirt, and tie.


OMG!!! These two are certainly "Bringin' Sexy Back"!!!

Federer and Mirka Vavrinec at the Skyview Bar on the 27th floor of the Burj Al Arab hotel.Gucci wool suit, and striped shirt. On Mirka Vavrinec: Dolce & Gabbana satin dress.


Federer on a high-speed voyage to Dubai's massive man-made archipelago, The World. Dolce & Gabbana navy suit, dress shirt, and tie. Prada shoes.

Mirka honey you're more beautiful and happy then ever!!! ;D ;D

Federer and Vavrinec at the Al Qasr hotel courts, where he practices. Michael Kors linen twill blazer, cashmere sweat-shirt, and T-shirt. On Vavrinec: Prada sweater.


Along with his Dubai apartment, the tennis champion calls Basel, Switzerland, home. Peter Elliot Blue cashmere robe. Brioni T-shirt, and pajamas.


A chopper approaches the Burj Al Arab heliport where Federer faced Agassi in 2005. Dior Homme by Hedi Slimane suit, and striped shirt. Charvet pocket square. Prada coat. Persol sunglasses.

Awww!!! The two of you sure make a sweat couple!!! All the Happiness in the world for you two!!!

Vavrinec and Federer unwind near the already iconic Burj Al Arab — the world's only seven-star hotel. Yves Saint Laurent sweater. Ermenegildo Zegna trousers. Banana Republic scarf. On her: Juicy Couture cardigan and J Brand jeans.

[Annie]

Gorgeous photoshoot, Anne is the queen of photography. It's amazing what photoshop can do these days

[luxsword]

www.mensvogue.com/health/feature/articles/2007/04/roger_federer