Tennis Inspiration:  “Watching my idols play back at Wimbledon or at the U.S. Open, wanting to maybe be like them one day. Practice hard. Maybe when I was #1 junior in the world when I was 17 years old, I hoped to maybe one day maybe equal that feat on the men’s tour, also become #1 on the world there. So I’m happy I chose tennis, put it that way.”

Ht: 6-1    Wt: 177

Born On: August 8, 1981    In: Basel, Switzerland

Childhood Heroes: “Stefan Edberg – actually my favorite of all-time. Boris Becker – first favorite when I was small. Pete Sampras.”

Nicknames: Rogie, Federer Express.

Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “Sports in general, cinema, deep sea fishing, relaxing in the beach, friends, music, skiing.”

First Tennis Memory: “I remember always loving to play against the cupboards, against the doors at home. With any kind of ball…soft ball, tennis ball. My mom (Lynette) always got pissed off at me, because, Bang, bang, bang!, all day long [smiles].”

Favorite Movies: “Good Will Hunting, Entrapment, Enemy of the State.”

Musical Tastes: “Anything on top of the charts all over the world, AC/DC, Metallica, Lenny Kravitz.”

Pre-Match Feeling: “As always, before an important match, always very nervous. It’s a good feeling. It shows I think that match is very important to me. Once I’m on the court, that’s not so much the pressure, that’s the easy part. It’s what I love to do. In the beginning of the match, you hope you just play okay. Which is, start to play, get the rhythm and everything. And after two or three games, you’re not nervous anymore.”

First Job: “Never had one. I stopped school at 16 and started playing tennis.”

Early Tennis Memory: “I was playing a friend named Marco (Chiudinelli) when I was 14. Playing in Basel. And it was like six o’clock. And this bird just goes on the net [smiles]. My friend – he didn’t see the bird – and he starts serving. And he serves…and the little bird, Boom! Right on the body. The bird fell on my side of the net. And it was on the ground, like shaking, then, Boom, dead. Feathers all over the court. He didn’t know what happened. I’m like, Stop, stop! There’s a bird on the net. And he goes, Boom, and just hits it. That was unbelievable.”

Childhood Dream: “Always had tennis in my mind. Tennis was my dream. To me, Wimbledon was always the special one. Because my heroes were Becker, Edberg and Sampras. I just hope that I always be healthy and not injured.

Greatest Sports Moment: “I think I have so many [smiles]. I think the four Grand Slams are fantastic and each has a special place for me. Australian – I became number one in the world. Wimbledon – I broke Pete’s record there (for 15 slam titles). The U.S. Open – I won it five years in a row. French Open (became third man in Open era to win all four slams). And the Olympic gold medal in doubles last year. So I think those are the best moments of my career.”

Most Painful Moment: “One good thing about me is that I forget matches, even bad matches, very quickly. I get sad about not having played well but I don’t really get (upset). By the time I get back to the hotel, it’s completely forgotten and I’m fine.”

Favorite Meal(s): “Tomatoes and mozzarella di buffala. And gnocchi and gorgonzola, sausage, cheese, salad.”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Rice Crispies [laughs].”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Strawberry.”

Closest Tennis Friends: “I am lucky to speak three languages, and this opens many doors to making friends with other players. I reckon I have an excellent contact with many other players on the Tour. I do spend a lot of time with the other Swiss players when they are also at the tournaments.”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “Nadal.”

Favorite Athletes To Watch: “FC Basel. Zinedine Zidane. Francesco Totti. Michael Jordan. Lennox Lewis – the best. Big and strong. Wladimir Klitschko. I liked his style. Peter Forsberg. More and more hockey. American football was not too interesting to me. Too many breaks in the action. Plus I don’t understand the rules too good.

Favorite Tennis Players To Watch:  “I just like to watch tennis. I’m flippin’ through the channels and see a match – really no matter who is playing – I just like the game very much. One player I would really like to watch is Bjorn Borg. Because I never really had the chance to see him when he was at his best. And from what I’ve seen and heard, he is a very special player and obviously a great champion.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “That they smile a lot. Friendly. Helpful. I have a motto that I like: It’s nice to be important, but it’s important to be nice. And don’t lie. I don’t like it when somebody lies. Because I never lie.”

Ht: 5-10 Wt: 130

DOB: July 11, 1990 In: Odense, Denmark

Tennis Inspirations: “Yeah, Martina Hingis, one of my role models, growing up I was always looking at her game. And I was trying to play like her.”

First Tennis Memory: “Playing with my mom and dad and brother in a small town. And they didn’t want to play with me [smiles] because I was so bad, so I was standing against the wall just hitting for three, four hours every day. One day I beat them and that was so good.”

Favorite Movies: “Titanic, I have so many, Lord Of The Rings, National Treasure, White Chicks, Wedding Crashers. A lot, I have a lot.”

Last Book Read: “The Girl Who Played With A Fire, the writer is Dee Larsen.”

Favorite TV Shows: “Orange County, Grey’s Anatomy.”

Musical Tastes: “All different kinds, I like Mariah Carey.”

Pre-Match Feeling: “Just relaxed, you know, I like to read a book before. Just to think about anything, just clear my mind.”

Current Car: “No, I don’t have one.”

Favorite Meal: “Tacos [smiles].”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Cookies.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Winning New Haven and winning my first WTA and winning junior Wimbledon.”

Most Painful Moment: “I’m trying to think…I don’t know.”

Favorite Tournaments: “All the Grand Slams. I really like the US Open and I like Wimbledon a lot. I have good memories playing Wimbledon – winning juniors there – so I like going back. And I like the grass and the atmosphere.”

Closest WTA Friends: “Sorana Cirstea, the Polish ones.”

Funniest Players Encountered: “Vince Spadea. I met him at an exhibition in Liverpool and he was just hilarious.”

Toughest Competitors: “I don’t know if there is one that I fear the most. (Toughest to play?) They can all be tough. I just go out and play my best against all opponents.”

Favorite Players To Watch: “I like watching Federer play.”

Funny Tennis Memory: “I think you have to see this point. Chakvetadze, she hits a shot, she gets an easy overhead. The opponent is standing far behind the baseline and not even going for the shot. She hit the overhead – she mis-hit it. And she goes for the backhand and she hits it in. She won the point anyways.”

Embarrassing Tennis Memory: “That’s a tough one. I don’t know. I lost love and one in doubles in French Open (to Sugiyama/Srebotnik). I didn’t think that was fun.”

Last Vacation: “After Wimbledon I went to Copenhagen for a few days my birthday.”

Favorite Sports Outside Tennis: “I like soccer and basketball.”

Best You Ever Felt On Court: “I think my first final in Stockholm last summer. I felt like every ball was just sitting there and then taking the trophy and winning, that was great.”

Personality Qualities Most Admired: “Honesty, polite, nice, smart.”