Happy Birthday, Roger Federer

Author:
Courtney Nguyen
Publish date:
Aug 8, 2013

Roger Federer was presented with a cake for his 25th birthday at the Rogers Cup in Toronto in 2006. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Roger Federer celebrated his 32nd birthday on Thursday in Mason, Ohio, where he's already preparing for next week's Western & Southern Open. In honor of Federer's big day, we collected 32 of our favorite clips, photos, quotes and more from the 17-time Grand Slam champion.

1. The King of Improvisation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6Ss1TgmA8I

2. What do you get the man who has everything? Might I suggest this cup cozy as a birthday gift? If that doesn't suit his fancy, this key chain might work.

Roger Federer's 17 Grand Slam titles. (AFP/Getty Images)

3. Asked to explain his greatness, Federer's response was shockingly simple: "I'm definitely a very talented player."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGxawB9iPts

4. Remember that one time he got an incurable case of the giggles?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94xyOpETYYs

5. Or that other time he got an incurable case of the giggles? Maybe it's just something about the Spanish?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM_dOoUXgLE

Federer rocks out. (Adam Pretty/AllSport)

6. Roger Federer: Rock Star. Kind of:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir4wyeI74UA

Federer shows off his trophy after winning the 2004 Australian Open. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

7. Tennis' Superman: Marat Safin was asked once to name the three greatest players in history. He said Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras. When asked about omitting Federer from the list, Safin clarified: "I thought you said players from planet Earth." Lleyton Hewitt said of the "freak" Federer: "I haven't seen a lot that Roger hasn't been able to do, so he's as close to Superman as it comes."

8. Silence, Mr. and Mrs. Djokovic! Genius at work!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2GUpbNKSWs

9. No one on the ATP Tour gets in the subtle dig the way Federer does. It's masterful. Here he is at the 2009 Australian Open, where weary defending champion Novak Djokovic retired down two sets to one to Andy Roddick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S93YvQiCpE

10. During a South American tour, Federer was asked about Brazilian women. He wisely says he'll "look at them, but no touching."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lP9hY1K_g4

Federer hits the beaches of Key Biscayne in 2000. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

11. Federer wasn't always the clean-cut, debonaire hair model that he is today. Check his hair evolution.

12. He slices, he dices, he juliennes fries:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG4iNFxScak

13. Federer's endearing, humble-braggy attempt to console Roddick after beating him 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 in the 2009 Wimbledon final.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT_SECGBLso

14. Howdy, Partner. Federer in a cowboy hat:

When in Rome: Federer dons a cowboy hat during the opening ceremony of the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston in 2003. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

15. Federer leads a celebration for the Swiss Davis Cup team.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6mrZjPTLCM

"Fedal" in 2005. Those were happier times. (Clive Mason/Getty Images)

16. The Federer-Nadal rivalry has electrified the sport for the last decade. Of course, their most memorable duel came in the 2008 Wimbledon final, where Nadal prevailed 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 as twilight fell on Centre Court.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1yfWb0-jqQ

17. No mention of Federer is complete without a shout-out to his parents, Robert and Lynette, the epitome of class and kindness in the tennis parenting community. After watching their son lose to Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon final, Robert made it a point to immediately deliver some congratulatory hugs to the Nadal family in the player's box.

How many milk bottles did he have to knock down to win that guy? (Findlay Kember/AFP/Getty Images)

18. The Federbear. No autograph line at a tennis tournament is complete without a few hundred of these guys.

Roger and Mirka pose with his maiden Slam trophy at Wimbledon in 2003. (Cynthia Lum/WireImage/Getty Images)

19. They started dating in 2000, and Federer and a very shy Mirka Vavrinec played together for Switzerland at Hopman Cup in 2002. They gave a very giggly interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCnuD0MVAEQ

20. Thanks to Federer, we have one of the best tennis press conferences of all time, courtesy of Roddick, who took a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 shellacking in the semifinals of the 2007 Australian Open.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGiSrj97txc

21. The quirky celebration between Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Olympics. In case you need translation, Wawrinka was on fire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5LdAM8d5aE

Federer gets frustrated during a loss a the 2001 Australian Open. (Adam Pretty/AllSport/)

22. Federer did a good job learning to harness the temper that plagued him when he was younger. But losing to his nemesis Djokovic in the 2009 Sony Open was the straw that broke the GOAT's back. And racket.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-e-Ud-ly04

23. I can't wait for the day when Federer has a mid-life crisis and goes back to his bleached blonde hair:

(Ron C. Angle/Getty Images)

24. Federer rarely gets into it with umpires, but during the 2009 U.S. Open final, he bristled when umpire Jake Garner told him to calm down as the Swiss complained that Juan Martin del Potro took too long to challenge a call.

25. "God, it's killing me!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG15FrFsgQM

26. The famous Federer viral video from a Gillette photo shoot. We can debate whether the trick is real, but isn't the point of the whole thing that we actually believe it could have happened?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTl3U6aSd2w

27. Federer has hit some incredible shots in his career, but this one is my favorite.

(Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

28. His Wimbledon fashion statements.

(Getty Images)

29. Federer in 2004, on his "rivalry" with Roddick: "For me, I'm in the driver's seat; I'm No. 1 in the world. I've won the last couple of meetings [against Roddick], and I've won the big tournaments lately. Whoever comes, I'll try to beat him. But it's almost up to me to decide who's my rival, isn't it?"

30. Who doesn't love the twins?

Charlene and Myla at the 2012 Australian Open (AFP/Getty Images)

31. Federer, at 19, beat his idol Sampras 7-6 (7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5 in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2001, in what was effectively a changing of the guard:

(Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)