Apr 30, 2005 from AFP:
World number one Roger Federer has withdrawn from the Telecom Italia Masters due to a plantar fascitis in both feet, it was announced by organisers Saturday. The condition, one of the most common in tennis and jogging, occurs when the long, flat ligament on the bottom of the foot (plantar fascia) stretches irregularly and develops small tears that cause the ligament to become inflamed.

Apr 23, 2005 from Roger Federer Official Site:
Roger played an exhibition match at Old Boys against Marco Chiudinelli this Friday, 22nd April, 2005. The weather was absolutely perfect and Roger enjoyed playing and joking in front of his home crowd, taking home the match 7:6, 6:4.

As a gift Roger received something he had not owned until then: a center-court carrying his name. The sign was unveiled after the match against Marco. It was also great fun for Roger to answer questions from the local juniors, which he found both funny and different to what he is used to.

Apr 20, 2005 from Brand Republic:
LONDON - London Marathon winner Paula Radcliffe and Wimbledon champion Roger Federer are among the athletes enjoying the wonders of barefoot training in the new ad for Nike.

The spot, called "power to your feet", was created by Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam to promote Nike Free, running shoes that the company promises will let the wearer's feet move as if they were not wearing shoes at all. Radcliffe and Federer appear in the spot along with the tennis player Maria Sharapova, footballers including Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, and the Moroccan long-distance runner Hicham El Guerrouj.

The spot is set to the tune 'Tiptoe through the Tulips' by the late Tiny Tim, as remixed by Mark @ Tuna Music. It was created by art director Alvaro Sotomayer and copywriter Carlo Cavallone, and directed by Stylewar through Mungo Maglagan.

from swissinfo:
The Swiss Tennis Association has launched a programme to persuade more youngsters to pick up a racket – and perhaps unearth the next Roger Federer. "Kidstennis", which was launched on Wednesday, aims to increase the number of registered young players in Switzerland by 15 per cent over the next five years.

The Swiss Tennis Association plans to stage ten kidstennis events across the country over the summer to introduce the concept to the public. Top players, including Federer, are backing the project and some of them will take part in the end-of-year training session.

Apr 19, 2005 from Roger Federer Official Site:
Dear Fans,

Please note that I will be playing the exhibition match on Friday, 22nd April, 2005 at 17.00 h if the weather is favourable. Should it rain I will play on Saturday, 23rd April, 2005, at 13.30 h.

At 8 years Roger became a member of the tennis club ‘Old Boys’ in Basel (Switzerland), where he managed to rise among the best national players of his age under the guidance of Seppli Kacovsky. Now it is time to give something back to 'Old Boys' and so Roger will be part of a big event with show matches, tennis clinics, junior events, party and much more will be held this weekend.

Apr 15, 2005 from Reuters:
MONTE CARLO - Roger Federer's 25-match winning streak was broken at the Monte Carlo Masters Friday when Richard Gasquet stormed to a dramatic 6-7, 6-2, 7-6 victory in the quarter-finals.

The 18-year-old qualifier ripped a backhand winner down the line on his third match point to win a tension-filled third set tiebreak 10-8 after two hours 18 minutes of tennis. Federer has been virtually untouchable at the top of men's tennis this year, racking up five titles, but he was de-railed in spectacular fashion after wasting three match points of his own in the tiebreak.

Gasquet bounced back from losing the first set against a below-par Federer, dominating the second with some free-flowing winners and sublime touch around the net.

Roared on by the crowd, he moved into a 5-3 lead in the decider only for his nerve to fail him. Standing at match point, Gasquet opened up the court perfectly, but swiped a volley way beyond the baseline. In the next game he carved out another match point on the Federer serve, but the Swiss showed his trademark cool to put away an overhead.

MONTE CARLO - Analysis of Roger Federer's winning run before his defeat against Richard Gasquet at the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday:

- Gasquet's victory ended Federer's 25-match winning streak, which bettered his 23-match run last year.

- It also ended Federer's 16-match winning streak against French players in which time he did not drop a set.

- His 35-1 start to the year was the best on the ATP circuit since John McEnroe's 39-0 start in 1984.

- He has won 51 of 53 matches going back to the beginning of last year's U.S. Open.

- Federer's only previous loss this year was against Marat Safin, in the semi-final of the Australian Open.

- His victory over Rafael Nadal at the Nasdaq-100 Masters Series extended his Open Era record of consecutive wins in ATP finals to 18.

- Friday's defeat ended his chances of becoming the first person to win three consecutive Master Series titles.

- Before Monte Carlo, Federer had won eight of his nine previous tournaments.

- Federer's previous loss against a player ranked outside the top 100 was to Radek Stepanek in 2002.

Apr 14, 2005 from AFP:
MONACO - Roger Federer struggled to subdue battling Fernando Gonzalez to reach the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals on Thursday and take his winning streak to 25 matches this year. The top seed won 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 in 2hr 21min of topsy-turvy centre court action and will face French teenager Richard Gasquet for a place in the semi-finals.

Federer, who now boasts a 35-1 winning record in 2005, is chasing a sixth title of the year and is hoping to become the first player to win three Masters in a row. But he did it the hard way on Thursday. He broke the powerful Gonzalez in the fourth and eighth games to take the first set after 30 minutes.

The 23-year-old grabbed a break in the eighth game of the second with a running backhand hit from outside the tramlines but Gonzalez hit back to trail 4-5. Federer would have had a match point in the 12th game but agreed to replay the point after Gonzalez questioned a forehand which had been called out. It proved a costly gesture of sportsmanship as Gonzalez held on and then clinched the tie-break after 72 minutes on court.

from ATP:
World No. 1 Roger Federer has been voted ‘Most Popular Player’ by Chinese Tennis Magazine. Federer finished ahead of Marat Safin and Andy Roddick in the poll that attracted more than 50,000 votes, cast via the internet and magazine and newspaper polls.

Federer thanked Asian fans for their support through a video message at the China Tennis Summit and Tennis Billboard Awards Ceremony. "Thank you very much for this award. It’s a big honor for me to receive this award from all the Chinese people. I’m looking forward to coming to China later this year."

World No.1 Roger Federer completed two photoshoots for lifestyle magazines Uomo Vogue and Optimum during ATP Masters Series Monte-Carlo.

As every year, several stars from soccer team AS Monaco came to visit the tournament. The likes of Javier Saviola, Lucas Bernardi and Diego Perez all came to support their Argentine friend GUILLERMO CORIA. On Thursday, Inter Milan player Esteban Cambiasso met one of his idols, Roger Federer, after the Swiss star's third round win. Federer received a shirt from Cambiasso and gave the Argentine one of his racquets. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Apr 13, 2005 from Reuters:
MONTE CARLO - Roger Federer stretched his winning streak to 24 matches on Wednesday with a comfortable 6-3 6-4 defeat of Spaniard Albert Montanes in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

The Swiss world number one went through his full repertoire of shots against Montanes who managed to keep the top seed out on court for just 59 minutes. Federer had plenty in reserve against his 24-year-old opponent, suffering just one blip when he sloppily lost his serve at 5-2 in the second set. However he made no mistake at 5-4 and he now looks forward to a meeting with Chilean Fernando Gonzales in the third round.

Apr 12, 2005 from Reuters:
MONTE CARLO - Roger Federer has launched his claycourt season with an easy 6-3 6-1 victory over Greg Rusedski at the Monte Carlo Masters.

The Swiss, looking for a third successive Masters Series title this year, went down an early break against the British player, but recovered quickly to claim the first set and move 4-0 ahead in the second on Tuesday. Rusedski held on to one more service game before top seed Federer closed out the match.

Apr 6, 2005 from ATP:
Roger Federer's statement on death of H.S.H. Prince Rainier III of Monaco: "I want to express my deepest condolences to the royal family and the people of Monaco. I remember how much Prince Rainier III embraced the tournament. It will be difficult to play there at this time, but we will do so to honor the Prince, the royal family and the people of Monaco."

Apr 3, 2005 from NASDAQ-100 Open:
Only once in the 20 previous finals played at the NASDAQ-100 Open had there been a five set final. It was the very first one in 1985. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played the second and like that first one the eventual champion came back from two sets to love down.

On Sunday, Roger Federer became the 2005 champion of the NASDAQ-100 Open. The Swiss great won his 18th consecutive final and has claimed his fifth title of the year which includes the "American Double", Indian Wells and Miami, just as Kim Clijsters did the day before with the women.

The scene could not have been any more appropriate for the main event. Not a cloud in the sky, bright sunshine with mild temperatures. A full house was on hand to watch the world's best tennis player, Federer, do battle with one of the most exciting teenagers in the sport today, Nadal who is exactly two months short of his 19 birthday.

"It was extremely close and I consider myself lucky to get through," said Federer. "All my praises go to him. He is a great guy and a great player." Federer came back from two sets to love down and 1-4 in the third set to score a stunning victory, 2-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-1 in three hours, 42 minutes. Federer truly epitomized that saying - "when the going gets tough, the tough get going".

The Spaniard went on the attack from the outset. He was being aggressive with everything he played and was putting the pressure on Federer who was coming in on pretty much every point. Nadal broke Federer in the first game when the Swiss sent a backhand long. The Spaniard had Federer facing another two break points in the fifth game before those were saved. In the seventh game the pressure was on the top seed again and he served two double faults, the second one on break point to give Nadal a stranglehold on the set which he served out.

The situation started to look concerning when Nadal broke Federer in the first game of the second set, but Federer rallied back to level the set when he sent a glorious forehand down the line for a winner, clipping the back of the baseline as it skidded away from Nadal. Federer created a 5-3 lead and was playing shots that were expected from him.

But that changed quickly as he slipped back into uncharacteristically missing returns that he would normally strike with his eyes closed. He could however be excused on one smash that he "aired" as the ball lined up exactly with the sun and Federer was momentarily blinded.

Federer then lost his serve in the ninth game as the Spaniard kept pressing and with a break point on his racquet, he pushed Federer into sending a forehand long down the line. In the next game the Swiss did manage to reach two set points on Nadal's serve but again some rudimentary shots from Federer were messed up by the net. They eventually went to a tiebreak and Nadal was awesome as drilled the ball from side to side. The spring in his step had become a bounce as he lead two sets to love by winning the breaker 7-4.

In the third Federer lost his serve in the fourth game when Nadal cracked a forehand cross court winner to break and then lead 4-1 but the Swiss brought it back on serve in the seventh game when Nadal netted a forehand as Federer pumped his fist and then served an ace to hold and make it 4-4. In the ninth game Nadal faced a break point but he produced a second service ace to save it and when Federer shanked what should have been a straightforward overhead his fury and frustration took over as he slammed his racquet into the court.

Once again the set went to a tiebreak. Nadal was now two points away from the biggest win of his career. He had 5-3 but Federer got the mini-break back when Nadal sent a backhand into the net and eventually Federer clawed back making no mistake on his first set point as he forced the Spaniard into sending a backhand long. Federer punched the air. He was still alive in the final.

The momentum Federer gained by winning the set saw him through the fourth. He broke in the fourth game when Nadal netted a backhand and eventually levelled the final with forehand volley at shoulder height. In the fifth set it was obvious that Nadal was running out of gas. He had played a fantastic match but the genius of Federer had scratched is way back and his confidence was on the ascendancy. Federer broke in the third, fifth and seventh games to claim his crown, the final point being a netted forehand by Nadal.

"I really didn't expect to turn it around," admitted Federer. "I haven't dug out many matches in my career. I'm extremely happy, and exhausted."

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have a light moment after the men's singles final at the Nasdaq 100 Open. (Photo by Steve Mitchell/AP)

Roger lifts the trophy after defeating Nadal in the men's final during the NASDAQ-100 Open. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/AFP/Getty Images)

Apr 1, 2005 from NASDAQ-100 Open:
In the third round of the 2004 NASDAQ-100 Open Rafael Nadal scored quite an upset because he beat Roger Federer. Now the world No. 1 has the opportunity to strike back and avenge that result when he meets Nadal in the final of this year's championship.

One has to wonder if Roger Federer at times has the ball attached to his racquet with some sort of undetectable string. It is so rare for him to miss or to be facing break points. Often Andre Agassi was left frustrated as returns which would have been winners or virtually unplayable against most other opponents were coming back at him with a high rate of interest. He was frequently left flat footed or just shaking his head and gesticulating with his hands over what to do against the scourge of every player.

Federer reached the final for the second time, the last time being 2002 when he lost to Agassi in four sets. This time in one hour 25 minutes and by the score of 6-4, 6-3 Federer reached yet another championship match and will be looking to win his 18th consecutive final. The victory was Federer's seventh straight over the American and it marks the first time any player has recorded seven consecutive wins over him.

Agassi didn't have a break point the entire first set and was broken in the 10th game when Federer had his first and only break point of the set. Agassi only real chance in the match was in the seventh game of the second set. He had Federer at 0-40, three break points. On the first one he hit a backhand long and the other two Federer came up with aces. Agassi had another two break points but again there was a backhand into the net and then another netted return.