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Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

The Master Blaster


Name : Sachin Tendulkar
Full name : Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Nick name :The Master Blaster, The Little Champion, The Bombay Bomber
Height : 5′4”
Born : 24-04-1973
Birth place: Bombay, India
Test Debut: Pakistan at Karachi, 1st Test, 1989/90
ODI Debut: Pakistan at Gujranwala, 2nd ODI, 1989/90
1st Class Debut: 1988
Major Teams: Mumbai, Yorkshire, India
Known As: Sachin Tendulkar
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Off Break, Leg Break, Right Arm Medium, Leg Break Googly
Marital Status: Married
Wife�s Name: Anjali Tendulkar
Children: Two (One Boy and One Girl)
Girl�s Name: Sarah Tendulkar
Boy�s Name: Arjun Tendulkar

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (born 24 April 1973) is an Indian cricketer. He holds several batting records, including the most Test centuries and the most one-day international centuries, and was rated in 2002 by Wisden as the second greatest Test batsman ever, after Sir Don Bradman[1]. He received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest sporting honour, for 1997-1998, and the civilian award Padma Shri in 1999. Tendulkar was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997.

Early days

Born in Mumbai (then Bombay) into a middle-class family, Sachin Tendulkar was named after his family’s favourite music director Sachin Dev Burman. He went to Sharadashram Vidyamandir School where he started his cricketing career under coach Ramakant Achrekar. While at school, he was involved in a mammoth 664 run partnership in a Harris Shield game with friend and team mate Vinod Kambli. In 1988/1989, he scored 100 not-out in his first first-class match, for Bombay against Gujarat. At 15 years and 232 days he was the youngest to score a century on debut.

International career

Sachin played his first international match against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989, facing the likes of Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Abdul Qadir, and Waqar Younis. He made just 15 runs, being bowled by Waqar Younis, who also made his debut in that match. It was an inauspicious start, but Tendulkar followed it up with his maiden Test fifty a few days later at Faisalabad. His One-day International (ODI) debut on December 18 was equally disappointing, where he was dismissed without scoring a run, again by Waqar Younis. The series was followed by a non-descript tour of New Zealand in which he fell for 88 in a Test match, John Wright, who would later coach India, pouching the catch that prevented Tendulkar from becoming the youngest centurion in Test cricket. The long anticipated maiden Test century came in England’s tour in 1990 but the other scores were not remarkable. Tendulkar truly came into his own in the 1991-1992 tour of Australia that included a brilliant century on the fast and bouncy track at Perth. He has been Man of the Match 11 times in Test matches and Man of the Series twice, both times in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

His first ODI century came on September 9, 1994 against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo. It had taken Tendulkar 79 ODIs to score a century.

Sachin Tendulkar is the only player to score a century while making his Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy debut.

Wisden named Tendulkar one of the Cricketers of the Year in 1997, the first calendar year in which he scored 1,000 Test runs. He repeated the feat in 1999, 2001, and 2002.

Tendulkar also holds the record for scoring 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year. He has done it six times - 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003. In 1998 he made 1,894 ODI runs, still the record for ODI runs by any batsman in any given calendar year.

While not a regular bowler, Tendulkar has 37 wickets in 132 tests.

Highlights of Tendulkar’s Test career include:

* Rated as the second best batsman of all time (next to Don Bradman) by Wisden [1][3]
* Highest number of Test centuries (35), overtaking Sunil Gavaskar’s record (34) on 10 December 2005 vs Sri Lanka in Delhi.
* Played in the highest number of Cricket Grounds - he has played Test Cricket on 52 different grounds, ahead of Azharuddin (48), Kapil Dev (47), Inzamam-ul-Haq (46) and Wasim Akram (45).
* He is the fastest to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket history. He holds this record along with Brian Lara. Both of them achieved this feat in 195 innings.
* 4th highest tally of runs in Test cricket (10,668) (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Career Average 54.71 - Has the highest average among those who have scored over 10,000 Test runs (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Second Indian to make over 10,000 runs in Test matches.
* Has 37 Test wickets (14 Dec 2005)
* Second fastest player to reach 9000 runs (Brian Lara made 9000 in 177 innings, Sachin in 179.)

Highlights of Tendulkar’s ODI career include:

* Played more matches than any other cricketer, 381 matches. (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Most Man of the Match (52) awards (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Appeared on the most grounds (89 different grounds)
* Most runs - 14,783 (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Most centuries (41) (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Most centuries vs. Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
* First cricketer to cross 10,000-run mark in ODIs
* Only cricketer to cross 14,000-run mark in ODIs
* Only player to have over 100 innings of 50+ runs as of February, 2006
* Over 100 wickets - 147 (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Highest batting average among batsmen with over 10,000 ODI runs (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Highest individual score among Indian batsmen (186* against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999)
* Holds the record for scoring 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year. He has done it six times - 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003.
* In 1998 he made 1,894 ODI runs, still the record for ODI runs by any batsman in any given calendar year.
* In 1998 he hit 9 ODI centuries, the highest by any player in an year.

World Cup

* Most runs (1732 at an average of 59.72) in World Cup Cricket History
* Player Of The Tournament in the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
* 673 runs in 2003 World Cup, highest by any one in a single Cricket World Cup

Miscellaneous

* Sachin Tendulkar is the first batsman to have been declared run out by a third umpire in 1992 against South Africa in South Africa.
* He was the first overseas cricketer to play for Yorkshire CCC in 1992.
* Oddly, Wisden does not include any innings by Tendulkar among its list of 100 greatest Test batting performances.

Criticism and recent performance

The case against Sachin Tendulkar’s recent performances was summed up by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack in its 2005 edition: “Apart from a glorious, nothing-to-lose 55 against Australia on a Mumbai terrortrack, watching Tendulkar became a colder experience: after his humbling 2003, he seemed to reject his bewitching fusion of majesty and human frailty in favour of a mechanical, robotic accumulation.”

The criticism must be seen against the backdrop of Tendulkar’s performance through the years 1994-1999, coinciding with his physical peak, at age 20 through 25. Tendulkar was told to open the batting at Auckland against New Zealand in 1994 [4]. He went on to make 82 runs off 49 balls. This was the beginning of a glorious period, culminating in the Australian tour of 1998-1999, following which Australian spinner Shane Warne ruefully joked that he was having nightmares about his Indian nemesis.

A chronic back problem flared up when Pakistan toured India in 1999, with India losing the historic Test at Chepauk despite a gritty century from Tendulkar himself. Worse was to come as Professor Ramesh Tendulkar, Sachin’s father, died in the middle of the 1999 cricket World Cup. Tendulkar, succeeding Mohammad Azharuddin as captain, then led India on a tour of Australia, where the visitors were comprehensively beaten 3-0 [6] by the newly-crowned world champions. Tendulkar resigned, and Sourav Ganguly took over as captain in 2000.

Tendulkar made 673 runs in 11 matches in the 2003 World Cup, helping India reach the finals. While Australia retained the trophy that it had won in 1999, Tendulkar was given the Man of the Series award.

The drawn series as India toured Australia in 2003-2004 saw Tendulkar making his mark in the last Test of the series, with a double century in Sydney. The series was tied 1-1, with Rahul Dravid taking the Man of the Series award.

Tennis elbow then took its toll on Tendulkar, leaving him out of the side for the first two Tests when Australia toured India in 2005. He played a part in the facesaving Indian victory in Mumbai, though Australia had already taken the series 2-1, with the Chennai Test drawn.

Of late, as Wisden noted, Tendulkar has not been his old aggressive self. Expert opinion is divided on whether this is due to his increasing years or the lingering after-effects of injuries over 17 years at the highest level. On 10 December, 2005, at Feroz Shah Kotla, he delighted fans with a record-breaking 35th Test century, against the Sri Lankans. But doubts were raised once again when he averaged a mere 21 over three Test innings when India toured Pakistan in 2006.

On 6 February 2006, Tendulkar scored his 39th ODI hundred, in a match against Pakistan. Tendulkar now has 16 more ODI tons than the man who is second on the list of ODI century-makers, Sourav Ganguly. He followed with a run-a-ball 42 in the second ODI against Pakistan on February 11, 2006, and then a truly masterly 95 in hostile conditions on 13 February, 2006 in Lahore.

On 19 March 2006, after scoring an unconvincing 1 off 21 balls against England in the first innings of the third Test in his home ground, Wankhede, Tendulkar was booed off the ground by a section of the crowd[7], the first time that he has ever faced such flak. While cheered on when he came for his second innings, Tendulkar was to end the three-Test series without a single half-century to his credit, and news of a shoulder operation raised more questions about his longevity. Geoffrey Boycott was brutal in his assessment: “Sachin Tendulkar is in the worst form of his career…Now that he’s going to sit out for a further two months, I don’t think he can ever come back to regain what he once had.”

Personal life

Sachin Tendulkar married Anjali Mehta, the paediatrician daughter of Gujarati industrialist Anand Mehta, in 1995, some years after they were introduced by mutual friends. They have two children, Sara (born October 1997) and Arjun (born 23 September, 2000). Tendulkar sponsors 200 under-privileged children every year through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based NGO associated with his mother-in-law, Annabel Mehta. He is reluctant to speak about this, or other charitable activities, choosing to preserve the sanctity of his personal life despite the overwhelming media interest in him. Tendulkar has been seen taking his Ferrari 360 Modena for late-night drives in Mumbai. (Gifted by Fiat through Michael Schumacher, the car became notorious when Tendulkar was given customs exemption; Fiat paid the dues to end the controversy.)

**********************************************

Batting and fielding averages


Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s Ct St
Tests 140 226 23 11150 248* 54.92

37 45
42 93 0
ODIs 403 393 37 15707 186* 44.12 18422 85.26 41 85 1706 165 120 0
T20Is 1 1 0 10 10 10.00 12 83.33 0 0 2 0 1 0
First-class 239 373 38 19894 248* 59.38

63 91

160 0
List A 490 478 51 19259 186* 45.10

52 103

155 0
Twenty20 5 5 0 198 69 39.60 119 166.38 0 2 30 5 2 0

Bowling averages

Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10
Tests 140 115 3718 2135 42 3/10 3/14 50.83 3.44 88.5 0 0 0
ODIs 403 261 7973 6753 154 5/32 5/32 43.85 5.08 51.7 4 2 0
T20Is 1 1 15 12 1 1/12 1/12 12.00 4.80 15.0 0 0 0
First-class 239
7077 4024 67 3/10
60.05 3.41 105.6
0 0
List A 490
10149 8381 201 5/32 5/32 41.69 4.95 50.4 4 2 0
Twenty20 5 4 57 65 2 1/12 1/12 32.50 6.84 28.5 0 0 0

*********************************************

Quotes by Sachin -

And that is the reason why this victory is great, because different players have made contributions to the win.

At least with me, the match starts much, much earlier than the actual match.

Beating Pakistan is always special because they are a tough team and we have a bit if a history regarding Pakistan.

Before coming here I had a minor back problem and I thought whenever I play Pakistan I get a back problem.

But eventually it is a game of cricket.

But it is not fair to blame a particular individual in a team comprising 11 members.

Every individual has his own style, his own way of presenting himself on and off the field.

From the spinners, Anil and I have been together for a long time and I respect him a lot.

I always had a dream to play for India but I never let it put pressure on me.

I am not thinking too far ahead, just want to take it one thing at a time.

I believe every era has its significance and the same holds true for players and coaches.

I didn’t want to prove a point, cause bowlers always want to make a statement and my job is to go out and score runs for India.

I feel when somebody has been playing cricket for a long time, he creates a separate identity for himself.

I find it difficult to sleep even after all these years because my mind is constantly working and that is the way I have always prepared.

I hate losing and cricket being my first love, once I enter the ground it’s a different zone altogether and that hunger for winning is always there.

I have never believed in comparisons, whether they are about different eras, players or coaches.

I have never thought where I will go, or forced any targets on myself.

I have never tried to compare myself to anyone else.

I have played for 15 years and it has been a dream.

I just keep it simple. Watch the ball and play it on merit.

I just want to continue the way I am going.

I myself want to learn to play the guitar because I just love music and I want to learn to play at least one good musical instrument.

I never played with a runner in my entire life, even in schools, because only I know where the ball is going and how hard, when I hit the ball, something my runner will never know about.

I want to give my six hours of serious cricket on the ground and then take whatever the result.

If one man is representing India in cricket, then yes, blame that person when things go wrong.

Imran Khan did not become Imran Khan overnight. He worked hard to become a legend.

Isn’t cricket supposed to be a team sport? I feel people should decide first whether cricket is a team game or an individual sport.

It doesn’t always happen according to the way you have planned things out but I feel if you have covered most of the aspects, it does help out there in the middle.

It has been very good here, but the World Cup game was different. It had a different significance to it.

It is my job to make runs for the country and win. That is the job I have to do.

Lara’s done very well recently and I never had any doubts about the abilities of Lara or Waugh.

Moment there is contact your sub conscious mind knows whether it’s a single or more. It’s that fraction of contact that matters.

My first strategy was not to give any wickets in first five to six overs because first 10 overs were important.

My point of view is that when I am playing cricket I cannot think that this game is less or more important.

New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori is a very good bowler.

Obviously after such a long gap, one itches to get back to the game and score big runs.

Shoaib Akhtar has been playing for 5, 6 years and is an experienced bowler.

The Australian tour was good for us; it was ideal preparation for us.

There are a few players who don’t like to think about the game.

Wasim and Waqar were amazing bowlers. I would put them right up there with the best in the world.

We defeated England in Natwest and also in Sri Lanka, but it’s was psychological game and I wanted to settle a score because of memories of losing at Wankhede Stadium were there.

When I was 15, I started playing first class cricket and always dreamt of being a Test cricketer, wanted to do something for the country, married in 1995, have 2 kids it’s been great.

When there is time to think about cricket, I think but when there is time to be with family, I try to do justice to that aspect of my life as well.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Sania Mirza





Born in City of Mumbai in India, and coming from Hyderabad, the youth icon of India is creating history in Tennis worldwide. She is the first Indian to get into Top 50 WTA Ranking. Sania Mirza is the first Indian woman to win a WTA (Hyderabad Open trophy) in February 2005




NameSania Mirza
Date of Birth15th November 1986
Place of BirthMumbai, India
ResidenceHydrabad, India
NationalityIndian
Weight54 Kgs.
Height1.53 Meters

Sania Mirza Profile

HobbiesSwimming & Music
Favorite TournamentWTA Indian Open
Favorite SurfaceHard Courts
Favorite MusicRap and Hindi Remix
Favorite Tennis playerSteffi Graff
Coaching ByNarendranath, Vasudeva Reddy & C.G.K Bhupati

Tournament History

Tournament History : Aug 2005 Women's Singles Finalist, Forest Hills Womens Tennis Classic, N.Y., USA, WTA Tier IV
Jul 2005 Women's Singles Quarterfinalist, Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, Cincinnati, OH, USA, WTA Tier III
Feb 2005 Women's Singles Quarterfinalist, Dubai Duty Free Women's Open, Dubai, UAE, WTA Tier II
Feb 2005 Women's Singles Winner, Hyderabad Open 2005, Hyderabad, WTA Tier IV
Aug 2003 G18 Dbles Finalist (with Anna Tchakvetadze RUS), Canadian Open, Repentigny, CAN, ITF G1
Jun 2003 G18 Dbles Champion (with Alisa Kleybanova RUS), The Junior Championships, Wimbledon, London, GBR, ITF GA
Jun 2003 G18 Dbles Quarterfinalist (with Sanaa Bhambri IND), Gerry Weber Open, Halle, GER, ITF G4
Jun 2003 G18 Dbles Winner (with Sanaa Bhambri IND), 11th Frankfurt Internation, GER, ITF G1
Jun 2003 G18 Dbles Semifinalist (with Sanaa Bhambri IND), French Open, Roland Garros, FRA, ITF GA
May 2003 G18 Dbles Quarterfinalist (with Beier Ko CAN), 39th Astrid Bowl, BEL, ITF G1
Apr 2003 G18 Dbles Winner (with Sanaa Bhambri IND), Shuzo Challenge Japan Open, Nagoya, JPN, ITF G1
Apr 2003 G18 Singles Quarterfinalist, Shuzo Challenge Japan Open, Nagoya, JPN, ITF G1
Apr 2003 G18 Singles Winner, 14th Mitsubishi Lancer, Manila, PHI, ITF G1
Apr 2003 G18 Dbles Semifinalist (with Yung-Jan Chan TPE), 14th Mitsubishi Lancer, Manila, PHI, ITF G1
Dec 2002 Singles Winner & Doubles Finalist (with Isha Lakhani IND), Asian Closed Junior Tennis Championships, ITF GB2
Sep 2002 16U Team India (with Ankita Bhambri & Kartiki Bhat), Junior Fed Cup
Sep 2002 Doubles Quarter-finalist (with Isha Lakhani IND) US Open, USA, ITF Grade A
Aug 2002 Singles Winner & Doubles Winner (with Tarryn Terblanche RSA), South/Central Africa Circuit, Botswana, ITF G3
Jul 2002 Doubles Finalist, Smash Tennis EGY, ITG G3
Jul 2002 Singles Winner & Doubles Winner (with Isha Lakhani IND), Pretoria University, ITF G2
Jul 2002 Doubles Winner (with Isha Lakhani IND), PIC Pretoria, ITF G2
May 2002 Doubles Quarter-finalist (with Micaela Moran ARG), Villach Cup Austria, ITF G2
Apr 2002 Doubles Finalist (with Lara Giltinana AUS) & Singles Quarter-finalist, Chinese Taipei Jo Jo Internation, ITF G3
Apr 2002 Singles Quarter-finalist, Mitsubishi Lancer, PHI, ITF G2
Jan 2002 Doubles Winner (with Linda Smolenakova SVK) & Singles Quarter-finalist, Victorian Champs., AUS, ITF G2
Dec 2001 Doubles Semifinalist (with Sanaa Bhambri IND), Asian Closed, ITF G B2
Oct 2001 Singles & Doubles Finalist, Hong Kong Open, ITF G2
Oct 2001 Doubles Quarter-finalist (with Hanna Nooni SWE) & Singles rd of 16, Osaka Mayor's Cup, Japan, ITF Grade A
Aug 2001 Singles & Doubles Semifinalist (with Sasha Abraham IND) KawZulu Natal, ITF G1
Aug 2001 Doubles Quarter-finalist (with Sasha Abraham IND), Dolphen Coast, ITF G2
Jul 2001 Doubles Winner (with Wana Mrazovic YUG) & Singles Finalist, Smash Tennis Internation G4
Jul 2001 Singles & Doubles Winner (with Sasha Abraham IND), Movenpick Internation G3
Apr 2001 Singles Semifinalist, Mitsubishi Lancer Internation G2
Mar 2001 Singles Quarter-finalist, Mali Milk Cup, 21st Thailand Open G2
Mar 2001 Singles Quarter-finalist, Malaysian Internation G3
Feb 2001 Singles Winner & Doubles Quarter-finalist (with Sasha Abraham IND), Bangladesh Internation G3
Feb 2001 Singles & Doubles Semifinalist (with Maya Rosa INA), Rajshahi Internation G4
Feb 2001 Singles Winner & Doubles Finalist (with May Rosa INA), India ITF Junior Circuit III - Calcutta G4
Jan 2001 Singles & Doubles Winner (with Sasha Abraham IND), Indian ITF Junior 11 - Chandigarh G4
Jan 2001 Doubles Winner (with Sasha Abraham IND) & Singles Quarter-finalist, Indian ITF Junior I - New Delhi G4
Nov 2000 Doubles Semifinalist (with Leila Cehajic CAN), T-Bar Internation, ITF G5
Nov 2000 Doubles Semifinalist (with Sasha Abraham IND) & Singles Quarter-finalist, Malaysia Internation 2 G4
Oct 2000 Singles & Doubles Winner (with Zahra Omer Khan PAK), Pakistan Internation Junior Championships G5
Sep 2000 Singles Winner & Doubles Semifinalist (with Reddhina Parekh IND), Indian ITF - Mumbai G4
Sep 2000 Singles & Doubles Semifinalist (with Priyanka Parekh IND), Indian ITF Junior -Chennai G5
Aug 2000 Singles Semifinalist, Internation Youth Tennis G4
Feb 2000 Doubles Quarter-finalist (with Anete Rozkalne LAT), Bangladesh Internation , ITF G3
Jan 2000 Singles Quarter-finalist, Indian ITF I - New Delhi G4
Jan 2000 Singles Finalist & Doubles Quarter-finalist (with Nichala Reddy Boda IND), Internation, Sri Lanka G4
Nov 1999 Singles Quarter-finalist, India ITF Junior Circuit III Grade 5
Nov 1999 Doubles Winner (with Nida Waseem PAK) & Singles Finalist, Pakistan Internation G5

Roger Federer


Began playing tennis at age eight...Mother, Lynette, is South African and father, Robert, is Swiss and they met on a business trip (they both worked for a pharmaceutical company)...Has one sister Diana, who is two years older...Idol growing up was Boris Becker and favorite player was Pete Sampras...Compiled outstanding junior results, finishing as No. 1 junior in the world in 1998...Won Wimbledon junior singles (d. Labadze) and doubles titles (w/O. Rochus) that year...One of four players (Edberg, Cash, Borg) to win junior and men’s title at Wimbledon...Also reached final at US Open (l. to Nalbandian) and SF at Australian Open in ‘98...Closed junior career with title at Orange Bowl in Miami (d. Coria)...Has a 33-11 career Davis Cup record (24-6 in singles) in 16 ties since 1999...Enjoys sitting on the beach, playing cards and table tennis, is a fervent fan of hometown soccer team FC Basel...Has a flair for aesthetics and class...In 2003, initiated Roger Federer Foundation which supports disadvantaged children in South Africa and promotes sport for young people...Enjoys being an ambassador for global promotion of tennis and is inspired by the cultural diversity of the world...Donated several autographed items to various fundraising auctions and made a personal donation to tsunami relief efforts in January 2005...In addition, helped organize All-Star Rally for Relief, an exhibition event in Indian Wells, Calif., with proceeds to benefit UNICEF’s tsunami efforts...In March 2005, he made a surprise visit to children in townships near Port Elizabeth, South Africa and in November 2005, his parents opened a multipurpose sports site that consists of two tennis courts, a basketball and netball court as well as a football ground in small municipality of Zwide...In September 2005, autographed racquet used in US Open final to ATP’s TennisKatrina.com on-line auction for the American Red Cross’ Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and it fetched a winning bid of $25,665...In November 2004, was on hand at United Nations in New York to announce 2005 as ôInternational Year of Sport and Physical Education… with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan...In April 2006, named UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador...Carried Swiss flag in opening ceremonies of Athens Olympics in 2004...Named ATP Player of Year, Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship award and ATPtennis.com fans’ favorite in 2004-06...I.T.W.A. Player of the Year and Ambassador for Tennis award winner in 2004-06...Named 2003 ôSwiss of the Year… by his country’s TV audience...Won 2004 Laureus World Sportsman of Year...Listed in People Magazine’s ôSexiest Men Alive… issue as an ôInternational Man of Sexiness… in November 2005...One year later, was featured in the same in the ôSexy Surroundings… category...Also featured in Vogue in December 2006...Is close friend of Vogue Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour...She has attended his matches at Wimbledon and the US Open and he accompanied her to Fashion Week in New York City following the 2006 US Open...Named GQ’s ôInternational Man of the Year… for 2005 in Germany...Speaks English, German, Swiss German, French and some Swedish and Italian... Fitness trainer is Pierre Paganini...Golf superstar Tiger Woods attended ’06 US Open final and both athletes met for first time...Parted ways with Aussie coach Tony Roche after Rome in May 2007...Received 2006 Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of Year award and named 2006 BBC Sports Overseas Personality of Year (also in '04)...In October 2007, voted No. 30 in a list of "the 100 most influential people in the world of sports" in BusinessWeek Magazine in U.S. (one of six athletes in Top 30)...Named in Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People in World" in May 14, 2007 issue...Had a stamp of him released by Swiss Post on April 10, 2007 in his birthplace of Basel.