OK, here is Rogi's bio:
November 6, 2002
Shanghai Preview: Roger Federer
If 2001 was the year that Roger Federer first captured the tennis world's attention, then 2002 is the year that he served notice that he is indeed the real deal. The Swiss No. 1 used his fluid all-court attack to capture three titles in five final appearances, surging to sixth in the ATP Champions Race and qualifying for his first Tennis Masters Cup.
Age: 21
Birthplace: Basel, Switzerland
Residence: Munchenstein, Switzerland
Height: 6'1" (1.85m)
Weight: 177 (80kg)
Turned Pro: 1998
Career Titles: 4
2002 Titles: 3
2002 Win/Loss: 55-21
Career Win/Loss: 155-92
Federer, at 21 the youngest of the eight stars in Shanghai, got off to a sizzling start this year. He won the first event he played - Sydney - taking out Andy Roddick along the way, and reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, where he held a match point against Tommy Haas before surrendering to the German in an 8-6 fifth-set heartbreaker. Undeterred, Federer moved on to Milan, site of his first career title in 2001, and nearly repeated as champion, falling to Davide Sanguinetti in a three-set final.
In March, Federer reached his first Tennis Masters Series final at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami, where he dismantled World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in the semifinals before succumbing to five-time Miami champion Andre Agassi.
Just two months later in Hamburg, Federer reached his second Masters Series final, and this time he made the most of it. Following impressive wins over Gustavo Kuerten and Max Mirnyi, he demolished Marat Safin in three straight sets in the final to capture a coveted Tennis Masters Series shield for the first time, also marking his first claycourt title.
After his Hamburg triumph, Federer entered into a slump that lasted for most of the summer, as he went just 6-8 including disappointing first-round losses at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, site of his stunning breakthrough victory over Pete Sampras a year earlier. He began to turn things around at the US Open, reaching the fourth round where he lost to Mirnyi, but his game really took off with the start of the indoor season.
Indeed, Federer has gone 14-4 under the roof in his last five events, including a third title of the year in Vienna, a semifinal appearance in his hometown event of Basel, and quarterfinal showings in Moscow and the Tennis Masters Series events in Madrid and Paris. His run of success indoors, combined with the fact that he is the only Masters Cup player with natural serve-and-volley prowess, bode very well for Federer's prospects to do some damage in Shanghai.
