Roger has been honored yet again for his performance during the 2007 season by being awarded the Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award for the fourth straight year. Roger was in attendance in St. Petersburg to receive the award. This is a testament to the great things Roger does on and off the court. Tiger Woods was among the nominees along with Brazilian soccer star Kaká and Finnish driver Kimi Räikkönen.

Among other news, Roger has added two tournament to his 2008 schedule in Stockholm, Sweden and Estoril, Portugal. This is a rather unorthodox because as players get older, they tend to play fewer tournament, but Roger, who will turn 27 in August, decided add to an already demanding schedule, which will include the Olympics in Beijing. This is a sign of how Roger feels about playing the game because he could have just as easily cut tournaments out so that he wouldn’t over work himself but still maintain the number one ranking.

Here is the review of Roger’s 2007 season. All of his on-court and off-court accomplishment.

January
Wins his 3rd Australian Open; beats Fernando Gonzalez 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4.

March
Beats Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-3 to win the The Dubai Tennis Championships.
Loses in the round of 64 to Guillermo Canas 5-7, 2-6 at the Pacific Life Open.
Loses again in the round of 16 to Guillermo Canas 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-7 (5) at the Sony Ericsson Open.

April
Loses in the final to Rafael Nadal 4-6, 4-6 in Tennis Maters Monte Carlo.
Wins 3rd straight Laureus Sportman of the Year Award.

May
Splits with coach Tony Roche.
Loses to Rafael Nadal 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10) at the Battle of the Surfaces Exhibition match.
Loses in the round of 16 to Filippo Volandri 2-6, 4-6 in the Internazationali BNL D’Italia.
Beats Rafael Nadal 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 to win Master Series Hamburg.

June
Loses in the final of Roland Garros (French Open) to Rafael Nadal 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6.
Pulls out to Halle for the first time.

July
Wins his 5th Wimbledon title, tying Bjorn Borg’s record, by beating Rafael Nadal 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2 in the final.

August
Loses in the final to Novak Djokovic 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-7(2) in the Rogers Masters in Montreal.
Beats James Blake 6-1, 6-4 in the final to win the Southern and Western Financial Group Masters in Cincinatti.

September
Beat Novak Djokovic 7-6(4), 7-6(2), 6-4 to win 4th straight US Open.
Made into a terracotta sculpture to promote Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.
October
Loses in the final to David Nalbandian 6-1, 3-6, 3-6 in the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid.
Beats Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-4 to win Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel.
Named the world’s 4th most manliest man for 2007.

November
Loses again in the round of 16 to David Nalbandion 4-6, 6-7(3) in the BNP Paribas Masters.
Finishes as world’s #1 for 4th straight year.
Beats David Ferrer 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in final in Shanghai to win 4th Tennis Masters Cup.
Celebrates 200 weeks as world’s #1.
Goes 2-1 against legend Pete Sampras in three exhibition matches in Asia.

December
Named as part of GQ Magazines GQ Men of the Year.

Yes, the 2007 season was like a roller coaster ride for Roger and his fans, but the high points outweigh the low points. It was a pleasure to follow and report on Roger’s progress throughout this season. This was the first year for my blog, and I appreciate all the readers who have made this site a success in its first year. I am looking forward to doing the same for the 2008 season.

Congratulations to Roger on be selected as the world’s 4th most manliest man for 2007. I know he’s used to being the world’s number one, but fourth isn’t bad. This just shows how much Roger is respected and looked up to as a role model by millions of people. Roger was the only tennis player on the list of 49 guys which is also a testament to not only his performance on the court but also off the court.

Source: rogerfederer.com

Roger sat down and answered questions regarding his future. Topics such as breaking Sampras’ record, the Golden Slam, being pressured by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, and match fixing, among other things. Really interesting stuff.

Take a peek.

It was announced that Roger and Pete Sampras would play three exhibition matches in three different cities in Asia. The first match has been set for November 24 in Macao (details). What could be better for the game of tennis then the two best players, during their respective careers, matching up against one another and promoting tennis. The major beneficiaries will be the different Asian tennis federations due to the attention and hype brought by the two. This will be the ultimate showdown. Though this is still an exhibition match, Roger will be matched up against the person he has been constantly compared to.

Yes, in 2001 Roger beat Pete at Wimbledon, but that was the time before the Roger Federer with eleven grand slam titles. These two men are model champions and people. They are giving back to something that has given both of them so much.

Roger announced the he and coach, Tony Roche, will no longer be working together. Though I don’t know Roger personally, I know Roger is a very smart person and has looked at the scenario from every angle. In my personal opinion, I think Roger doesn’t need a coach; he doesn’t need to rely on someone else. I remember when I played high school tennis; I never wanted to let my team/coach down when it came to matches. Perhaps Roger was feeling the same way. I believe Roger is at his best when he doesn’t have a coach to reiterate what he’s done well or not so well. Roger is smart enough to figure that out on his own because he has such a knack for the game.

I wish Tony and his family all the best.