Tennis Daddies: Federer, Llodra, and the Crew

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Tennis Daddies: Federer, Llodra, and the Crew

By Nicholas McCarvel

Remember Robin Soderling? Yeah, it took us a minute, too. The two-time French Open finalist has been away from the ATP World Tour circuit for over 16 months now, having last played in his home country of Sweden last summer following Wimbledon -- winning in Bastad.

Soderling exited the game initially with a bout of mononucleosis, but the virus quickly caused his body to recoil, and reports this spring told of him dealing with damage to his thyroid and adrenal glands surfaced, the maladies continuing to keep him on the sidelines with no clear return date.

But it hasn’t all been bad news for the 28 year old, who has posted pictures of fishing trips and a day at the car races on his Twitter account. On Oct. 12, days before the If Stockholm Open was to start in his home country for the second straight year without him, Sweden’s best player of this generation made quite the announcement on Twitter: he and his partner, Jenni Mostom, had a baby girl:

Robin Soderling tweets about baby daughter

Robin Soderling tweets about baby daughter

Soderling took no time in musing that his offspring might one day be a tennis star, posting this on Oct. 17, with his girl just five days old:

Robin Soderling tries to make daughter a WTA star

It has no doubt been The Year of the Tennis Dad on the pro circuit, with Roger Federer’s little ones become ever-present fixtures on the tour and Micaela Bryan -- Bob Bryan’s toddler daughter—becoming an Internet superstar thanks to Twitter (and some comical photoshopping). Check out TennisNow’s full rundown of tennis dads of the modern game. Who said a working man can’t have it all? Eh, we guess no one said that. But still… enjoy!

Roger Federer

Myla Rose and Charlene Riva are veterans of the tennis tour by this point, having been traveling with Papa Federer and their mom Mirka (along with a team of caregivers, its been reported) for three years now. In late August, the happy foursome was spotted strolling about NYC at the start of the U.S. Open. Prior to the Australian Open, the girls were on the practice court with dad, reportedly running and giggling through the halls of Rod Laver Area. How cute!

Bob Bryan

If you’re not aware of the hilarity that is Micaela Bryan’s Twitter feed, you haven’t been living a full life up to this point. Honestly. Micaela was born to Bob and his wife Michelle in February. Team Bryan created a Twitter handle (@MicaelaBryan) for her in March and it exploded, Micaela has over 7,000 followers off of a measly 100 tweets. Each picture is accompanied by comic speech bubbles and some of the most hilarious commentary in sport:

James Blake

Didn’t know JamesyB was a daddio? It seems to be one of tennis’ well-kept secrets. The secret to Blake’s secret? It might be that he’s still unmarried. But don’t get up in arms over a dramatic baby-daddy situation: Riley Elizabeth, born June 10 of this year, is daughter to James and his finacee, Emily Snider. The two are set to marry in November.

Tommy Haas

Comeback king Haas has won a title and surged back to No. 20 in the world some ten years after reaching a career-high No. 2 in 2002. Now 34, Haas has experience -- and fatherhood -- on his side. On Nov. 14, 2010, a daughter, Valentina, was born to Haas and wife, Sara Foster. “I assure you, my daughter will see her dad play tennis,” he told a German publication after the birth. Seems as though this dad likes to keep his word.

Gilles Simon

You don’t hear this often: “If I win, it will be fabulous. If I lose it will be even more fabulous.” Those were Simon’s words at the 2010 US Open as he was asked about facing Rafael Nadal -- while his newborn baby boy, Timothee, awaited his father at home. Timothee came four weeks early to Carine Lauret, Simon’s companion. A goofily grinning Simon accepted a baby-sized t-shirt during that press conference, a gift for Timothee to have when dad arrived home. Cue the “Awwww’s.”

Michael Llodra

When it comes to the whole being-a-dad thing, the Frenchman is old hat as a traveling papa. His kids Manon, a girl, and Teo, a boy, were born in 2004 and 2007 respectively with wife Camille. Need advice, burgeoning fathers? Llodra’s your go-to guy.

Richard Williams

This list just wouldn’t be complete without the one, the only, the man Richard Williams. Yep, Venus and Serena’s 70-year-old father became a new dad to a baby boy during the first week of the US Open in 2012, when his 33-year-old wife Lakeisha Williams gave birth to a little fella. Rumors had swirled around the Open that Richard was there sans Lakeisha because they had split. Not so! She was just busy… giving birth to their child.