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Federer to become a father

Roger Federer refuels next to long-time girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec Keystone

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer has announced that his girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec is pregnant with their first child.

“This is a dream come true for us,” the 27-year-old said in a message to fans on his website on Thursday. “We love children and we are looking forward to being parents for the first time. Mirka is feeling great and everything is going well.”

The baby is due in the summer, he added. The couple met at the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000.

Earlier in the day the world number two had confirmed he would not hire Australian Darren Cahill as his coach, despite earlier media reports to the contrary.

Cahill, who counts Leyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi among his past clients, visited Federer in Dubai earlier this month to discuss a possible deal.

“We had a good time together, we worked hard, we talked a lot together, but decided not to go ahead,” Federer told a media conference.

Federer will continue to work part-time with Séverin Luthi, the captain of the Swiss Davis Cup team, as he has for the last 18 months.

Federer made the announcement ahead of the Indian Wells tournament in the US, which started on Thursday. After six weeks out of the circuit with back pain, the Swiss athlete said he was looking forward to playing Rafael Nadal, the world number one.

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