Federer Forever

"I hope to see you next year, but if not, then it was a wonderful year here and I couldn't be happier tonight," said the brand ambassador of tennis Roger Federer as he lifted the 18th Grand Slam title of his career.

After spending six months away from the court, Federer staged a remarkable comeback in 2017 with the first Grand Slam of the year Australian Open. Defeating four top 10 players on his journey to the win — Tomas Berdych, Kei Nishikori, Stan Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal — Federer stamped the title he has earned, 'the greatest ever to have played tennis'.

Since 2003 when Federer won his first Grand Slam — Wimbledon — he has been a poetry in motion on the tennis court. Having played in times of intense competition — from Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi early on to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic over the last decade, it's safe to say that Federer has achieved a feat that is almost impossible to touch.

With his smooth, gliding movement around the court, Federer has conquered it all. From winning Wimbledon seven times and French Open once, to laying his hands on US Open and Australian Open five times each, Federer has been the most decorated men's singles player ever. Federer looked fresher and stronger in Australia. His six-month lay off has probably helped him elongate his already-long career. With the kind of performance that the Swiss player displayed at the Rod Laver Arena, he definitely has a lot more left in the tank.

After receiving the trophy, Federer made it clear that his return to Australia next year cannot be taken for granted. Perhaps his long injury last year had made him realise his age and mortality. He may just be planning to handle his body smartly and balance out the amount of tennis and rest. Like he said, "I will probably never be able to play 27 tournaments a year anymore. We know that all. But maybe instead of playing 22 you play 18, instead of 20 you play 17. That could totally happen. I feel, you always need the right balance – enough practice, enough matches, enough time off. I guess as you get older, everything becomes a bit different."

The world of tennis has seen the great Roger glide through the court for so long that not having him around would feel odd and perhaps all would crave for his artistic display but time is the toughest opponent of a sportsman, an opponent one can't just fight but need a definite gameplan to tackle.

At 35, Roger Federer is clearly in the twilight of his career and having achieved all, he would just want to enjoy tennis now. Federer would look to embrace every opportunity his body would give to display the game of the highest order.

For the tennis admirers, the news is both good and bad – Roger is not playing a final swansong, but he may also not meet the eyes of tennis fans regularly. The man looks to have embraced time and decided to deal with it patiently.

While Roger pans out his career here on, the world would only sing…