Wimbledon 2016: Roger Federer must not walk away

Those who say the oft-injured, out of sorts legend should retire ignore the chances of seeing one last Wimbledon spell.

Switzerland's Roger Federer has stumbled recently, but his grasscourt pedigree cannot be ignored.

Roger Federer has not won a grand-slam event for four years. He has been injured for much of this season. He lost to the teenager Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals at Halle in his warm-up event for this year’s Wimbledon. Many are saying that it is time for the Swiss to retire. I respectfully - indeed, passionately - disagree.

People were not so vocal about the wisdom of Federer’s retirement when he sent down a 20th ace against Andy Murray in the Wimbledon semi-finals last year. He was brutal and forensic in that match, turning the screw, finding a way to win despite the naysayers who, even back then, were urging him to give up the ghost. He lost only 21 points on serve during the entire match.

They were strangely silent, too, during the final when Federer won the second set and, for a few heady moments, it seemed that Novak Djokovic, one of the finest of champions, might wobble. The overall score in terms of points was almost evenly matched, yet another indication of the small margins that exist at this level and which make further mockery of the idea that Federer is a busted flush.

This year, the 34-year-old is third favourite for the title, behind only Djokovic and Andy Murray, and ahead of 125 other starters, including Nick Kyrgios, Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka. Again, this is hardly the stuff of a man in a state of advanced delusion, seeking a final victory that will never be his.

Instead, it is evidence of a champion who, although past his best and up against mighty adversaries, still dares to aspire to an 18th grand-slam title - and what a glory that would be to behold.

Federer is not just the most successful tennis player in history but also the most beautiful. And is it not the case that this beauty reaches its fullest expression in situations of adversity? When Federer was defeating players such as Mark Philippoussis, Marcos Baghdatis and Fernando Gonzalez in grand-slam finals, he was like a uniquely gifted poet writing peerless lines, but never quite touching the soul. Only when Rafael Nadal and, later, Djokovic came along to cause him pain did he become Tennyson.

Federer’s genius has not been dimmed but illuminated by these great rivalries. As he sought new ways to thwart Nadal, a player whose game might have been precision engineered to cause discomfort to the Swiss, he grew in stature and bearing. The Wimbledon final of 2008 took tennis to new levels, and revealed the depth of Federer’s genius. The backhand at match point down in the fourth set, threaded into the small corridor outside Nadal’s reach, remains one of the high watermarks of sport. Federer didn’t win, but he came perilously close.

At the French Open, which long seemed like an impossible dream when Nadal was in his pomp (and, even back then, experts were urging Federer to skip the trip to Paris), he continued to bet on himself, eventually claiming a career grand slam in 2009 when the Spaniard fell early to Robin Soderling. Federer defeated the Swede - in a final many thought would prove beyond him - in three sets. It remains one of his finest moments. As he put it afterwards: “It was probably my greatest victory, I was under big pressure . . . it was great to be on the podium as a winner for a change.”

One of the hallmarks of greatness is the capacity to believe when all around are doubting. Jack Nicklaus subverted the predictions of experts by winning the Masters in 1986 at the age of 46, claiming an 18th major title and adding to the tapestry of his sport. Muhammad Ali was a rank outsider when he defeated George Foreman in Zaire at the age of 32, while Jan-Ove Waldner (I make no apology for including the Swede in this company) altered the possibilities of table tennis when, approaching veteran status, he won the 1997 World Championships without dropping a set.

In boxing, the desire to go on too long can exert a cost in pain and neurological attrition, but it is not as if Federer is doing himself any serious damage by continuing to play tennis. On the contrary, he seems to take as much delight in the sport today as when he first started out as a child in rural Switzerland. If you dispute this, just travel down to the practice courts at Aorangi Park during Wimbledon and watch him going through his paces.

You will see joy as he caresses the ball, teases opponents with audacious drop-shots and produces ground strokes that leave those on adjacent courts slack-jawed. This is not a man playing the game out of obligation, but love.

Watching him last year before his quarter-final against Gilles Simon, I was reminded of the famous Billie Jean King line when asked if she ever got bored of tennis. “How could I?” she countered. “I’ve never seen a ball cross the net in the same way twice.”

We rarely underestimate the artistry of Federer, but we should not underestimate his mettle, either. He may not win another grand-slam title, but only a fool would deny that he is in with a shot.

He has the record number of grand-slam titles (17), the record number of weeks at world No 1 (302), the joint-record number of Wimbledon titles (seven, alongside Pete Sampras), including five in a row, and is the only man to win five successive US Open titles. He is also the highest-earning player in history, as Fedegraphica, a new book on the statistical supremacy of the Swiss, points out.

When Federer finally retires, many of us will feel bereft. He will leave the game in capable hands, with the likes of Djokovic and Murray already producing fine contests, but something will disappear not just from tennis but sport. The injuries that have afflicted him of late, including the back problem that kept him out of the French Open, have taken a fraction out of his game. But when he finds that special rhythm, his racket becomes a wand.

And so we dare to dream that he will cast one last spell on Centre Court.

The Times