If everything goes according to plan, the world should expect to see a 40-year-old Roger Federer playing on the men’s tour.
This season sparked the return of the Swiss player following a six-month hiatus due to a knee injury. Federer’s first competitive tournament of 2017 saw him triumph at the Australian Open to win a record 18th grand slam title. Since his Melbourne performance, Federer has been brought back down to earth following a shock second round loss to Evgeny Donskoy at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Few can dispute Federer’s passion for the sport as he continues his comeback from injury. He will kick-off his Indian Wells campaign later on Sunday against France’s Stephane Robert in what will be his 16th appearance at the event. Prior to the match, Federer answered a series of questions from children in a special press conference. One of the topics included when the Swiss player will end his illustrious career.
” I hope I’m going to be like 90-years-old,” Federer initially joked when asked what age he is going to retire. “I don’t know, maybe play for another five years, that would be an absolute dream. I’m 35 now, so.”
Federer’s intention to play for a further five years comes as no surprise. Recently the organisers of the Swiss Open confirmed that the 35-year-old has signed a contract to appear at the tournament until at least 2019.
The prospect of Federer playing until the age of 40 is not incomprehensible given the ageing trend of players ranked in the top 20. This March there are currently seven players aged over 30 ranked inside the top 20 compared none in March 2007 (week commencing 5/3/07). Last year 12 players in that age group achieved career ranking highs inside the top 100. The oldest being Ivo Karlovic’s rise to 20th at the age of 37 years and 9 months.
Continuing to defy his age on the tour, Federer’s longevity of the tour has inspired many others. One of those include 29-year-old Mischa Zverev, who he defeated in straight sets at the Australian Open.
“At 35, he showed everyone else that it is possible to perform at your best, with the right training, preparation and mind set,” Zverev told The Desert Sun. “Since I played him in Melbourne, I got to witness how quick he is on court and how unpredictable his shots are, especially his passing shots.”
Currently ranked 10th in the world, Federer is chasing after his 90th ATP title in Indian Wells. Only Ivan Lendl (94) and Jimmy Connors (109) has won more tournaments than the Swiss player in the Open Era.
