No plans to retire, says GOAT Federer as rivals close in on record

Fans call him several names starting right from the Swiss great to Goat on Grass and the Greatest Of All Time but looks like it won’t be long before his men’s record for career Grand Slam is taken over.

While Federer walked gingerly off Rod Laver Arena on Thursday (January 30) after his injury-hit Australian Open semi-final loss to Novak Djokovic, a hope to add more to his 20 Major wins became weaker.

Fighting age when he entered the Melbourne Park he knew that he wasn’t expecting much for the tournament which he even mentioned in the interview ahead of the start of season’s first Grand Slam. He will have been acutely aware that at 38, time is running out to add to more feathers to his cap.

Rafael Nadal, 33, stands on 19 Grand Slam titles and is the favourite to reach 20 at the French Open in May-June — a tournament where he has only lost three times.

Djokovic, 32, has 16 Major trophies and is going for an eighth Australian Open title on Sunday. He shows no signs of slowing down after winning four Grand Slams in the past two years.

Also read: Djokovic thumps Federer in straight sets, reaches Australian Open final

Federer will be closing on his 39th birthday by the time Roland Garros and Wimbledon roll around — nearly two years older than Ken Rosewall when he became the oldest Grand Slam champion at 37 at the 1972 Australian Open.

Federer’s last Grand Slam title came at the Australian Open two years ago.

So while Federer may still wield the sweetest backhand in the game, in the fullness of time it could be his elegant style rather than his record that sets him apart from his peers.

‘Huge respect’

However, the Swiss is not going without a fight and as the years advance, his resilience, if anything, is increasing.

Federer pulled off two breathtaking escapes in the earlier rounds in Melbourne. He was two points from defeat to John Millman and saved seven match points against Tennys Sandgren in the quarter-finals.

After a groin strain in the Sandgren match, rumours swirled that Federer may not even take the court against Djokovic. He admitted that by playing he was risking the first retirement in his 1,513-match career.

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“Today was horrible, to go through what I did. Nice entrance, nice send-off, and in between is one to forget because you know you have a three percent chance to win,” Federer grimaced after Djokovic’s 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 6-3 win.

Djokovic is well aware of Federer’s endurance after their five-hour epic of a Wimbledon final last year when the Swiss held two match points before going down in a marathon fifth set.

“It’s an amazing fact that he has never retired from a match, not a single match, throughout his career. Huge respect for that,” said Djokovic.

Federer is not about to retire from the sport either, although he knows injuries could make the decision for him.

“You never know what the future holds. But especially my age, you don’t know,” he said when asked if he would be back in Melbourne next year.

“I’m confident. I’m happy how I’m feeling, to be honest. I got through a good, nice training block. No plans to retire,” he said.

Urging him on is the feeling that even as he edges towards 40, he is still capable of wringing more Grand Slam titles out of his ageing body.

“Yes, I do believe that. I think by having the year that I had last year, also with what I have in my game, how I’m playing, I do feel that yeah,” he said when asked if he still thought he could win multiple Majors.

(With inputs from agencies)