MELBOURNE, Australia - Five-time Australian Open champion Roger Federer
knows that one day his tennis shelf life will end - but that is far
from his mind after a five-set weekend win over Rafael Nadal which
sent the Swiss to another record in the sport.
The 35-year-old now owns 18 grand slam singles titles, with his margin over
joint second Nadal and Pete Sampras now four. But Federer, who said he "hoped" to be back for the 2018 edition of
the Australian Open, admits that no one knows when his run will be over.
"This is all about knowing that I have only so much tennis left in
me. If I do get injured, you know, maybe if I miss next year. Who
knows what happens," he said.
"You never know when your next grand slam is going to be, if ever.
You never know if you're going to have an opportunity at this stage."
The Swiss made a fairytale comeback in Melbourne after stepping away
from the court for the last six months of 2016 to cure a knee injury.
During his run to the title, he was bothered by a groin problem and
actually took rare injury timeouts in the semi-finals and final.
"I had a tough year last year. Three five-setters are not going to
help. There wasn't something planned behind it, that this is my last
Australian Open. I hope can I come back, of course. That's my hope
right now."
Federer was quietly pleased to have beaten Nadal in a grand slam
final for the first time in a decade, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, in
what was the first final at the majors between the two since the 2011
French Open.
"We go furthest back, Novak (Djokovic) also has been one of my
biggest rivals. So have (Andy) Roddick and (Lleyton) Hewitt. Rafa
definitely has been very particular in my career.
"He made me a better player because the way his game stacks up with
me, it's a tricky one. It remains for me the ultimate challenge to
play against him. So this win is definitely very special.
"We're both on a comeback. Like I said on the court, it would have
been nice for both of us to win, but there's no draws in tennis. It's
brutal sometimes."
Federer labelled his four-slam lead on Nadal "the smallest part. For
me it's all about the comeback, about an epic match with Rafa again.
Doing it here in Australia.
""I guess my popularity here, their support, that I can still do it
at my age after not having won a slam for almost five years. That's
what I see. The last problem is the slam count. Honestly, it doesn't
matter."