Roger Federer has cemented his place as the greatest male Tennis player of all time. His record 19th grand slam title puts him 4 ahead of Nadal in 2nd, but his record only tells half of the story.

When Federer had gone 5 years without a grand slam everyone thought he was finished. At the age of 35, which is old by Tennis standards, many said his career was winding down before retirement. After losing the final at Wimbledon, he left the All England Club 12 months ago and chose to miss the rest of 2016 to fully recover from a knee injury.

But in 2017 he came back to win his 18th major title in Melbourne, sparking a run of form that has seen him lose only two matches all year. After the Australian Open he won titles at Indian Wells, Miami Masters, Halle and now Wimbledon. After his triumph he said “I knew I could do great again maybe one day, but not at this level. I guess you would have laughed, too, if I told you I was going to win two Slams this year. People wouldn’t believe me if I said that.”

Most athletes fade out of the spotlight with age, but Federer has shown that he is in a class of his own. He doesn’t have the fastest serve and he can’t move around the court as well as some of the younger, more powerful players, but his technique, precision and anticipation more than makes up for it.

Off the court, Federer shows just as much class donating millions to help disadvantaged people in Africa and victims of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 tsunami.

Luckily for us viewers, he has announced that he could keep playing until he is 40. He might need a few more breaks through the year, but if Federer keeps fit there’s nothing stopping him winning Wimbledon again.

#mmlove