Why it’s not all doom & gloom for Roger Federer

Clunk. That was the sound of a million jaws dropping this morning when Roger Federer announced that he was calling time on his 2016 season. First there was the clunk, then the groan, then the palpable hum of mild panic.

Perhaps, though, the news is not all doom and gloom. In fact, there may even be grounds for cautious optimism.

Perhaps, but also perhaps not.

After all, at 35 how long does Roger realistically have left?

Let’s forget the knee for just a second and talk about age. How long will it be until the sands of time start to impact his performance by a minuscule amount – say 0.001%? Until Roger’s perfect timing is just a fraction ‘off’? Until the reaction speed dips just a little? Until his confidence wavers ever so slightly?

That 0.001% is what separates the very good in professional sport from the very best. And Roger Federer is the very best. He has built a glittering career based on precision, timing, and being the most gifted athlete that ever walked onto a tennis court.

But time waits for no man. And, eventually, time will start to erode the gifts that have given him – and tennis fans around the world – so very much.

That is inevitable.

There are, however, ways of delaying that inevitability. And by calling time on the rest of the season, Roger Federer is doing everything in his power to give himself as much time as possible.

Injuries in professional athletes – particularly those nearing the end of their careers – are notoriously hard to ‘fix’. They take time, they take patience and they take a hell of a lot of TLC.

Roger is giving his body all of that – and then some.

What’s more, he is doing so purely for the purposes of extending his career.

After all, Roger had frequently cited the Olympics as being his primary motivation for continuing on. Rio was his opportunity to capture that elusive Gold in singles, and form doubles dream teams with Martina Hingis and Stan Wawrinka. That he could have competed in Rio is beyond doubt. That he could have picked up a medal is, too, beyond doubt. By choosing to forego this – and effectively closing the book on his Olympic career – he is making a statement of intent.

He has done so for the sake of longevity. To give himself the opportunity of returning in January and rubbing shoulders with those other phenoms that have ruled men’s tennis for so many years: messrs Djokovic, Murray and Nadal.

Shutting down his season means that the knee – and the body – will almost certainly be ready for 2017.

Whether the sands of time will grant him another year at the top of the game, however, remains to be seen.