Having won 18 Grand Slams and 92 ATP Tour titles, Roger Federer’s greatness in the game of tennis has already been spectacularly etched. However, his quest for renewed supremacy in the autumn of his career is beginning to elevate him into a peerless sportsman.

In a career, which has spanned nearly two decades, the Swiss Maestro has become a legendary player, boasting an unrivaled list of achievements and records. 302 weeks at world number one, 28 Grand Slam finals, and a joint record, seven Wimbledon titles, are just some that stand out in Federer’s illustrious career.

Already admired and awed, Federer has nothing left to prove. For most, he is the greatest tennis player ever while, for some, he is the greatest sportsman ever. The plaudits for this great champion are endless and will more than likely be asserted even further after he’s retired.

Hence, with a wife and two sets of twins, most in the 35-year-old’s position would be forgiven for putting tennis on the back burner and dropping their intensity. Aging legs and the strain of family life should, in the end, take its toll on your game.

Indeed, after crippling knee and back injuries in 2016, Federer’s career appeared to have reached this point. Time looked to had caught up with him and the ambition of an 18th major title seemed increasingly nearing the impossible. When he bowed out of the semi-finals at Wimbledon to Milos Raonic last season, with the disappointment and the reoccurrence of injury, his career stood ominously clouded with uncertainty.

Yet Federer’s belief did not waver, and he was still determined to come back and fight his way to the top, even with all the obstacles which stood in front of him. His ploy to take a six-month break after Wimbledon was designed to offer a lengthy period of rejuvenation, reflection, and relaxation. Most of the tennis world was skeptical and believed that the boat, with a Federer rebirth on board, had already sailed.

But they were sorely mistaken, as he returned to 2017 refocused, reinvented, and menacingly sharp to dominate the early hard-court season. First, came the iconic 18th Grand Slam victory in Melbourne against his great rival Rafael Nadal in January. Then the sunshine double, a couple of months later, at Indian Wells and Miami, where he again beat the Spaniard in the fourth round of the former and in the final of the latter, on his way to each of the Masters 1000 triumphs.

After five years without a Grand Slam or Indian Wells title, and 11 years since a win in Miami, Federer defied logic and had reached the realms of invincibility once more as he played with pace, free spirit, and scintillating accuracy, almost reminiscent of his optimal game.

The decision, which followed, to withdraw from the clay court season, held real significance because it sent out a message that this is a legend who is still visualizing and planning to achieve seismic triumphs in the twilight of his career.

This pursuit of further glory at the All England Club, after all he’s already achieved, is an attestation to his remarkable legacy and holds dear to the belief that he is the greatest sportsman of his generation.

After being on the brink, if Federer can accomplish a record eighth Wimbledon title and 19th Grand Slam at the cradle of tennis, 14 years after his first victory in SW19, then it would truly be one of the great sporting achievements of all time.