Back on top of the world, the supposedly aging Roger Federer confirmed his immortality on the hallowed lawns of Wimbledon a week ago as he lifted a record eighth title at the All England Club.

Aiming to become the most successful men’s player in SW19 and the oldest champion in the Open Era, the Swiss Maestro crushed Marin Cilic in straight sets to beat the record of seven titles held by Pete Sampras and William Renshaw.

Magically, fabulously, and unexpectedly, after his victory in Australia in January, Federer has now won two majors in the same year for the first time since 2009. And, with the US Open on the horizon, a tournament he has won five times before, the 35-year-old may well feel that a third major in nine months and a 20th overall, is firmly within his grasp in New York next month.

In his eleventh final on Centre Court, Federer was at his ultimate best. Serving ferociously and returning relentlessly, the Basel native held all his service games and broke Cilic five times over three sets on his way to making Wimbledon history.

He turns 36 next month, but when he plays like he has done this year – age is clearly irrelevant. It is testament to Federer’s legacy and longevity that he has come back in 2017 firing on all cylinders, picking up titles in Melbourne, Indian Wells, Miami, Halle, and now Wimbledon, where he won without dropping a set for the first time since Bjorn Borg did so in 1976.

Last year, in a five-set match which many believed would be the legendary champion’s last encounter in SW19, he fell at the semi-finals to Milos Raonic. Never could his fans have envisioned their hero returning to the south west of London, reinvented, sharp, and playing better than ever before after he took six months out with injury following that troublesome defeat.

In truth, though, Cilic never had a chance in this final. From the first four closely fought games of the match, Federer had worked everything out about his Croatian opponent, especially his serve. Having served 130 aces in the tournament coming into the final, Cilic could only muster five in the entire match against Federer who returned cleverly and struck brutal groundstrokes.

As Cilic sweated buckets and changed shirts, Federer, with his sweatband, coolly patted away the few drops from his forehead. He had been here 10 times before and always looked fully in command. Whereas, Cilic, in his first Wimbledon final, resonated with somebody who still couldn’t believe that they had made it to the last two.

Indeed, the pressure of the big stage and the aura of his great opponent had gobbled up the 28-year-old by only the hour mark as he became overwhelmed by the occasion and started to feel the pain of a nagging blister on his foot.

At a set and a break down, a distraught Cilic sat on his seat at the changeover crying his eyes out in desolation. Federer didn’t lose any focus, however, and was soon crying his own eyes out in joy as he held his nerve and, mercilessly, implemented his swashbuckling game to take the second and third sets for the Championships.

For years, ‘the greatest of all time’ is a topic which has been debated by all in the tennis fraternity. However, Federer becoming a peerless champion, in his mid-thirties, and at the spiritual home of the sport, has surely now put that debate to bed.