Federer is like a fine wine

Like death and taxes there is one thing you can depend on; there are very few certainties in sport and definitely none in the two-week grind involved in winning a Grand Slam.

It is a thought that will doubtless be in the back of the minds in tomorrow’s Australian Open singles final between super Swiss Roger Federer and Croatia’s Marin Cilic.

Clearly, Federer is the popular favourite with the Melbourne crowds – indeed, if there were to be a global poll, he would ace that as well.

But Federer is now 36 and despite having won a record 19 Grand Slam singles and perhaps being more attuned to the special mental demands of going the distance in the game’s four Majors, must be beginning to realise that the clock is ticking as he searches for that elusive 20th victory to add to his five Australian triumphs, his eight Wimbledon titles, the five he holds in the US Open and his single French Open win in Paris in 2009.

He is also the reigning champion Down Under and with world No 1 Rafa Nadal the victim of a thigh strain and some determinedly driven tennis for Cilic in an epic semifinal and Novak Djokivic another casualty, Federer has had a relatively smooth ride to the final.

This included surprise package Chung Hyeon defaulting in the semis with the score at 6-1, 5-2, which means Federer has not dropped a set along the way.

Federer has seemingly upped his precious ability to produce the miraculous unplayable shots at will and produce the unreturnable big serves to order.

In most books, the big Swiss is the complete player.

In contrast, Cilic, seven years Federer’s junior, has scrapped his way through to the final driven by the same internal flame of doggedness that typified fellow countryman Goran Ivanisevic’s single Grand Slam singles victory in 2001 when he became the first wildcard to lift the trophy at Wimbledon by beating Pat Rafter.

Ivanisevic has also had a stint at coaching Cilic, whose only Grand Slam title was at the US Open in 2014 when he saw off Kei Nishikori.

But of perhaps more relevance is the fact that Cilic’s victim in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows was a player named Roger Federer who was put out in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.