Records? I’m only focused on Slam No 18
Federer spies his chance of glory
TWo more records were added to the list and Roger Federer didn’t have the faintest idea about either of them. At some point in his long career he simply stopped counting those things that don’t shine.
In this case, the serene lord of tennis was completely unaware he had just levelled Martina Navratilova’s tally of 306 wins in Grand Slam matches and also equalled Jimmy Connors’ haul of 14 Wimbledon quarter-finals.
‘I didn’t even know,’ he said after kicking Steve Johnson around for an hour and a half. ‘It’s not something I ever chased.’
With that he smiled the smile of a man with bigger goals to hunt and a far gentler climb to get them than normal. The exit of Novak Djokovic has made dreaming all the easier for just about every man left in the draw and Federer stands to benefit more than most, given the Serbian was meant to be his date for the semi-final and this surface offers Federer his best chance to add to his 17 Slams.
At 34, and with four children, it has long been suggested that his trophy-collecting days are over. He is a decade removed from the most productive patch of his incredible career and four years on from his last major win, on these lawns in 2012.
But if there is one thing that keeps Federer coming back, it is the chance to win one more title at Wimbledon. That eighth crown, he explained yesterday, was the motivation to keep going.
‘In life there’s so much more to come,’ he said. ‘But in tennis, there’s not that much more. I hope there is a bit more in tennis — I hope I can win Wimbledon one more time. That would be nice.’
In his journey towards the final, the Swiss has already been blessed with kind pairings, up to and including yesterday’s assignment against the world No 29.
He cantered until early in the third set when, briefly, Johnson held a break of serve. But Federer broke back in the very next game and then again at 5-5 before serving out the match. After four rounds, he is yet to drop a set, which can only be a good thing for supposedly ageing legs. The challenge, after four matches against players with ith a combinedbi d rankingki of f 944,944 starts now. He next faces Marin Cilic, the ninth seed who crushed Federer on his way to winning the 2014 US open and who is coached by Goran Ivanisevic.
‘He’s done a wonderful job with Marin,’ said Federer. ‘I think he’s a very easy guy to work with but Goran got him to the next level. Marin will be really tough to play. I practised with him when I arrived here at Wimbledon and he was playing great. Serving, boom, forehand, boom, serving, boom, backhand, boom. He’s very aggressive. He blew me off the court at the US open.
‘And he’s really improved his serve in the last few years, especially since the US open. I’ve never seen him serve that consistently well. He can clearly do it here at Wimbledon, too. I know what I’m getting into.’
Should Federer come through, he will be another step closer to becoming the oldest man to win a Slam since ken Rosewall won the 1972 Australian open, aged 37.
Doubtless, it would be one of those achievements that doesn’t feature on his radar, which is becoming more selective with each year.
His longevity was best illustrated yesterday when he discussed Ivanisevic’s place in Cilic’s team and suddenly remarked: ‘It’s so funny — I think I played against most of the coaches out there now.’
Then, like now, he won far more than he lost.
Three more wins here and there would be an accolade worth remembering.