Swiss icon defies passing of time to deliver a masterclass in comebacks

inadequate. The crowd, seemingly sporting the country’s entire stock of Panama hats, were overwhelmingly supporting the man from Switzerland. There are few places in the world – apart from his bathroom mirror, obviously – that exude such unequivocal Roger love as Centre Court. And as the ball was whacked across the net with a compelling mix of control, precision and venom, the crowd could barely contain their thrill at being witness to such glory.

As the momentum shifted, as the tennis grew ever more magnificent, so the most obvious life lesson of Wimbledon-watching became ever more pronounced: never write off Roger Federer.

There are many of us in the press box who have spent the past decade producing pieces insisting that age had surely finally caught up with the great man. We have all only been proven wrong time and again. Here too, as Federer, after winning the first set in a tie-break, fell apart in the second set to lose it 6-1, looked suddenly leaden-footed the thought occurred that he might, after all, be mortal. We should have known. Even as Nadal gritted his teeth and scrapped for every point, so we were gifted a masterclass in Federer comebacks.

Over the next two sets, as he eased into supremacy, dealing with everything the belligerent Spaniard could fling at him, Federer looked like a man surfing the ages.

This was not some lowly qualifier he was manipulating round the court. This was Nadal, a man who has won 18 grand slam titles. There was a game in the third set when Federer produced a series of winners – a backhand drive, a forehand cross court and a delightful backhand volley – that deserve to be framed and put on the walls of Geneva art gallery.

This was the great men’s 40th meeting across their magnificent careers. Astonishingly it was only their fourth on the lawns of Wimbledon.

Now Federer has taken 3-1 a lead in their mini-series. Such is the fixture’s rarity latterly, it might seem unlikely that Nadal will ever get the chance for revenge.

Though watching these two in action you wouldn’t bet against it happening again in another 11 years’ time.