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As Roger Federer today celebrates his 34th birthday, an age when travel-worn, injury-ravaged professionals are calling time on their global adventures, the elegant Swiss continues his career by virtue of his success and, most importantly, his desire.
So far this year, Federer has shown no signs of relenting in his pursuit of sporting excellence and he remains a contender at every tournament he graces. In January, he became the third player in the Open Era to amass more than 1,000 match wins, while four titles from seven finals indicate that he'll be in the mix to battle Andy Murray for year-end No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.
"I think the fans know why I'm playing," said Federer at Wimbledon. "I play for myself and my team, my fans, my country, you name it... At the end of the day, I enjoy it. I work hard in practice. I'm very pleased how well I'm playing... It's a great game to play, I tell you."
Like Andre Agassi, who kept playing until 2006, having become the oldest No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings in 2003 aged 33 years and 131 days, Federer is an inspirational figure to the majority of players on the ATP World Tour. He's the leading thirty-something among 30 in the Top 100.
With 86 tour-level titles and sporting immortality long assured, Federer has nothing left to prove. Yet with two sets of twins to look after and extensive off-court interests, including his Foundation, his dedication, commitment and desire to keep playing is all the more remarkable. "I haven't thought about (retirement) a whole lot, to be honest," said Federer. "Clearly I need to think about it eventually, but not for the moment."
Federer will return to the ATP World Tour in two weeks at the Western & Southern Open, where he'll be attempting to lift a seventh trophy in Cincinnati.
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