Roger Federer has managed to remain competitive despite advancing age and the rise of Next Gen players. The 20-time Grand Slam champion has won three more Slams since 2017 and has become World number 1 again in 2018. This year he has reached the semifinal at the Australian Open, before operating on his right knee to resolve an old injury.
The Swiss Maestro is still able to able compete well on the ATP Tour even though he is going to be 39 years old. This is why it should come as no surprise that he is Stan Wawrinka’s inspiration. “If I can be at my best level until 40, it will be amazing.
But when we watch Roger Federer, we never say that we can accomplish the same. Anyway, he is another league. The advantage to seeing him play so well, so late, it means that it is possible to physically hold up. So, in fact, he is opening some doors too, on the mental side too, to imagine that maybe I want to play longer.
I am 35 now” – the three-time Grand Slam champion explained. Federer and his fellow Swiss player Wawrinka have played each other 26 times, with Federer leading 23–3. Federer leads 7–1 in Grand Slam tournaments, 17–0 on hard courts, 1–0 on grass courts and 5–3 on clay courts.
The pair are 1–1 in finals. Their first meeting in a final came at 2014 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters where Wawrinka defeated Federer in three sets to win his first Masters 1000 title before Federer avenged his loss at the 2017 BNP Paribas Open by beating him in the final.
