So Roger Federer, at the age of 36, just won a record-setting 20th Grand Slam title in Melbourne. He now has eight Wimbledon titles, six Australian Open titles, five U.S. Open titles, and one French Open title.
Laura and I stayed up until after 5 a.m. local time to watch the five-set match against Marin Cilic. It was scrappy at times with Cilic freezing up in the first four games of the match and Federer losing concentration in the second and fourth sets, but there was some great tennis too. Cilic seemed overwrought on occasions, while Federer was preternaturally calm. Despite the tears, and whether he wins or loses, he usually cries after a Grand Slam final, he seems to absolutely love being a pro.
Many players burn out after a few years on the tour. One would think the Federers, who for the last eight years have traipsed around the globe with small children, would be thinking of retirement, but they seem to love their lifestyle. Roger and Mirka have two sets of twins, eight-year-old girls, Myla and Charlene, and three-year-old boys, Leo and Lenny. Private jets and nannies no doubt ease the travel. The children seem happy and curious, and they apparently speak several languages. Mirka, Federer's wife, appears to provide an incredible support system. She anchors the family and coordinates their busy schedule. Federer has said that he would not continue to play if he could not have his family with him on the tour. That he has a happy life outside tennis must contribute to his enjoyment of the game.
Federer turned pro 20 years ago, in 1998, in the days of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Carlos Moya, and Mark Philippoussis. As those players aged out of the tour, he was left, for some of his best years, competing with players of about his own age, including Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, and David Nalbandian, whom he usually dominated. However, a new cohort of young European players was coming up behind him. These included Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Marin Cilic, Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Stan Wawrinka. While the first three have enjoyed great success, won majors, and reached #1 in the world at various times, Federer appears to be outlasting them and has achieved more success than any of them since the start of 2017. Murray, Djokovic, Nadal, and Wawrinka are struggling with injuries. Murray and Wawrinka did not play the Australian Open. Djokovic lost to Hyeon Chung and is considering elbow surgery. Nadal pulled out of his match against Cilic with a knee injury. Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic, who are both about ten years younger than Federer, followed, but neither one has ever won a major (yet). After a dearth of newcomers, a new generation is rising that includes Alexander Zverev, Denis Shapovalov, Hyeon Chung, Borna Coric, perhaps Nick Kyrgios, and Andrey Rublev. Perhaps some of them will be dominating the game five or ten years from now. It's possible that Nadal, who has 16 Grand Slam titles, will eventually overtake Federer's haul (Uncle Toni has predicted that he will). For now, however, Federer has won three of the last five Grand Slams and is showing no sign of slowing down.
Caroline Wozniacki won the women's final. I could not bear for either her or Simona Halep to lose. They have both been ranked #1 in the world and have both held match points in Grand Slam finals without ever winning a title. They've paid their dues, and both so deserved to win. Anyhow, it was Wozniacki who eventually prevailed in three sets over an exhausted but persistent Halep. Poor Halep! She was admitted to the hospital and treated for dehydration after the match. I hope she wins her first major soon!
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