Like Tiger Woods leading going into the final day of a major golf tournament, Federer, clay courts apart, is proving well nigh unbeatable when the winning post is in sight.

The Swiss maestro at 26 has now reached 14 Grand Slam finals and he has won 12 of them, which translates into a best ever winning conversion rate of 85 per cent. Only Rafael Nadal on clay in Paris in the last two years has bettered him.

The recipe for such success, he says, is learning from all he has gone through in a an unmatched professional career dating back to 1998 and knowing how to close out the big games.

“I didn’t lost a set in the last three matches, but they were close and I came through,” he said. “It’s probably because I’m experienced and I’m confident about my play.

“The other guys missed their chances. In the end having beating (Andy) Roddick, (Nikolay) Davydenko and Djokovic, all in straight sets, is an incredible effort for me.”

Federer is also a sharp and enthusiastic observer of the way the sport is developing over the course of the years.

When he first started out, his idol Pete Sampras was the dominant force in tennis and out-and-out serve-and-volleyers like Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg were still to be found competing for the Grand Slam titles.

The young Federer says he modelled his early game on them but had the foresight to see that things were changing.

“The new string generation came along where returning and passing shots were made easier. It was harder to attack in some ways,” he said.

“But at the same time that helps me now because I do have the game to attack. I do have the solid volleys, I do have the opportunities and the option if I have to.

“It’s good that I did take some chances when I was young. It’s been a long road. I’ve had to work hard on my game.”

Unless Federer undergoes the kind of sudden meltdown that prompted Bjorn Borg to draw down the curtain on his career at 26, he looks destined to break the all-time record of Grand Slam wins that Pete Sampras set at 14 by winning the 2002 US Open. He has won eight out of the last 10 Grand Slam titles in just over two years and at that rate is set to match or even surpass the American next year.

It’s a prospect that he admits is in the forefront of his mind. “I think about it a lot now, honestly,” he said.

“In the beginning I felt pushed a little bit in the corner, put under pressure about the situation because you don’t win Slams like that it’s just too tough.

“It’s so draining. I’m exhausted in the end. So to come so close already at my age is fantastic and I really hope I can break it.”

One other factor is pushing Federer along. Many of the players he challenged when he first started out — Sampras, Andre Agassi, Tim Henman among them — have now retired.

Other younger men — Nadal, Djokovic, Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet among them — have taken their place and have him in their sights.