Nine record Dubai finals for Federer.
Australian Open triumph was the most special of all his slams for Federer
Published: Sun 26 Feb 2017, 9:20 PM
Last updated: Mon 27 Feb 2017, 3:08 PM
At 35, Roger Federer knows every day cannot be a Sunday for him.
Or, for that matter, that Sunday (January 29, 2017) in Melbourne which saw him perform a miracle.
Who would have thought that the ageing Swiss, who was out for six months, would win five-set epics in pre-quarters, semis and final to lay his hands on that trophy?
Who would have even dreamed of a Federer fightback from a break down (1-3) in the fifth set against Rafael Nadal - his greatest nemesis whose assassin-like mental edge over him in Slam fifth sets had made him cry like a baby on the same court eight years ago?
No wonder Federer spoke like a kid in Dubai when we asked him to relive that surreal Sunday.
"It came as really huge surprise. Incredible moments, some of the strongest probably I have ever felt as a tennis player. I am still riding the wave," Federer said as he prepared for his eight Dubai Duty Free Championships title on Sunday.
"It was such a tough last year, playing basically one healthy tournament (last year) in Australia. And the rest of it, I was sick in Brisbane or injured or not well or hurt throughout the rest of the season. So for me to then come back this way, it couldn't have been better. It's amazing."
Federer reacts after clinching the championships point against Nadal in Melbourne (AFP file)
Federer didn't shy away from admitting that he had watched the highlights of that Sunday final 'again and again and again'.
"I haven't seen the whole match. I had friends and everybody said, 'Let's watch the match and make a movie night', and I am like, 'No, not three and a half hours please'.
"But I have seen a million highlights -- again and again and again -- of the fifth set, of the best shots or best shots of the tournament.
"So it's been a lot of fun and I think I also needed to watch it to go through those feelings again and just see what it meant to me. I almost couldn't get enough of it.
"It was very exciting and I'm happy we could do it as a team after the hard year last year," he said.
My baby: Federer with the trophy after that win in Melbourne (AFP file)
In his own words, this Australian Open triumph was the most special of all his slams.
But the Swiss says he knows that there is no guarantee that he would win a 19th or a 20th slam.
"The French is going to be hard just because I would have to put in so much work in the clay court season to be ready and even than there's no guarantee," he said.
"I think Wimbledon, US Open, I'll always have chances as long as I am playing and I am healthy. So yeah, you dare to dream, sure. Why not? The goal will be eventually Wimbledon, where I know I am going to have my best chance and I hope to be at a 100 per cent."
Unlike Federer, Tiger Woods - the other iconic sportsman of our time - is struggling to be at 100 per cent physically and mentally after having to deal with myriad fitness issues. The American golf superstar's latest comeback attempt at the Dubai Desert Classic ended in heartbreak.
The last of Tiger's 14 Major triumphs came in 2008 when he took the US Open despite struggling with a knee injury.
"I think you have to get used to the whole losing part a little bit. You don't want to accept it like it's become a normal trend, but it's definitely something you have to learn how to deal with," Federer said when asked about his good friend Tiger.
Federer hopes his good friend Tiger Woods will get back to winning ways (AFP file)
"For me it was normal growing up to lose, lose a lot sometimes clearly. And then once I got into the whole winning bit, then the losing part was harder again because it's like we are creatures of habit; we get used to it.
"But it's a very fine line of accepting it and moving on, and just saying, 'OK, I'll go at it again next day', and getting angry, sad, disappointed about it. I think everybody takes it differently - that's when the character comes into play. Also, the childhood I think," Federer said.
"Tiger, for instance, had a very dominant childhood as well. Virtually everywhere he went, he won as a junior already. I didn't have that. So for me, it was a bit of a different upbringing.
"I wasn't supposed to be the next tennis superstar. He wanted to be the best golfer in the world and he achieved that. So yeah, we have quite a different life.
"But I still hear from him sometimes and I really wish, of course, he could come back and win again. I wouldn't want anything else but that. It would be great."
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