Roger Federer feels 'surreal' after becoming the oldest World Number 1 

What's the story?

For five incredibly long years we have debated, dismissed, wondered and mostly remained awestruck of one Roger Federer, waiting ever so patiently for him to be back on top.

Finally, after the quarter-final clash in the ABN AMRO Rotterdam Tournament against Robin Hasse, where Federer emerged victor (4-6, 6-1, 6-1), the Swiss Maestro went on swiftly to dethrone age-old nemesis Rafael Nadal from the top spot and become the oldest man in tennis history to dominate the highest perch in the ATP Rankings.

After his achievement, Federer took to Twitter to express his 'surreal ' joy in climbing to the highest pedestal at the age of 36.

In case you didn't know...

Before Roger Federer came along to recreate history and make his own records, Andre Agassi, at the age of 33 in 2003, had been the oldest to become World Number 1.

The American took to Twitter to express his immense joy on seeing his incredible record being broken by the 36-year-old Swiss legend who continues to impress. Agassi wrote, "36 years 195 days... Roger Federer continues to raise the bar in our sport"

The heart of the matter

Everybody is familiar with Federer's incredible sense of humour and soon after the win against Dutchman Robin Hasse, the Swiss responded to him being glorified as the 'oldest' No. 1. He said that he has been hearing a lot about him being the oldest but then again since age has caught up to him he 'had a hard time hearing' it!

Apparently I'm the oldest tennis player with a #1️⃣ ranking. Somebody might have mentioned that to me already but I had a hard time hearing 👴🏻

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) February 16, 2018

We can always trust Federer to come up with something that leaves us smirking at his wit for such remarks.

He also subsequently tweeted how much of a dream run this has been. The road as he says was not easy but quite 'windy', often threatening to sweep him away and dislocate him. Finding a place to stand on firmly and plant yourself there becomes a rare thing to occur to any man who is in the late stages of his professional career. The road to the summit has been tediously long spanning some five years but as he says, it "feels surreal to be back at the top."

Federer is just thankful that he is healthy at a susceptible age when injuries are most likely to get to you. Also, he is obviously and very evidently happy to be playing tennis everyday and inspiring us.

It's been a long road, and sometimes windy, but feels surreal to be back at the top. I'm just happy to be healthy and playing tennis every day 🙌🏼👊🏼

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) February 17, 2018

What's next?

With Federer retaining the crown from arch-rival Nadal, we can now say we are into exciting times in tennis. The kindle of rivalry between the two legends has now been reignited all over once again. It will now be a treat to watch Federer defend the top spot. Having qualified to the semis, he will also be aiming to get his 3rd ABN AMRO Rotterdam Open title by the end of this week.

Author's take

Federer has wiped away every doubt we had of him as the greatest player of all time. By becoming the oldest World No. 1 in tennis history, he is the one to look up to for inspiration when it comes to the spirit of never giving up.

With unwavering hope and a surging self-confidence, Federer teaches us that nothing is really impossible and age is just a feeble number and there is a lot left to conquer and many more pages of history to write.