Roger Federer's journey is not over yet

There are some athletes who are just outrageously gifted. When we look at them, we are overwhelmed at the talent they are bestowed with, as they provide us with a sporting experience that takes us to a higher plane.

When the gift manifests itself in all its magnificence, our heart skips a beat and we forget our troubles as we watch the ethereal, surreal exploits of the athlete.

A friend told me the other day that 38-year-olds are not supposed to be playing top flight tennis. And even if they do, they are certainly not supposed to be playing the way Roger Federer does.

For the last five years, the talk of Federer’s retirement has been a hot topic among tennis fans. If he forgets to tell the crowd “I’ll see you next year”, the chatter of his retirement grows louder. If a year passes by without him adding to his Grand Slam collection, the speculation gets more urgent.

2019 Rolex Shanghai Masters - Day 7

But Federer is an outrageously gifted athlete, a man who gives us the impression that he was conceived by an invisible hand from above just to delight aficionados of the sport. The single-handed backhand down the line has poetry written all over it, the sublime forehand captures your heart, and that surreal drop shot makes you crave for more.

His is the kind of talent that an athlete is born with, and it is not something that can be acquired from anywhere.

When Federer is at his sublime best, time is reduced to irrelevance. We forget the mundane and transient life as we go through the exalted experience that the Swiss Maestro takes us through.

The rational mind would probably tell us that the laws of time will impose their will on Federer, that someday the maestro will slip. But Federer continues to swat aside the challenge that time imposes on him, with a degree of nonchalance that ordinary mortals can only dream of.

“Genius creates an almost wonderfully comforting illusion of timelessness," wrote the great Nirmal Shekar once. Federer has managed to be that magician who has tricked us into believing that the concept of time does not apply to him.

When he steps on the tennis court he becomes a little child who just loves to hit the ball, and he does so with an elegance that no one can match. When he wins a Grand Slam title - as he came so close to doing at this year's Wimbledon - tears roll down his cheeks and he becomes a little boy who has just got hold of a precious toy.

Roger Federer after winning the 2018 Australian Open

Federer is bestowed with gifts that ordinary mortals aren't. And the Swiss Maestro has managed to provide moments of pure joy to tennis fans across the world by using the racquet in his hand like a sorcerer, bewitching his opponent and the millions who witness him.

Federer's journey has been a riveting one - one that has defied the laws of nature and time and one that has befuddled the rational mind. And most importantly, one that is not over yet.

Gifted athletes are precious to the sport - we just need to witness Roger Federer on the tennis court to be convinced of that.