Roger Federer played with such grace that his matches belonged on the culture pages

Statistically, Roger Federer is not retiring as one of the two greatest tennis players to grace the game. If Margaret Court is better than Serena Williams, then Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic are an improvement over Federer.

He has not won a Grand Slam since the 2018 Australian Open, and has not made the last four since 2020. His last set of Grand Slam tennis ended in a 6-0 reverse at Wimbledon in 2021.

Yet we know that this is all an illusion. With Federer’s retirement, tennis has lost its greatest performer, a protagonist like no other, a man who has elevated sport to almost elitist.

At his best, Federer felt in full flow that his matches should be judged on the culture pages, away from the sweat and exertion of the sports arena. Funny enough, the man himself never seemed to break into anything as inappropriate as sweat. His opponents would toil, but he remained sublimely aloof.

Not in reality of course. Federer’s true art was in making his dedication and determination – and a very vicious ruthlessness – look like an effortless flow. He shared epic, near-endless gladiatorial combat against the best of the best in an era that was competitive and exhausting like never before, all while seemingly imperturbable.

He announced himself on Center Court by knocking over the master in five sets. In 2001, Federer, 19, defeated Pete Sampras in the fourth round on what is traditionally known as Manic Monday.

Sampras would never win Wimbledon again, his era of domination ended at seven titles. In 2017, Federer would make it eight with a straight sets win over Marin Cilic, setting the record. The following year, he would beat the Croat again at the Australian Open, the 20th and last of his singles titles.

He announced himself in 2001 when Federer, 19, defeated Pete Sampras at Wimbledon

“The champion of champions,” Billie Jean King announced Thursday, perhaps reaching for superlatives after exhausting the “greatest of all time” for Serena Williams in New York just over a week ago. She described it as the most complete game of its generation and no one denied it.

However you wanted to play it, Federer could play it. He could go on the attack or defend for his life. He was elegant, almost delicate and then crushingly powerful.

He was quickly on his feet, with a few yards left in his brain. He was tactically smart and seized every opportunity. His forehand was arguably the best the game has ever seen.

And when Nadal made his only slip, in the 2009 French Open, it was Federer who took advantage by beating Spaniard conqueror, Robin Soderling, in the final. Federer had lost the previous three finals at Roland Garros to the clay master, but it was this that gave him his career slam. The other Slams, at his peak, he dominated.

Since then, Federer would continue to elevate the sport beyond the realm of athletics

He would attack or defend for his life. It was elegant, delicate and then crushingly powerful

In the four years between 2004 and 2007, he won every Wimbledon, every US Open and three of the four Australian Opens. He won Wimbledon six out of seven years between 2003 and 2009, his early style owed more than a little to that of ‘Pistol Pete’ Sampras, not least his fantastic serve.

Like Sampras, he can be pragmatic when needed, but that’s not how fans will remember him. For them, Federer could do no wrong. He inspired loyalty and fervor, as nations do, often inciting a partisan mob against one of them, such was his popularity.

It was a pleasure to watch him, a rare joy. He was on par with Lionel Messi, with Sachin Tendulkar, in elevating his sport beyond the realm of athletics. The same words are echoed in tributes from contemporaries – elegance, grace, poise, beauty, not a language typically associated with sports.

Federer in full swing thought his matches should be judged on the culture pages

Yet it was those qualities that set Federer apart. And it still takes a physical toll, even if Federer sometimes played like he was floating.

In 24 years, in 1,526 games, Federer never gave in, never retired through injury. But towards the end, at the age of 41, he admitted that his body was sending him painful messages. He had missed the last five Slams. It was clear that the time had come.

When she canceled her retirement, Serena Williams suggested that if she had been born male, she could have kept going. But that is not true. Federer played through the birth of two twins – and Williams has a point there – but 41 in elite sport is 41, regardless of your gender.

Federer knows it’s time to go gracefully. In true crowd-pleasing style, he will be giving his fans one last look at the Laver Cup in London next week.

What a loss to the sport Federer and Serena Williams will be after announcing their retirement

And then, like Williams, he could be anything in tennis. What a loss to the sport, those two. And in the coming days, much will be said about his genius, his artistry, about the most beautiful game.

But sport is also prosaic. So here it is, the statistical deluge. Federer won 103 career titles from Milan in 2001 to Basel in 2019.

He reached 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals, won 1,251 times on the ATP tour, spent 237 consecutive weeks at No. 1, was the oldest player at No. 1, won 65 consecutive matches on grass, won 24 consecutive ATP finals, and won 369 Grand Slam matches.

And the greatest achievement of all? He made it all look like the bloom of a brush on canvas. What a player he was and what an artist.