Roger Federer winning Australian Open would be greatest achievement in tennis history

Whatever happens in Melbourne Park on Sunday evening, there will be tears.

Whether he wins or loses, there is more than a fair chance they will flow from the elegant Roger Federer with as much pace and purpose as he likes to rampage through his service games.

His occasional tears are like veritable jewels to admirers of one of the most popular, pertinent and stylish characters in professional sport. They will gather on Rod Laver Arena and around TV screens across the globe hoping to witness a resurrection on the Sabbath. One more win will do it.

Yet Fed rising from the tennis dead is no work of fiction.

The Artful Roger is renaissance man. One of his most manly qualities is his ability to cry, to treat the moment with proper respect. If there were no tears, it would not justify the hours and hours dedicated to achieving perfection in the sport he has transformed into an art form. Federer is both modern art and an old master. His one-handed backhand has more depth than the Yarra, and remains a sporting heritage site of cultural beauty.

At this Australian Open, it has felt like a superhuman effort from a 35-year-old multi-millionaire, only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and LeBron James picked up more than his haul of $67.8m last year, with nothing left to prove.

He could easily be content with his lot. It would be easier to focus on family and FC Basel. Yet the desire within burns as brightly as Rod Laver Arena on a sweltering summer’s day. He is sharper now than when he turned professional in 1998.

When you are such a trend-setting champion, there is always something left to prove. Mostly to yourself.

Federer has never been one to try to contain himself during the most glorious moments of his career. Nor should he.

He cried after winning his first Grand Slam against Mark Philippoussis at Wimbledon in 2003, he wept when he beat Marcos Baghdatis for his second Australian Open in 2006 and he wailed when he somehow lost to Rafael Nadal over five sets in Melbourne three years later.

For sure, he will cry on Sunday. They will either be tears of joy, pain or relief. Or perhaps all three.

Nadal may cry too. It is already welling up into that sort of occasion.

This Australian Open is the most memorable of all time, one for the ages most definitely. The final will be fought out between two magnificent thirty-somethings, two great foes and friends who probably feared such days were gone. As recently as last year, they felt it was beyond them.

When Federer fell to earth and damaged his knee during his five-set defeat to Milos Raonic in the Wimbledon semi-finals last July, he must have wondered if he was tumbling into the abyss.

Federer controls his emotions on court as smartly as his dress code. He is courteous, well-mannered and impeccably turned out. But his dedicated demeanour betrays a fiercely competitive animal. Knee pain would have been outdone by the anguish to his mental state.

He announced at the end of July that he would be out for the rest of last year, but never considered retirement.

He underwent surgery for the first time in his career after twisting his knee while running a bath for his kids in the aftermath of defeat to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of Melbourne a year ago. A cruel twist of fate. It prompted a period of recovery and reflection, but not terminal decline.

Seeded 17th, the man with 17 Grand Slams between 2003-2012 is turning out for a 19th year as a professional in 2017. He was viewed as a slim bet to reach the second week in Melbourne far less the final.

Yet here we are at this astonishing juncture. He is not rolling back the years because he has been turning back the clock for some time.

As time marches inexorably on for all of us, Federer has found new ways to remain relevant. He is noticeably more aggressive these days, preferring to shorten points as much as possible. He is a prospector as much as a tennis player.

A Federer win coming in this cut-throat era, amid the Facebook generation of selfies, diminishing attention spans and so many lifestyle distractions elsewhere, would be as good as it gets in such a ferociously fought global sport. The miracle of Melbourne Park? Quite possibly.

The eight-times Grand Slam winner Andre Agassi lost to Federer when he was 35 in the final of the US Open in 2005. He believes the end is not nigh for such a unique talent.

There are aspiring kids at the age of 18 who will never reach one Grand Slam final. There is an aspiring Grigor Dimitrov at the age of 25 who is yet to make one. An aspiring Federer will contest his 28th major final on Sunday.

Federer gives five years away to Nadal, who is also 13 wins ahead of him in their career head-to-heads. He has a winning habit against Federer of 23-11, but has never faced him under these circumstances.

The Mallorcan is reaching prime form, but must also be feeling the pinch after the wrist problems that beset him. It is worth noting that while Nadal starts as marginal favourite - 4/5 v 11/10 is closer than Batman v Superman - he failed to reach the last eight of a Grand Slam last season for the first time since 2004.

Federer’s tightness will not be restricted to one leg. The sensation of getting tight crept up on him after he moved two sets clear of fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in a semi-final he seemed to have bagged.

Self-doubt can easily infect the brain during such elongated matches when you have time to think. Time to regret, time to revise and re-enact what could have been. Mentally, you bruise easier with age.

These are two figures who have done it all before who are burdened by their past. Being a champion of yesteryear is both a curse and a blessing. Federer’s 17th Grand Slam came in 2012 at Wimbledon, Nadal’s 14th at the 2014 French Open.

They know they can do it, but have not done it for several years. The man who controls the tension better is already a break up.

Yet Federer stands on the cusp of something extraordinary. This would be the greatest and most poignant moment of his opulent career. Perhaps not Muhammad Ali stopping Joe Frazier in boxing's 'Thrilla in Manila' in 1975, but one to savour on Rod Laver.

One recalls standing near the 72nd green of Turnberry golf course in Scotland (owned by Donald Trump of all people) in 2009 when 59-year-old Tom Watson, fresh from a hip replacement, missed an eight foot putt to become the oldest Major champion in history at the Open Championship.

It was heartbreaking to witness, but coming up short was his destiny.

Can the Michelangelo of modern tennis manufacture his own destiny? Can he reel in Rafa, and rail against the ravages of time and popular wisdom to become the second oldest winner of a Major behind 37-year-old Ken Rosewall in 1972?

For those fortunate enough to be on Rod Laver Arena and millions watching worldwide, you are not just taking in a tennis match. You are witnessing a moment in time.

Such occasions pass this way but once.

A Federer victory in Victoria will deserve to be mentioned alongside the greatest achievements in tennis and sporting history. More than enough to cry your heart out for.