Farewell to Roger Federer, the greatest player in an era of greats

‘Roger Federer was that rare thing: not just the best player in he world, but also the most beautiful, the most pleasing to watch, the grace note as well as the triumphant ending.’ Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Time and simple human wear-and-tear told us Roger Federer had to stop playing professional tennis at some point. Here is a man who was winning grand slam tournaments before the iPhone was invented, while Tony Blair was still a very popular prime minister, and who first won Wimbledon two months after Carlos Alcaraz was born.

And yet the news that Federer intends to retire now at the ludicrously advanced age of 41 still feels like a shock, an oversight, a rumour that got out of hand. Is everyone really sure about this?