Friends and fellow 35-year-olds Roger Federer and Serena Williams put advancing age on its backfoot winning Australian Open titles.
Federer says fitness and a fulfilled life off court are primary reasons for his longevity.
Watch: Wawrinka Stunned, Murray Advances in Dubai
Launching his quest for an eighth Dubai title, Federer discussed his post-30 success in an interview with The National’s Ahmed Rizvi. Read the entire interview here.
"I think it maybe shows that we keep ourselves in good shape,” Federer told The National. “I think that the players like to play for a long time because I am not the only guy who is 35 and still playing. They actually have a bunch of (players) who are doing it on the women’s tour also.
"I think there’s more players now playing longer. They are not retiring anymore at 24, 26, like we have seen that happen often. It shows that maybe the tennis world is a good place. You can stay happy and have a life besides the tennis life, which I think is important.”
Additionally, Federer says next generation talents haven’t supplanted the artists formerly known as the Big 4 on the major stage yet.
Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic, US Open finalist Kei Nishikori and two-time major semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov have all made deep inroads into Grand Slams, but have yet to break through and win a Grand Slam title.
"Maybe on the men’s tour we have seen a bit of a struggle after the Novak and the Murray generation for a really huge group of players to rush through like maybe my generation was and the Rafa generation was,” Federer said. “That also definitely hasn’t pushed out enough of the 35 year olds today. That’s definitely also made it easier to hang on potentially. But nevertheless, I think those generations are very, very strong.”
The homogenization of surface speeds has created more predictable conditions experienced players have exploited, Federer said.
"And conditions didn’t change so much in the last 10 years," Federer told The National. "So that’s why probably it’s also easier just to have perfected that way of playing. I thought there was more changes from 15 to 20 years ago, to then 10 years ago. The last 10 years have been pretty much the same."
Photo credit: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships