Roger Federer plays transformative tennis.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion continues to play because tennis transforms him.
The 37-year-old Swiss dismissed Leonardo Mayer, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3, without facing a break point roaring into his 12th Roland Garros quarterfinal.
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It is Federer's 54th major quarterfinal. The father of two sets of twins is the third-oldest Roland Garros men’s singles quarterfinalist in the Open Era after 40-year-old Pancho Gonzalez in 1968 and 39-year-old Istvan Gulyas in 1971.
While Federer continues to rack up records, his reason for playing playing is more personal: It's a quest to regain the feeling he's had at his best. Striving for constant improvement fuels Federer.
"You improve a lot as a kid, as a junior, as a teenager, and then all of a sudden progress is slow," Federer told the media in Paris. "At one point you come to a place where you're trying to just get back to that good place time and time again, or as long as possible, or as often as possible.
"I guess that's what I have been seeking, chasing, you know, for the last whatever, however many years. And as different players come, you realize you have to adjust a little bit, either with your serve, either you tinker with technology, with the racquet size or whatever string technology, and, you know, maybe take the ball earlier or later. Whatever you're trying to do, there's always going to be a plan behind it."
In Federer's constant quest for perfection, there is no finish line. Federer is fascinated by the game because it's endlessly challenging on multiple levels.
"I think tennis is a great sport, it never gets boring, because every day plays different, every opponent plays different, you know, every guy gives you different struggles," Federer said. "For that reason, I never got bored of the game. Anyway, so far not yet. I don't know.
"That I see as a motivation, and then of course it's easy to be motivated playing at this kind of a stadium with full crowds, giving a standing ovation at the end. I would admit I would be struggling on court whatever, you know, 23, with impossible shades and no people watching, especially after living the big courts.
"So I'm definitely lucky to some extent but maybe also earned my way onto the big courts so it's easy to be motivated. I think the big question for me is how do I handle travels and practice sessions when there is nobody. Am I happy to go on the treadmill, all that stuff? So far, so good, I hope I can keep that up, yeah."
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