The 17-time Grand Slam champion proved this week that he still has elite tennis left in him when he defeated No. 2 NovakDjokovic and No. 6 Tomas Berdych to win the Dubai Tennis Championships. It was his sixth title in Dubai and his 78th title overall.
As most things are this late in his legendary career, this victory was very significant for Federer. It broke the tie that he had with John McEnroe to put him alone in third place overall for the most ATP titles in history, behind only Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl. It also marked the 14th straight year that he has won at least one title.
Beyond the numbers, this title was important for Federer and his morale. Even though Dubai was just an ATP 500 event—a third-tier tournament in the tennis hierarchy—it was Federer's biggest title in nearly two years.
He did it all with moments of pure brilliance and a newfoundcombination of grit and patience that has allowed him to get passed the inevitable late-career rough patches.
