When we rang in New Year's, who would have thought that Roger Federer would win at least half of the Grand Slams in 2017?
Not many people and that probably includes the 35 year old Swiss maestro as well.
On Sunday, he beat Marin Cilic in straight sets to win an eighth Wimbeldon final but also complete a tournament without dropping a set and with his trademark elegance with the racket.
The New Yorker contributing writer Louisa Thomas joined Off The Ball to discuss the seeds of Federer's return to the top of the tennis world and the sheer beauty of his style of play.
"Roger Federer is the most beautiful player I have ever seen play. So beautiful that I have trouble actually judging the quality of his tactics and strategy sometimes because I'm just so swept away by the aesthetic quality of his shots and I think that's very important to him and part of the interesting thing about his game is that he strives to be beautiful and Cilic was no match for him in part because of that enduring," said Thomas.
But aesthetic qualities of style aside, what has changed about Federer's game to push him back to prominence?
"His back hand is more aggressive than it's ever been. He has changed up his tactics a little bit. I mean, when he was working with Stefan Edberg, he started coming towards the net quite a lot and now he's kind of balanced it more with aggressive shot making in the back even on grass," said Thomas.
"I think he realises that he can use his superior timing from the back court and some of his variety shots to keep people a little bit off balance. They can't expect him to come in anymore and his reflexes are amazing. I don't think he's lost any of that. His timing is just superb and he can take the ball very early."
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