Roger Federer, a firm favourite with tennis fans on Betfair.com can be aggrieved that he has continuously needed to prove his greatness. First he needed to complete the career Grand Slam by winning the French Open.
Then he needed to surpass Pete Sampras' record haul of 14 majors. With this achieved, questions were asked over his relative standing compared to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
A seventh Wimbledon victory, Djokovic beaten in the process, has ended the unfavourable comparisons with his two great rivals, with the return to world number one the proof.
He has been at number one for longer than anyone else and should he win the Olympics for the first time next month, he really will have achieved everything there is to in the game.
A more relaxed Federer is a daunting prospect for his rivals.
The burning desire to succeed remains, but playing with less pressure helps all players, especially those who have the ability to make shots others cannot.
It is just as worrying that the Swiss legend has in a way a better record at Flushing Meadows than he does at Wimbledon.
He won in New York for five consecutive years, a run ended by Juan Martin del Potro in a tight five set epic in 2009.
Unlike at Wimbledon, where he fell at the quarter final stage twice in his 'barren' years, Federer retained consistency at the US Open, losing two more five set classics in the 2010 and 2011 semi finals against Djokovic.
Last year wasted two match points having been two sets up, proving Andy Murray's point that Federer had never really gone away.
He had just been losing tight matches. It is now tough to bet against him in these encounters.
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