Many thought that Roger Federer's best days were behind him, but the 30-year-old continues to prove that he is still on top of his game. His success at Wimbledon 2012 shows that he is still capable of competing with the best.
But it was, arguably, more important to reclaim his number one ranking than win a seventh Wimbledon title. Players often claim that they do play to beat records, but it is just another mark of the ability the Swiss player has. And his standard as the best player we have ever seen.
So, on Monday (16 July 2012), Federer became the first player to hold the number ranking for 287 weeks. Pete Sampras held the previous record; he held the ranking for 286 weeks.
The good news for Roger is that it looks likely that he can maintain his spot for a quite a while longer. The Swiss star also looks capable of playing at the highest level for a few more years yet. Meaning he is likely to set a mighty impressive new record by the time he chooses to retire.
In the context of this year, the 2012 US Open will begin at the end of August, and it's highly unlikely Federer will relinquish his position before then. He also must now go to New York as a strong favourite to win another Grand Slam title.
He will know he will maintain his position as long as he can outperform his rivals. Something he did so impressively during the Wimbledon 2012 event. However, Novak Djokovic will be out to get that ranking back, and win a second Grand Slam title of the year; Djokovic previously won the 2012 Australian Open.
Andy Murray reached the Wimbledon 2012 final, and will gain some inspiration from the fact we have already had three different winners of the Grand Slam events this year. The British number one will feel that he can go one better and win the US Open 2012 title. Rafael Nadal will want to bounce back from his second round defeat at Wimbledon.
So, the pressure is there for Roger Federer, but he has a lot of experience and plenty of ability to handle the situation. It can only be good for the game to have a competitive bunch of players that all want to go down in history.
James Kent has been a tennis fan for a number of years; he is currently looking forward to the tennis on offer during London 2012 and the 2012 US Open, follow him on Twitter and via Facebook.
