We now have the same problem with Roger Federer as with Andy Murray that I wrote about recently. Yesterday Roger, nearly forty years of age, was beaten in three straight sets after a brilliant twenty years at Wimbledon, and having won the men’s singles eight times. Disappointed, Roger stated that he needed to ‘talk to his team to find the best way to get in shape for next year’.

Forty is not old by any means, but it’s too old to play professional tennis. I feel sorry for these people that they cannot accept the passing of the years. A whole new younger generation of tennis players has grown up in the meantime who can run rings around forty year olds, and they in turn will have to give up the fame and adulation too as they approach middle age.

Middle age is not time to sit and wait for the Grim Reaper though. Roger, Andy, Serena et al are still young enough to forge new careers if they get bored with living off their quite substantial earnings. They can coach tennis or commentate if they can’t stay away. They are also wealthy enough to be able to spend time with their children without having to work at all.

I used to attend Wimbledon in the 1970s when I lived in London. On a few of the outside courts you could see several veteran tennis players enjoying their retirement and playing somewhat slower-paced matches than in their heyday. I once was lucky enough to see Pancho Gonzales, Rod Laver, and Maria Bueno. I don’t know if the tennis stars of my teenage years still get to play veterans’ matches at Wimbledon. I remember queueing up outside the Centre Court in the late afternoon/evening after school to grab tickets from people going home and seeing Ilie Nastase, Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert, and Billie Jean King to name but a few.

Tennis is so civilised. The Wimbledon crowds are much less boisterous than noisy spectators at football matches. Remember the dulcet tones of Dan Maskell (“Oh, I say!”). Football commentators scream and shout ten to the dozen, and I have to reach for the mute button. Who cares if a ball has been kicked into a goal? I’m afraid I don’t, but I do like watching a tennis match between two people battling it out over a net. I’m not a team player and absolutely hate being part of a team, but there’s something about a tennis match (singles not doubles) that I find exciting. I cannot bear to watch any other sport. Strange, isn’t it?

Roger and Andy… please give it up so that you don’t embarrass yourselves. Enjoy your retirement, take up a hobby, find a new career, or just enjoy being with your families. It’s no shame to reach middle age!