Roger Federer joked that his haircut keeps him looking young at the age of 38 after he put on a tennis clinic to defeat Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals on Thursday night.
Federer lit up the O2 Arena with a dazzling 6-4 6-3 defeat of Djokovic to hand the Serb an early exit at the end-of-season tournament and wreck his bid to end the year ranked No 1.
In the 49th meeting between the two great rivals, the Swiss snapped a five-match losing run against Djokovic and gained some consolation for his heartbreaking Wimbledon final defeat.
Federer had played down talk of seeking revenge when asked about his impending clash with Djokovic this week, but his victory celebration showed exactly what it meant.
"Yes, I feel good. I feel young. But I think it's the haircut," Federer joked during the post-match press conference after his impressive win. "I think things just worked very well for me. Tonight was one of those nights where I was clear in the game plan. I got what I kind of expected, and it was a great feeling at the very end. The reaction showed.
"I have been playing very well this season, and I think this victory proves that today."
Federer also explained how his style of tennis has helped him achieve great longevity in the game as he looks to end 2019 by winning a record-extending seventh ATP Finals title.
"I never tried to seek effortless tennis, you know. It came naturally through my coaches over the years, especially in my junior years that taught me tennis this way," said the 20-time Grand Slam champion. "When I see somebody play tennis, it's what I see how tennis should be played. The way I do it, I struggle with the extreme grip or double-handed backhand never worked for me. For me, this was the only way to play tennis.
"I wish sometimes I could have done it a bit differently, but it ended up being the way it was. I made the most of it, and I really felt like through hard work and fitness, getting to balls I didn't believe I could, it made me the player I became today.
"I guess it became an effortless moving style I also had, which eventually also ended up saving the body, which has been a good thing, to be honest. And then I won a lot of matches also sometimes in short time. Like tonight, for instance, these matches are doubly as good, because it saves the body and gives you incredible confidence. So that's what it is. I never planned to play this way."
Check our news, reports and reaction at the ATP Finals in London by following us on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices or our Twitter account @skysportstennis.