Roger Federer says 'it would be an absolute dream to play till 40'

Roger Federer became the third oldest player to win a Grand Slam singles title when he captured the 2017 Australian Open championship earlier this year. And though it was Federer's first major title since the 2012 Wimbledon, the Swiss master believes he can sustain a competitive brand of tennis for a few more years.

Federer is currently in Indian Wells for the BNP Paribas Open, the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the new season. On Friday, he was put to the test by a group of schoolchildren who grilled the four-time Indian Wells champion with various questions during a special press conference. When asked how long he wishes to endure as a professional tennis player, "I mean I hope I'm going to be like 90 years old (when I give up)," a cheerful Federer told the group of children. (Watch video below).

Why Roger Federer can endure till the age of 40

On a serious note, Federer said he could have another five years left in the tank. "Well, maybe play for another five years. That would be an absolute dream. I'm 35 now, so....," the 18-time Grand Slam champion said, before fielding light-hearted questions about his childhood, his love for pets and his happy dance on the court, besides more.

It's not unfathomable that Federer can play at a high level until the age of 40. If anything, modern science, rehabilitation techniques and a selective schedule have given Federer an additional lifeline, so to speak. The 35-year-old is at the stage of his career wherein he's able to pick-and-choose events from the packed ATP calendar, while also giving his troublesome knees sufficient rest at regular intervals. Following his semi-final loss to Milos Raonic at the 2016 Wimbledon, Federer took a six-month break from the sport to recover from the arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent last February.

According to Federer, his year-long training regiment had little to do with his tennis. "It's so important to train, and in tennis it's all the time. Every day there's something to be done. You feel it's hard to sit out and not play for six weeks, and there's like 10 new tour winners and you say, 'Ah I could've been one of them.'

"But it you look at the big picture, you have to step away to come back strong. And I always did that throughout my career. Maybe not six months, but I did it probably two to three times a year, where I kind of stepped away and came back and it's served me well, and I think that's why I'm still here today," he said during a media round table session in Indian Wells, via The Desert Sun.

Would Federer need another lucky break to win a Grand Slam?

Recently, Federer admitted that he got an easier ticket to the 2017 Australian Open final due to the early upsets suffered by top seeds Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. But several analysts at Melbourne Park during the two-week period were convinced that Federer was playing some of the best tennis of his career, and refused the rule out the possibility of Federer winning a 19th Grand Slam title down the road. Like an aging wine, Roger Federer continues to defy the aging process when working the various angles of a court.

Australia's Ken Roswell, at 37 years and 2 months, became the oldest player to win a Grand Slam title in the Open Era when he won the 1972 Australian Open. Another Aussie, Mal Anderson, was 36 years and 306 days when he won the 1957 US Open. Federer was 35 years and 171 days when he won the Australian Open title earlier this year. Would the Swiss master break Roswell's 45-year-old record?