World number two Roger Federer may be near the twilight of his career, but his recent displays can easily validate he is far from being finished.

In 2017, winning the Australian Open after seven years and reigning supreme in Wimbledon for a record eighth time, Federer certified his status as one of the best in his generation.

However, he has given extensive attention to fitness and recovery in order to prolong his career on the tennis court.

As a result, he missed the French Open earlier this term which incidentally yielded fruitful outcomes.

His fitness coach Pierre Paganini has given an insight into how long the tennis icon intends to play before calling time on his stellar career.

Asked whether Federer would be able to compete at the premier level until 2020, Paganini told the New York Times: “I think only Rog will know when it’s the moment that he’ll want to say perhaps this is enough.”

He commended the brilliant physical condition of the 36-year-old and stated that discipline and maturity, maintaining the balance throughout, remains the salient features of Federer’s success.

“Rog does have the biological age of 36 but for me, he has an athletic age that is younger than that and yet he has the maturity of someone well over 40. So it’s quite a balance,” he added.

“And because of that it’s very difficult to say or predict.

“It’s the man who makes the decision, not just the athlete, unless there’s a serious injury that leaves you no choice.”

Although, Paganini also revealed the knee injury sustained in 2016 could play a key role in the decision and that the Swiss ace might not sufficiently recover from it in the following years.

“Rog worked with his physical therapist for two weeks and when we started the fitness training, at the beginning he had to, for example, jog five meters and then walk backwards.

“It was like he was learning to walk again.

“You can be the most positive person in the world and there are still moments where you wonder, is he really going to be able to play high-level tennis again?”

The 19-time Grand Slam champion’s retirement issue should be a distant matter altogether, because if Federer continues with the same vigour and intensity, there is no doubt his trophy cabinet would include more silverware in the months ahead.