“I hope I give some other people a chance to believe at 37 it’s not over yet,” Federer said during the awards ceremony.

Djokovic was watching quietly from the other side of Centre Court, the champion’s trophy in his grasp, as Federer answered questions from the BBC’s Sue Barker. When it was Djokovic’s turn, he sent a clear message.

“Roger said he hopes that he gives some other people a chance to believe they can do it at 37,” Djokovic said. “I’m one of them.”

It would be quite a golden-era twist if Federer’s enduring ability to challenge for major trophies is what provides Djokovic with the belief that he can eventually break Federer’s records of 20 Grand Slam singles titles and 310 total weeks at No. 1.

But that scenario looks ever more likely with Djokovic re-establishing himself as the sport’s best big-match player after the two-year slump between winning his first French Open title in 2016 and his Wimbledon victory in 2018.

For now, he has 16 major singles titles and has spent 260 weeks in the top spot. He will remain No. 1 heading into the United States Open, the next Grand Slam tournament, which begins in late August.

“I’m not really looking at age as a restriction of any kind, for me at least,” said Djokovic, the reigning U.S. Open champion. “It depends not only on myself. It depends on circumstances in life. I’m not just a tennis player. I’m a father and a husband. You have to balance things out. Obviously you need to have the right circumstances, the right support, for things to play out in the right way.”