Others have recognised this. Sampras himself calls Federer the greatest ever. Andre Agassi, the only man besides Federer to win the Grand Slams on three different surfaces, agrees. Ivan Lendl, whose record of most Grand Slam finals was broken on Sunday too, says disarmingly that he has “thought a lot about this” and that he thinks it is even between Federer and Rod Laver, the great Australian whom Federer hero-worships. There is something personal, too, to the manner in which greats of the past embrace Federer unstintingly: one couldn’t ask for one’s record to be broken by a nicer chap, they seem to say; he recognises the weight of history, he doesn’t shrug it off. When Laver was on hand to give him the Australian Open trophy in 2006, he was as tearful as when, two years later, Rafael Nadal took the title off him.

Laver himself sounds a note of caution, saying that one can’t compare eras. And Federer’s dominance, once Woods-like, has been broken conclusively over the past year by Nadal. The other reason why past greats warm to Federer is the completeness of his game, winning against baseline-players by deploying drop shots and lobs. Let the debate continue — but remember, there’s something to be said for style.