• ATP World Tour Finals

Federer survives unsustainable battle of the fittest

London saw too many players succumb to their heavy workloads © Getty Images

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There's really not much that can be written that hasn't already been noted countless times in relation to Roger Federer, who claimed his 70th professional title in his 100th final appearance at the ATP World Tour Finals on Sunday - in the process winning the season-ending event for the sixth time in his career.

The 16-time grand slam champion looked very impressive as he seemed to be heading to a straightforward victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, before the Frenchman underlined his own claim to be a long-term grand slam threat as he fought his way back into the contest at the last opportunity.

That the final went to a third, decisive set was arguably fitting after the dramatic and superbly organised tournament we have seen at the O2 Arena, but in the end it was no surprise to see Federer emerge victorious, 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3.

"I'd like to thank the organisation, I don't think this tournament can be any better run, you guys make it very special for us so thank you very much," Federer said in his acceptance speech. "I couldn't be more happy, more exhausted, Jo sapped every last energy out of me today.

"I couldn't be more happy my season ends this way. Thanks to my team, my family, the sponsors, all the fans, you're amazing, see you next year."

Federer has every right to be delighted to end in a successful fashion what will otherwise probably go down as a disappointing season for him, mainly because of his inability to win one of the four grand slam events by which he measures himself. But it would be optimistic to suggest that his return to form was the story of the week in London.

In reality, the big talking point of the final week of the season was the cumulative effects of all the others that preceded it, with the many thousands of practice hours and millions of strokes that rendered both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal - the game's two best players - unfit for purpose.

Both men, who shared 2011's grand slams between them (three for the Serbian, just the French Open for Nadal), complained of being mentally and physically exhausted as they slumped out of the competition, a worrying but perhaps inevitable result of 11 months touring the globe with little layoff.

"It's because of a lot of things, because probably I had a little bit less passion for the game, probably because I was a little bit more tired than usual," Nadal said of his exit. "To compete I wasn't in the right way. We can find excuses, we can find problems, but it's not the moment to say that."

Djokovic concurred, adding: "It's just that my body says that it's overload. It's been too much this year. Obviously mentally I feel a little bit drained as well."

Ironically, the two men can probably blame each other to some extent for their current battle-weary state, with the many skirmishes they have had throughout the year pushing them to levels rarely seen before in tennis. But overall it seems obvious that players are simply playing too much these days.

Roger Federer was the last man standing - almost literally © Getty Images

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Looking around the eight-man field in London, hardly a player wasn't carrying an injury. Janko Tipsarevic ended up replacing Andy Murray (who, an optimistic British observer might suggest, is another victim of being forced into super-human efforts against super-human rivals) in the field, but even he admitted he expected to be replacing Mardy Fish instead.

By the final Tsonga was affected by a calf problem - indeed only Federer seemed to be unencumbered by an ailment, although the 30-year-old has become very adept at preserving his late-season fitness in recent years.

It's the problem all modern sports seem to be facing - the need to balance the not always compatible desires to both maximise the financial side of the game and put out the best possible product on the court. At the moment, it seems men's tennis has failed to strike that balance, falling too far towards the former.

It's great for the sport to have so many box office players playing so many tournaments all around the globe, but it is alarming when your best exponents are admitting publicly they simply cannot get to their peak.

The successes of so many events earlier in the year - especially when Djokovic was on his breath-taking, attention grabbing unbeaten run - should not be focused on at the expense of the consequences being seen now.

It is not a good long-term strategy for any sport if players are picking up injuries because too much is being demanded of them. With barely six weeks until the Australian Open, it is not as if top players have much time to rest and recuperate, either (Murray called the winter his only real chance to actually improve his skills in training).

Djokovic won 70 matches in 2011 - it would be unheard of for a footballer to play as much. And is the level of effort required really that different?

What is worse, plenty of other players are playing even more than the top names (albeit often not as far into each event) as they bid to boost their ranking or simply earn enough to retain a certain standard of living. How many of those are sacrificing a chance to threaten the established order in the big events each year, as they slave away week-in and week-out to pursue essential goals?

Federer is leaving London happy, but too many other players will not be. You sense the ATP has questions to answer, and perhaps difficult decisions to make, if it wants to continue seeing incredible feats performed on the court.

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