Tiger Woods needs some Federer inspiration

Tiger Woods may no longer hook up with Roger Federer as he once did, but if the sad golfer can find a little inspiration from the happy tennis player, he might still add one more major to the 14 he has already won.

At the beginning of the century the pair had a friendly rivalry over who would win the most big titles. Woods won the US Open at Torrey Pines in 2008. A year later, Federer won the French Open and both men sat on 14 grand slams/majors.

That is where Tiger has been stuck ever since: his car hit a fire hydrant and a tree, and five women fell out. His personal life unravelled while Federer's flourished. Elin divorced Tiger; Mirka and Roger became parents of two sets of twins.

On the playing fields Woods struggled with injuries and so did Federer. Only Federer dealt with his better and won five more grand slams: Wimbledon 2009, Australia 2010, Wimbledon 2012, Australia 2017 and Wimbledon again on Sunday. Since Paris 2009 Federer has also been runner-up in five grand slams.

The way in which he beat his opponents at Wimbledon this year - not dropping a set, as he did when winning at Melbourne in 2007 - Federer looks likely to beat even Ken Rosewall's record as the oldest grand slam winner. Rosewall was 37 when he won the Australian Open in 1972.

Who will stand in Federer's way? Novak Djokovic, having gone through a tough divorce, seems to have issues similar to Woods'. Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray appear regularly injured and could learn from Federer in how to deal with bodies that sometimes refuse to play. Marin Cilic, Sunday's sacrifice, has fragile size 14 feet.

Even at 41 Woods might still have time on his side. Julius Boros, the American known as Moose, won his third and final major, the 1968 PGA, aged 48. Moose, who died in 1994 aged 74, is no longer around to tell Tiger how he did it, but the man could give Federer a call.

He might find a sympathetic ear at the other end. Before he lost to Djokovic in the semifinals of the 2010 US Open, Federer said it had been hard to watch his friend.

"You know what an athlete wants to do. He wants to be out there and compete and that's what he's not able to do with his injuries right now," Federer said, having spoken briefly on the phone to Woods earlier that week.

Then Federer added words that should still lift his friend's spirits.

"He's done so much in such a short period of time," Federer said of Woods. "Which is where I also draw the inspiration from."

He should call the Fed. After all, what are friends for?