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It turns out Rio de Janeiro wont be a terminal destination for Roger Federer. The upcoming Olympics were where?the 34-year-old all-time mens Grand Slam singles champ was destined to go out in a blaze of glory -- or a tailspin.But Rio has become just another station that Federer bypasses without pause as he continues his unique journey in tennis, the terminus still unknown. That much was clear in the undertone of the announcement Federer posted the other day, declaring that he was skipping the Olympic Games and pulling the plug on the rest of the 2016 year.Instead, he will focus on extensive rehabilitation of his surgically repaired left knee.The doctors advised that if I want to play on the ATP World Tour injury-free for another few years, as I intend to do, I must give both my knee and body the proper time to fully recover, Federer wrote on his Facebook page.Note his reference to another few years, and the added emphasis immediately thereafter.Federer may not be ready to revise his timeline and declare that he wants to play through until the Tokyo Olympic Games of 2020. But whos to say he couldnt do it?His decision to take the rest of the year off instead of mounting a retirement tour speaks volumes. It implies a long-term commitment. He wants to strengthen that left knee over a long, five-month period, presumably because he feels it still has a lot more work to do.Back in 2012, when Federer first declared that he intended to play on the ATP Tour at least until the Rio Games, some scoffed at his plans. Sure, he was a 17-time Grand Slam singles champion -- the most prolific in the games history. But he was 30 years old, pressed on all sides by younger men, including Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.But Federer held his own, and then some. True, Federer hasnt won a Grand Slam tournament since his triumph at Wimbledon four years ago. That conquest was followed on the same Centre Court a few weeks later by a painful loss in the gold medal Olympic Games match to Murray. The failure helped crystallize Federers determination to play on, hoping for another crack at the golden prize in Rio.If the singles gold medal remains the only hole in Federers résumé, it has also been a source of motivational fuel. After their Olympic gold medal clash, Federer won six of eight from Murray. In 2015, a healthy Federer was a respectable 3-5 against the rampaging Djokovic. Federer was building steam toward that date in Rio.Then in late January of this year, Federer heard a click and felt a stab of pain in his left knee while drawing a bath for his children. It led to surgery, a hurried rehabilitation, missed time. If only he had taught his twins to shower, Federer might have gone into Rio seeded even higher than his current No. 3 ranking would mandate.Now, the fruit of his sustained excellence over four years is sharp disappointment. But its far from the end of anything.Federer took a spill at this years Wimbledon late in a semifinal loss to Milos Raonic. It was an uncharacteristically ungainly fall. To some, it appeared symbolic. But perhaps it wasnt father time tripping Federer and reminding him of his mortality. Maybe it was Federers knee sending a warning, telling Federer he had been a bit hasty in returning.Its pretty incredible to see the progress Ive been able to make in a short period of time, Federer told the ATP in late March, about seven weeks after his surgery. In his latest statement, a more sober Federer philosophically wrote, The silver lining is that this experience has made me realize how lucky I have been throughout my career with very few injuries.The one thing weve learned over the years is that theres no telling about longevity, about who will or wont have it. Despite this setback, Federer appears to be built for the long haul. Hes as much in love with the game as it is in love with him. It looks as if hes just been denied a final shot at glory. Hes found a greater project than two weeks in Rio.I am as motivated as ever and plan to put all my energy towards coming back strong, healthy and in shape to play attacking tennis in 2017, Federer wrote.Curious that Federer chooses to insert the adjective attacking. Its as if hes telling us: Dont expect to see some 35-year-old has-been hobbling around out there next year, punching up moon balls, either.Get the signs and posters ready: Tokyo, 2020. Melker Karlsson Jersey . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. Logan Couture Jersey . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. 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Inevitably, the impulse to disagree is just as hardwired, a patellar reflex of the socialised human brain. You think that is the best...? In compiling Masterly Batting: 100 Great Test Centuries, Patrick Ferriday and Dave Wilson, assisted by an able band of co-conspirators, have struck up a pub debate liable to exercise pedants, inflame nationalists and, perhaps worst of all, provoke the Twitterati to fresh displays of mandrill pomposity. There could be broken glass.This is no back-of-a-beer-mat musing, however. The authors have come tooled up. The research has been rigorous, their soundings far and wide (former Wisden editor John Woodcock is one of the first to be credited in the acknowledgements). In setting out the projects aims, Ferriday is awake to the difficulty, both rousing and daunting. Ranking the 100 greatest Test hundreds - for that is what they have done, or attempted, despite the enigmatic subtitle - is not a matter of irrefutable fact, but rather falls into the category where no such certainty can bring the debate to a crushing and indelible conclusion. And it is precisely these latter cases that are the most stimulating; opinion is reinforced by fact, fact is questioned, opinion reinforced or, where open minds prevail, altered.The danger of having an open mind, of course, is that your brain falls out. But Masterly Batting should find the thoughtful audience it deserves. The methodology is explained in the introduction, with ten categories - size, conditions, bowling attack, percentage, chances, speed, series impact, match impact, intangibles, compatibility - weighed against each other. The precise formula is not revealed but we can assume it is quite exacting, as there are several tied positions. The prospect of sifting through over 2000 possible candidates would leave many to conclude that pure maths was the only way to go, but Ferriday and Wilson have brought humanity to the numbers by stirring in contemporaneous reportage and the wisdom of numerous cricket judges. The order is, in many ways, subordinate to the higher purpose, which is to collate great cricket writing on great cricket feats. Measuring centuries against each other was settled upon as a valid and achievable goal but the effect is to paint vivid pictures of a different kind of century - more than 100 years of Test batting. This is particularly true with regard to the top 25 innings, which are given extended treatment and take up more than half of the book.Never mind the run-making, the keystrokes are just as impressive. Therre are some fabulous pieces in the book by a variety of writers, including David Frith, Stephen Chalke, Telford Vice and Rob Smyth.dddddddddddd. Chalke provides a superb portrait of Herbert Sutcliffe, Daniel Harris on Gordon Greenidge fizzes and crackles with an apposite energy, while Vices essay on Jacques Kallis - He has fashioned one of the great careers with the passion he might have brought to mowing the lawn - is full of good lines. Ferriday himself worships thrice at the altar of Brian Lara, while the comic-book vitality of Kevin Pietersens 186 in Mumbai is another example of the multitudes contained within.The result is richly satisfying, a kaleidoscope of dogged rearguards, effervescent counter-attacking and dreadnought destruction. Absence is what makes the heart grow harder. Each reader will come to Masterly Batting in search of particular favourites, some of whom are bound to be disappointed. No Atherton in Johannesburg, no Dravid in Adelaide? It is the relative dearth of Asian representatives that will cause most debate: seven Indian entries, five Pakistani and three Sri Lankan, plus Mohammad Ashraful. Virender Sehwags 293 in Mumbai is the highest ranked, at No. 15, while Ashraful comes well ahead of Sachin Tendulkar, whose single worthy effort - 155 not out against Australia in Chennai - is deemed great enough to creep in at No. 100. This may seem doubly controversial in the prevailing climate of Sachinalia, although it is interesting to note that a similar exercise in 2001, the Wisden 100, found no room for Tendulkar at all.Perhaps a greater oversight is the lack of Asian voices - Rahul Bhattacharya is quoted in the opening pages, but that is as close as an Indian writer gets to the book. The subcontinent stretches far across crickets globe, however, and this might have been better reflected. On the matter of which innings did and didnt make the cut, Ferriday is happy to engage and he would doubtless provide a sound argument for the inclusion of both Kallis hundreds in Cape Town in 2011 when Tendulkars in the same match misses out.But they are still serving at the bar and argument will continue long into the night. In a publishing landscape that is dominated by turgid autobiographies and glossy compilations, Masterly Batting stands out like a Laxman cover drive. And where does Kolkata 2001 rank next to Bradman on a sticky MCG pitch or Mark Butchers Headingley heroics? Time for me to get my coat.Masterly Batting: 100 Great Test Centuries Compiled and edited by Patrick Ferriday and Dave Wilson Von Krumm Publishing 290 pages; ￡15 ' ' '