Not that this is what you were suggesting, Jonsz, but Federer is far from a "machine". Now, Lendl was a machine -- played nearly flawless technical tennis, wouldn't beat himself, won a bunch of matches, and bored everyone to tears. Federer is great because he comes up with amazing shots, often at key moments in the match. He has elevated tennis as an art form, which is why past tennis greats like McEnroe, Sampras and Borg speak in reverential tones about how much better he is than anyone has ever been.