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After a sorry 2013 season, where he won just one title, Roger Federer began the new year insisting his faulty form was well and truly behind him.
He was far from a spent force, and still had the goods to add to his 17 Grand Slam titles.
After starting the year with a bang – reaching the Australian Open semi-finals in January, before lifting his sixth Dubai Tennis Championships title in March, beating Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych in the process – it appeared those who had written off the Swiss maestro would be made to eat their words.
But, any thoughts of a renaissance have been dealt one of Federer’s trademark single-handed backhand winners. Fed may maintain he’s still a force to be reckoned with, however, the stats suggest he’s in denial.
Sunday’s fourth round French Open defeat to Ernests Gulbis, a handy player at best, marked the first time Federer has failed to reach the quarter-finals in Paris since 2004, while it’s only the third time in his last 40 Grand Slams that he hasn’t made the last eight.
The most telling stat, though, is that those three occasions have all come in his last four attempts.
The 32-year-old earned his reputation as one of the best of all-time, not only because he’s won more majors than any other male, but also for his consistency and longevity. His ability to stay at the top for so long has been remarkable – he was world No.1 for 302 weeks, including a stretch of 237 consecutive weeks from 2004-2008.
When in his pomp, the former world No.1 would beat those whose surnames aren’t Nadal, Djokovic or Murray without breaking a sweat.
Incredibly, though, in the past 12 months, Federer has lost to Sergiy Stakhovsky (currently ranked world No.93) in the second round at Wimbledon, Tommy Robredo (world No.19) in the fourth round at the US Open, and now Gulbis (world No.17).
Federer is a genuine champion and an ornament to the game, and no athlete in the world has a better individual highlight reel than his. But, despite his insistence that it’s not the case, father time has well and truly caught up with the world No.4.
Following his loss at Roland Garros, the winner of 78 career singles titles stated his eagerness to begin his grass-court campaign, perhaps thinking an eighth Wimbledon crown is possible. Based on evidence, that seems a pipe dream.
Champions should never be written off and have a habit of being able to turn things around when all seems lost, making their detractors eat humble pie. But as much as I would love to see Federer do just that, I’m not holding my breath.
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