Roger Federer in Unfamiliar Waters
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| Roger leaving Centre Court after losing in the 2nd round at this year's Wimbledon Source: tennis.si.com |
For as long as most of us can remember, Roger Federer has
been on top, or near the top of the men's game in terms of ranking. He leads
the all time rankings since the ATP rankings were induced in 1973 with an
astounding, 302 weeks at number one with 237 of those being CONSECUTIVE! He
really has dominated the game for the past decade, but age is starting to catch
up to the Swiss Maestro.
What has happened to Roger Federer for the first time since
June 23, 2003? He has dropped to a ranking worse than 4. For over a decade,
Roger Federer has solidified himself inside the top 4 of the rankings and never
once fell out. July 8, 2013 marks the day where we see a Rogerless top 4 for
the first time in 10 years. It is definitely an odd sight to see, because we
are used to Roger consistently getting to slam quarterfinals or better and
winning slams, but those days may be over.
I cannot see Roger winning another slam title in his career.
Novak Djokovic owns Australia and he has played better than anyone else there
for the past 3 years. Do I even need to say anything about the French Open?
Wimbledon is a free for all, but I think it comes down to Djokovic or Murray
for the next few years until guys like Janowicz, Del Potro, Raonic or Paire
raise their levels. US Open is also down to Djokovic, Murray and Del Potro as
they are simply the best hard court players.
Not only does it look like I am counting out Roger, but also
Rafa. Rafa may not be as old as Roger, but his body definitely looks like it. I
don't see Nadal sustaining a healthy body for 7 matches of best of 5 on
anything other than clay anymore. He may sneak one more non-French Open title,
but he won't win many more.
Everyone, we are officially in the Djokovic and Murray era.
Del Potro, Tsonga, Berdych are right outside, but can only look in at this
point. Will anyone else challenge these guys in the next few years?
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