Roger Federer ousted by Djokovic again at Roland Garros semis

It happens to everyone. Getting older, slightly slower, slightly weaker. Even the greatest athletes in history have had to face the eventual decline of their abilities. There always comes a day when that reality begins to set in whether the athlete realizes it or not. On Friday, that day might have arrived for Roger Federer. In losing to Novak Djokovic in straight sets (6-4, 7-5, 6-3), Federer is starting to slip into an unfamilar spot. Always the semi-finalist, but never can make the finals anymore.


For Federer, it was a day filled with mistakes. While Djokovic played perhaps his best match of the tournament, Federer pressed to make winning shots. He made 46 unforced errors in the span of those three sets, a number that is so very un-Federer. He might blame the wind for some of those. I blame the pressure that his faster, stronger opponent placed upon him.


It's really too bad that Federer (who will turn 31 in August) is several years older than both Rafael Nadal (who just turned 26 in March) and Novak Djokovic (turned 25 in May). It would have been illuminating and eye-opening for tennis fans to see these three men in the prime of their careers face off regularly against each other. Would Federer's peak form have kept both Djokovic and Nadal from some of these Grand Slam titles they have accumulated over the past few years? It's too bad we will never find out.


As it is, because both of these men are in their prime and playing some of the best tennis anyone has ever seen, there's not much room at the top next to them. Federer managed to squeak into the French Open final in 2011 by defeating Novak Djokovic, but I believed part of that at the time was due to Djokovic's exhaustion as a result of his 41-match winning streak. Federer also believed he could still beat Djokovic (who had only won the Australian Open at that time), and that made all the difference. A year later, and Djokovic has showed his superiority by winning three of the last four Slams.


Now I wonder if Federer truly believes in his heart that he can beat Djokovic even if both men are playing at their best. We know that Nadal virtually owns Federer at this point (something that I suspect Federer knows to some degree as well), and especially at Grand Slams. I know some may say that I'm burying Federer perhaps a little earlier than he deserves, but I wonder if we'll look back on his career one day and realize that the beginning of his end started here in 2012.


By Julie Hayes | Yahoo! Contributor Network 


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OK, I'm gonna go off on a small rant here.  While I agree that Federer was far from his best form in this entire tournament (and indeed squeaked into the semis).  Djokovic isn't playing his best either despite what this article claims.  The only one who is playing flawlessly and like it's business as usual is Rafa Nadal.

Also not that this is anything new but why is it that every time Federer loses in a slam (or otherwise) but especially in a slam we bring up his age and the eventuality of his retirement?.

He'll retire when he's damn well good and ready, don't count him out just yet!.  Out of all the top players he still remains the healthiest throughout the year, and let's not forget he has won 4 titles this year prior to playing at Roland Garros, that's certainly something to be proud of.

I believe he's got a few slams left in him yet!.  And Wimbledon will certainly be his best chance, (and of course the Olympics).

As for the question whether he believes he can beat Djokovic or not, the answer is a resounding YES!.  When he is in good form he is more then capable of beating Djoko last year's Roland Garrros semis are a case and point (he was the one who stopped Djokovic's never ending winning streak after all).  He still has a better lose/win ratio with Djokovic then he does with Nadal (especially on clay).

So yeah I wouldn't worry about whether Federer believes he can beat Djokovic.  Nadal would have been a real challenge.  It'll be very interesting to see how things shake out on grass.  Season is not over yet and still a couple of slams up for grabs, I believe one of those will be Federer's.

And as for Sunday's final I'm actually going with Djokovic for the win even though everyone thinks the way Nadal is playing he's unbeatable, if anyone can stop Nadal it's Djokovic.  Should be a high quality tennis match!.