ALLAN THE MAN

In the wake of Roger Federer’s untimely fourth round exit in the 2013 US Open, a single word resonated above all. TV commentator and former World no.1 John McEnroe kept lobbing the term “mystique” towards the audience, as if it were another fuzzy tennis ball waiting to be served. The term does have a ring to it, as it encapsulated Federer’s unparalleled dominance in the sport since the turn of the millennium.

Tommy Robredo had no business facing Federer. Whether Federer would admit it or not, the 19th seeded Robredo was merely the final roadblock that stood in the way between Federer and a first-ever showdown against Rafael Nadal at Flushing Meadows. Instead, the 31-year-old Spaniard put on a stunning display, not only upsetting Federer, but also doing so in straight sets, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-4.

How do we put Federer’s straight sets defeat in perspective? Before the match, Federer had yet to drop a set in the three earlier rounds at the US Open. Moreover, this was the 11th head-to-head meeting between Federer and Robredo. Federer was an erstwhile 10-0, and in those 10 meetings, Robredo won a grand total of three sets against Federer. 10 games. Three sets. Do the math.

As the match went on, it was clear that Robredo was not doing anything spectacular or out of the ordinary. There were so many instances when I was waiting for Federer to pounce like he always did. When Federer broke Robredo’s serve to level the first set at 5-5, I thought that was the point of no return. Nope.

When Robredo tripped and slammed into the DecoTurf surface midway through the second set, it looked like the pendulum of momentum was ready to swing Federer’s way. Again, Federer failed to capitalize. It was as if he chose to bide his time until the third set, but upon getting there, Federer fell into a rash of unforced errors that eventually doomed his stint in New York.

Digging deeper, we are able to see why Federer came up short. He blew a 0-40 lead, not once, not twice, but thrice. He had 16 break points in this match. He capitalized on a mere two. Two!

It was strange that Federer could not seem to crack the code. He won his first 10 meetings against Robredo with the baseline as his ally, but in their most recent encounter, Federer could be seen repeatedly dashing towards the net, an unnatural sign of impatience from the man who thrived on enduring rallies throughout his career. Federer uncharacteristically seemed to be in a hurry.

It was as if he were trying to outrun Father Time.

A loss like this is so debilitating for Federer and his career trajectory. His defeat to Sergiy Stakhovsky in the second round of Wimbledon last June was amenable to a degree because he was still recovering from a back injury. But a loss in the US Open spoke greater volumes of his decline because of the implications. Because this venue is where he wielded his magic, overwhelming all opponents to win five consecutive titles spanning from 2004 to 2008. Now at 32, Federer has not exited so prematurely since 2003, when he fell to David Nalbandian.

Perhaps it was symbolic that the heavy downpour of rain forced organizers to relocate the Federer-Robredo tiff from Arthur Ashe Stadium to Louis Armstrong Stadium. For the record, Federer had not yet played a game outside the confines of Ashe since 2006, where he is always the main attraction. That Federer was displaced from the center court to one of the side courts serves as a microcosm of how utterly disappointing 2013 has been for his standards.

One of the worst facets of watching an athlete decline into mediocrity is the gradual erosion of his skill. Skills honed for so many years, now deteriorating with a body that can no longer keep up with the rigorous demands of world-class competition. The fervent denial of such loss only exacerbates matters.

Suddenly, Federer finds himself in that position. With his God-given gifts slowly being taken away, his aura of invincibility is being stripped away from him as well. Opponents are no longer intimidated. They still respect Federer and see a former champion and a legitimate threat to the throne, no doubt. But they no longer fear him. He is, after all, exactly that.

A former champion. Beatable. Vulnerable.

The worst part of fleeting talent is fading relevance. The landscape of the sport is continually changing. Nadal, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokovic are now the ones jockeying for tennis supremacy. Federer, once an immovable pillar and the bedrock of the sport, is no longer discussed among the heavyweights who will win another slam. When Federer left the court after his loss to Robredo, he was sent off to a rousing standing ovation. However, people were admiring his body of work. The applause was for who he was at the peak of his powers, not for who he has become right now.

Roger Federer has no plans of moving on from the game he loves.

Sadly, the tennis world seems to be moving on fine without him.

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