Roland Garros 2013 – Takeaways from France

4) The inevitable decline of Roger Federer may just have begun

We’re through half a season and Roger Federer has yet to win a title. This has been Federer’s worst season statistically since 2002. The huge effort from last year where he regained his beloved No. 1 ranking and broke Pete Sampras’ long standing record of most consecutive weeks at the numero uno spot has taken a lot out of Federer, it seems. And he has begun to look increasingly vulnerable this year, with some uncharacteristic losses and some expected ones. This may just be the start of Federer’s decline. He failed to take advantage of a seemingly easy draw at the French and the straight set loss to Jo Willy Tsonga seems to be the first nail in the coffin. A 17-Grand Slam winning journey has chalked up a lot of miles in Federer’s body, and for the first time since forever, Federer actually looks his age. I don’t think he has the legs anymore to beat the likes of Tsonga or Berdych, let alone the other members of the vaunted Big Four. Initially, Djokovic, Nadal and Murray were the only ones who went toe-to-toe with Federer over the course of a match and won, but the rest seem to have followed suit. Savour the rest of his playing days, folks, this might just be the beginning of the end. Then again, next up is Wimbledon, Centre Court is his second home, and he could just as easily turn the clock back a year.