Once the Best,now Among the Rest...

Roger Federer has undoubtedly been a force to reckon with,in the sport of tennis,over the years.His stats speak for themselves-17 grand slam titles,77 ATP titles and a win percentage of 81.3%.Many commentators and tennis players regard him as the greatest tennis player of all time.It's only recently that Federer hasn't lived up to the expectations of his fans around the world.
                                                                                     The 2013 ATP tour season,which began on the 14th of January with the start of the 2013 Australian Open,saw Federer suffer a substantial decline in form,dropping five places to number 7 in the world,his lowest ranking in 11 years.Let's set the record straight-Of the 13 ATP tournaments Roger has featured in,in 2013,he has won just one.The slump in form began with the Australian Open,in which Federer was beaten by Andy Murray in the semi-final match of the Major.Not a disastrous beginning,one would say,but what followed was indeed disastrous for him.He went on to lose five straight ATP tournaments,making it to the finals in just one of them.It didn't end here-Roger was defeated by the number 8 seed,Jo-Wilfried Tsonga,in the quarter-finals of the French Major.The win at the Gerry Weber Open came as a consolation and people were expecting big from Roger before the commencement of the Wimbledon Championships in London from 24th June,2013.Little did they know what catastrophe was to follow.
                                                The King of Grass,as he was called,began well,racing past the 47 seed,Victor Hanescu 6-3,6-2,6-0.But,the defending champion made a shocking 2nd round exit,losing to the Ukrainian,Sergiy Stakhovsky in a 4-setter on 26th June.It was after this loss,that Roger was criticized heavily,as he was never before.He,then,just went through the motions,losing the next three tournaments comprehensively before going down in the 4th round of the last Major of the year.
                                                                                                                           Apparently,without his younger,healthy body,Roger cannot put in the work and consistency to play at his former level.
 Oh,he can still do it in spurts,but the grind of the ATP demands unprecedented energy and fitness.Federer has met his mortality.