Is this THE END?

Following a rather disappointing first half of the season, Roger Federer came into Wimbledon hoping to write another sensational story. Last year, the Swiss enjoyed a fairytale fortnight, beating Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to claim his seventh crown. The win saw him make an emphatic return to world No.1, a position he hold on to long enough to break the 300 week milestone in October.

This year everything turned out differently though. Roger did not play his great tennis since the Cincinnati Masters, last August, and although he just won his first title of 2013 at his favourite warm-up, in Halle, he was far from convincing when he announced he likes tough draws and he is in for a successful defense. The Swiss got a huge break when his potential clash with his nemesis Rafael Nadal got called off following the Spaniard's surprise defeat to Belgian Steve Darcis in the first round. He did not get to benefit from the opportunity though, as Federer produced a shock of his own, losing 7-6,6-7,5-7,6-7 to 116th-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky.

Although I rooted for the Swiss, I really cannot say I am surprised by his early exit. Roger lived on the edge for several Grand Slams now, so I expected him to run out of luck sooner or later. Unfortunately, it was sooner rather than later. The loss is just the latest in a series of surprising defeats that seem to indicate the end of his era.

The Swiss remains confident though as he emphasized he has no plans of calling it quits for at least a few more years: “I still have plans to play for many more years to come. It's normal that after all of a sudden losing early after being in the quarters 36 times, people feel it's different,” he said. “You guys hyped it up so much: me playing Rafa, and we're both out. So there's a letdown clearly. Maybe it's also somewhat a bit disrespectful to the other opponents who are in the draw still. I think it sends a message to you guys as well that maybe you shouldn't do that so often next time around.”

Asked how he deals with the tough loss, Federer said that “you don't panic at this point, that's clear. You just go back to work and come back stronger really. It’s somewhat simple. It’s hard to do sometimes. But usually, I do turnarounds pretty good. I'm looking forward to what's to come. I hope I can play a good summer, a good end to the season. This is clearly not what I was hoping for here today at this tournament.”

Whether he can regroup or not remains to be seen, but it's clear that Roger is going through one of the darkest periods of his career. I will always expect the Great Federer to win another major, but it could very well be that his time has passed. Independent on the outcome, the Swiss has had his huge share of winning throughout the years, so there are no regrets.

photo: GETTY IMAGES