Is this the end of the road for Roger Federer?

Roger Federer waves to crowd after losing to Tommy Robredo at the US Open

Roger Federer‘s latest defeat at the hands of Tommy Robredo sent him crashing out of the US Open. Federer has been going through the toughest phase in his career, especially over the past few months. He has now slipped down in the rankings to the seventh spot. He has not won a Grand Slam since his triumph at Wimbledon last year. In fact, his last two outings at the Slams has been utterly disappointing. While he bowed out of Wimbledon in the second round after a shock defeat at the hands of Sergiy Stakhovsky, we saw him stunned by Robredo last night, who he had beaten ten times in the past.

The Swiss has had a tough season, with his win at Halle being his only title this year. The fans want him to bounce back; he wants to bounce back too. He has tried many things, including an experiment with a new and a slightly larger racquet frame. But nothing seems to be working for him at the moment, not even the new racquet, as he has already switched back to his old frame.

Ever since he exploded on the tennis scene and took the tennis world by storm with his extra-ordinary qualities, he has always been compared to American great Pete Sampras. Comparisons are inevitable between two legends and both Sampras and Federer – being two of the greatest tennis players of all-time themselves – could not avoid it. Such is the comparison between the two that Federer’s current crisis is being compared to the similar poor phase Sampras went through towards the end of his illustrious career.

It was the year 2000 and Sampras had captured his 13th Grand Slam when he lifted the title at Wimbledon that year. But things started going downhill when a young Marat Safin managed a convincing straight set victory over him in the US Open final that year.

The loss was followed by a poor show at the Australian Open next year where he exited in the fourth round after he lost to Todd Martin. Adding to his woes was a 19-year-old named Roger Federer, who pulled off a win in a five-set thriller against the American in the fourth round of Wimbledon. From then on, things got worse for Sampras.

Federer also seems to be going through a similar cycle of upsets and heartbreaks, if not exactly the same. He has shown signs of age catching up on him. He is 32 now and so this is not surprising. But what is surprising is the manner in which he is losing and the opponents he is losing to.

There is no doubt that he still has the ability to play the quality tennis that he is famous for. But whether he will be able to fight his way back to the top one last time – there lies the question.

Pete Sampras showed that it is not impossible. After going through a series of stumbles and upsets, Sampras did make a come back, that too with a loud bang, adding one more Grand Slam, the 2002 US Open title, to his kitty, taking his Grand Slam tally to 14.

Federer is expected to stage a similar kind of comeback. However, it will be a very difficult task for him for various reasons. First, he has to go through players like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray who are not only excellent players but are also much younger than him. Second, his ageing body and his struggle with a back injury will make it even more difficult. Lastly, regaining his form will be a challenge.

But Federer is not the kind of person who gives up easily. He is known for his fighting spirit, his love for the game and his never ending dedication towards better performance. He still has what it takes to make it happen. If Sampras could do it, there is no reason why Federer cannot.

Federer has achieved a lot and he will get the kind of send off he deserves, whenever he decides to bid goodbye to the game. But for a legend like him, it would be perfect to go out with a bang, more so if that bang is a 18th Grand Slam.

Is it the end for Roger Federer? Hopefully not. Can Federer do a Sampras, his fans are longing for? Hopefully, the answer will be YES!