Roger Federer's Reign

And so it goes.....Rafael Nadal made another breakthrough by beating Roger in his own court at Wimbledon. I was actually expecting this but I was still hoping at the last minute that Roger will prove me wrong.

After his very lopsided loss to Nadal in the French Open final and his overall shaky start for the 2008 tennis season, many are already saying that Roger's reign as the top men's tennis player is coming to an end. Aside from the much improved play of Nadal beyond the clay courts, there is also the emergence of Novak Djokovic who bested Federer in the semi-finals of the Australian Open before winning in the finals.

I do agree that Roger's dominance of the game for the past two years has come to an end, but I would not necessarily say that his reign is finished...far from it. I believe that in the long-run, this will be beneficial to him. And given the right attitude and adjustment to his game, this may very well turn out to be the defining moment for his greatness. You see for the better part of two years, everyone is gunning to beat him. During that period, he has been the target of most players, especially those who wish to strengthen their career standing. Everyone else has been under the radar. Being just one of the stronger players will change that and will allow Roger to experiment on his game and thus make the necessary adjustments to improve. Never mind if he gives up the number one ranking. This is an opportunity for him to show that despite all the setbacks and the naysayers, he can once again prove them wrong. Come back stronger and solidify his standing as the greatest player. Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan and other sports legends did not attain greatness by winning everything, everytime. They all had to fail before finally succeeding like no one else had.

Let this year be Nadal's year....let him take the pressure for once as the number one player and let's see how he handles it. Let Roger, figure out how to improve his game in the changing face of tennis and if he responds as I know he will, he will prove that he is indeed one of sports greatest performer.