Thread: Is this the end of the line for Roger Federer? 31 years old, loses in the

2nd round at Wimbledon? Was it just a fluke, or should he retire?

Oh stop it crying out loud. He has already said this million times - he will play in 2016 Olympics. He also said each year end he will assess his playing and then decide the next steps. He said the same today in his post match interview.
Yeah may be it is end of the line for GS, but not for winning other titles. Let me ask you this - if you were in his shoes, being top 5 player, loves the sport, ambassador of the sport, earning millions from Sponsors, guaranteed money for appearance - would you retire. I would not blame him for not retiring in this capitalist and materialistic society.

It's amazing how sports fans can be so fickle. The guy has been at the peak of tennis for years, has one bad tournament and people say he should retire.

The best athletes on earth sometimes just lose a match.

I've seen France lose to Senegal at 500-1 odds, draw with Uruguay, lose to Denmark and be kicked out of the world cup in the first round as a result. They were defending world and European champions at the time. Should we just retire the whole national team?

Ali lost to Norton, then returned to win 14 fights in a row. Should he of retired after the Norton fight?

People need to give athletes a break. Everyone has an off day, everyone loses at some point (with very few exceptions). If he spends the next year or two losing, maybe. However, one poor show in one tournament does not mean its time to go. Especially since he has won this very tournament 7 times in the last 10 years, including last year (and countless others)

I've noticed, everytime Nadal loses early in a slam, Federer struggles in his next match. French Open 2009, he was so close to losing against Haas, Last year at Wimbledon, he almost lost to Benneteau, and now this year, against Stakhovsky he did lose. Its like all the weight of the world goes on Federers shoulders when Nadal loses, because everyone knows that his chances of winning the slam have significantly increased. This year, he couldn't quite escape.

Just a bad day at the office, he'll bounce back for sure

I don't know man. Nadal just got out in the 1st round of Wimbledon and last year got out in the 2nd round. What does that make him? Honestly, Federer is not quite done yet. It is a little early to say that Federer can play competitively anymore. Last year he won Wimbledon remember and still was making the Quarterfinals up to this point.

If Tommy Haas can still reach the Quarterfinals at age 35 (like he did at the French Open), then I am sure Federer can too. However, with as consistent as Djokovic and Murray are playing, it is going to be hard for him to win another grand slam simply because his prime years have past. Still whether or not he wins another grand slam, he will still be considered one of the greatest of all time.

I wouldn't say end of the line, but it's definitely a reality check.

He's faced more and more of these tight matches in the last three years, and age is finally catching up. Combine that with a player who made about 60 of his 90 net attempts, gives you a perfect combination for an upset. He can still have his days of course, but they come with much less frequency, and much less danger than they used to.

It wasn't a fluke. We've known an upset was coming eventually. Simon in the fourth round in France, last year here in the fourth round as well. Federer loses lots of confidence and a ton of ranking points from this loss, so it'll be interesting to see how he rebounds. He absolutely needs to have a fantastic showing at the Asian tournaments, and will have to be at least a finalist in the U.S Open to really stay in this sport.


Daniel