Okay while I will always believe that it is still way too soon to talk about his ultimate demise from tennis, even I, must admit that he is no longer the dominant Roger Federer we have all come to love. So I am asking everyone when was it did you think it all started to fall apart for him. When did it seem like it was the beginning of the end of Roger's dominance over the sport.

Here are my options:

**Was it when Guillermo Canas beat him at both Indian Wells and Miami Masters Series events in 2007?

Those two losses were a complete shock to me. I honestly thought that he would have beaten Canas in Miami, which would have made his loss in Indian Wells a simple fluke. But when Canas beat him for the second time in two consecutive tournaments, I remember a lot of people were quick to say it was the end of Roger.

**Was it when Nadal pushed him to that tough epic five set thriller at Wimbledon 2007?

I remember almost everyone talking about how that match was the greatest Wimbledon final they ever saw, until this year’s final. And even though Roger won that final, almost everyone could not stop talking about how incredibly well Nadal played in that match and that Roger was very lucky to have beaten him.

**Was it when Djokovic surprisingly beat him at the Rogers Cup final in 2007?

At that point Djokovic had never beaten Roger in his career and in that match Roger was the clear favorite to win, until he blew those 5 set points in the first set, if memory serves me correct. That was the turning point in Djokovic’s career and where everyone saw him as a real threat.

**Was it when Nalbandian beat him both at the back-to-back Masters Events in Madrid and Paris in 2007?

Nalbandian had been playing poorly all year long and no one could have predicted Roger would lose to him in Madrid after he dominated the first set 6-1. But he went on to lose the match and two weeks later Nalbandian again beat him in Paris.

**Was it when he battled mono at the start of the year?

I know there are some who claimed that this is fabricated but I specifically remember Roger pulling out of the Kooyong Invitational Classic which in recent years has been a traditional stop for Roger that he uses to prepare for the Australian Open. This year he pulled out of the tournament citing a terrible stomach virus. Here is the link for anyone who still doubts his mono claim. Clearly he was ill before the Australian Open and which shows that he did not know he was suffering from mono at the time.

http://www.rediff.com/sports/2008/jan/07...

**Was it when Janko Tipsarevic shockingly pushed him to 10-8 in the fifth set at the 2008 Australian Open third round match and then later fell to Novak Djokovic in the semis?

I believed Roger was sick at the time and therefore that’s why this match (Tipsarevic) lasted so long. However looking back at his results this year I just can’t help but feel that this one match really shook Roger mentally. It was like after he won this match, he was never the same again. Therefore his lost to Djokovic was not very shocking to me as I had anticipated it.

**Was it when he lost to Andy Murray in the second round in Dubai?

This was his first match since losing to Djokovic in the Australian Open semis, and his first match since losing to Murray since the last time they played at the 2006 Cincinnati Masters. I fully expected Roger to rebound from his Australian Open defeat but that did not happen.

**Was it when Mardy Fish beat him at Indian Wells and then Roddick finally got his long awaited victory against him at the Miami Masters?

At this point it seemed that something was definitely wrong with Roger. Losing to Roddick is one thing, but losing to Mardy Fish of all people. That’s the one loss he has had this year that I still cannot figure out how that could happen. LOL

**Was it when Nadal blew him off the court at the 2008 French Open final?

Roger rebounded well at Queens the next week, never losing a set or his serve, when everyone thought that his lost against Nadal at the French would have been the ultimate end for him.

**Was it when he lost his beloved Wimbledon to Nadal in what is now being billed as the “greatest Wimbledon final ever”?

He played well to hang long enough with Nadal to force that decisive fifth set, but losing the fifth set and the match was perhaps slamming the nail in the coffin on Roger’s dominance over the sport and the year he has had up until this point.

**Was it when he lost to Gilles Simon and Ivo Karlovic at the Rogers Cup and Cincinnati Masters?

I still believed that he would have rebounded from his Wimbledon heartbreak but these losses proved that he perhaps was not as mentally tough as he used to be.

**Was it when he lost the number one raking to Rafa after his record 237 consecutive weeks at number one?

It only became official on Monday but for the last two weeks now everyone knew that Rafa would be th
I know the question is very long. I apologize for that. I just wanted to invoke a discussion of some sort and hear what everyone's thoughts are concerning this. Hope you all have a nice day.
Just wanted to thanked everyone for answering my very long question. That meant a lot to me so I thought I would leave a few comments.

some_guy - I agree with everything u said about the Wimbledon loss. The match was too close too call and could have easily gone either way. But that loss really has affected him big time since. That's why I said that loss felt like a nail being driven into the coffin of Roger's dominance over the sport. But I still believe he will bounce back even better!!!

KM - I agree with you on the Tipsarevic match. But I had notice Roger's slow movement around the court in his two previous matches at the AO. However after that win over Tipsarevic I felt Roger hasn't been the same ever since. It's like that one win sucked the life out of him and now he has nothing left. LOL
J'Adore - Thanks for the answer. His mono I believe is the reason why he has had a poor season all year-long. He has not been the same since.

chuckred21 - Thanks so much for reminding me about the 2007 French Open final. I believe you have a solid point there. I would never forget the look on Roger's face after that lost to Nadal. Remember two weeks earlier, Roger had convincing beaten Nadal in the Hamburg final and I remember there was a lot of hype over their FO match, but Nadal once again blew him off the court. Then a month later Nadal pushed him really hard in that Wimbledon final, where it seemed that Roger would have dominated Nadal easy on the grass courts. Then a month later he loses to Djokovic for the first time.

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