End of an era?

There was a time, the heady days of 2006 and 2007 when Roger Federer had only to enter a tournament to emerge victorious. His opponents took for granted that they had to try for the runner-up position.Federer was the master of all he surveyed.A classical right-hander with a single-handed backhand, he never grunted or snorted while executing his shots.His smooth and silky groundstrokes and the almost impossible angles he created were a treat to watch both for the connoiseur as well as to the uninitiated.He was grace personified on court and his slim build belied the power he could impart to his strokes and serves.

So what, if one of the Slams, the French Open eluded him and continues to elude him till today? Clay was never his favourite surface and on all other surfaces--grass, hardcourts,indoor or outdoor, Roger was The Master.In Wimbledon, which was almost like his fiefdom, it appeared as if he would never ever be beaten.

All was well in Federer's world till an 18 year-old upstart answering to the name of Rafael Nadal burst on to the international tennis circuit in 2005 and knocked out Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the French Open.No big deal was the refrain, Federer was never really comfortable on clay. The upstart went on to win the French Open in 2005 and repeated it year after year in 2006,2007 and 2008.In all these 3 years Federer lost to Nadal in the finals of the French Open and what was amazing was the big gulf in standards on clay between the two, with Nadal proving more and more superior.In the 2008 final, Federer , wonder of wonders lost one set 0-6.

Nadal's rise certainly seemed to affect Federer. In an exhibtion match in Spain in 2007 slated as the 'Battle of Surfaces',Nadal beat Federer again.The peculiarity in this match was that the court was half-clay and half-grass.

Still, the diehard Federer fans and Federer himself believed that on the Wimbledon grass, he was simply peerless.Not for long, his nemesis Rafael Nadal caught up, and how? In the 2006 final he lost to Federer in 4 sets.In 2007, Federer won again but in a hard-fought 5 set battle.Come 2008, and there was a new Wimbledon champion in Rafael Nadal.In what was arguably the greatest Wimbledon final ever and certainly the longest, Nadal won in five sets, the final set margin being 9-7. The myth of Federer's invincibility on grass was broken and it appeared that Federer's confidence also took a huge dent.

Not that Federer's performance on the courts dipped,No, he seemed to develop an inner fear of Nadal.The very presence of Nadal on the other side of the net was enough to defeat Federer, people started whispering.With Nadal not in the way, Federer cruised to the 2008 US Open title defeating Andy Murray in the final.

A new year--2009--The first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, at the end of which Federer was totally shattered. Another five set final with Nadal and a loss yet again--5-7, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 2-6.

Another epic final where both the palyers matched each other stroke for stroke.Federer displayed his mastery in the first four sets which were split. The strokes from Federer were spectacular moving Nadal from one end of the court to another. Wonder of wonders, Nadal had so mucg power in his legs that he ran all over the court and knocked back everything which Federer hurled at him.When I saw the huge, powerful figure of Nadal hitting back almost everything from any corner of the court with awesome power, the only name I could think of was The Great Retriever.

Federer's spirit appeared broken in the fifth set, almost as if he had resigned to the fact that his best shots could not get the better of Nadal.He appeared to cringe before the towering presence of Nadal.Error after error followed from Federer's racket and soon it was all over--Nadal was the new Australian champion proving that he could beat Federer be it on clay, grass or hardcourt.

At the prize distribution, Federer burst into tears and it was a sad sight to see a man who had ruled the tennis world for years go to pieces before millions of television viewers round the world and spectators in the stadium.

It appears Federer has now developed a fear of Nadal,maybe we can call it Nadalophobia.There is nothing wrong with Federer's game.It is just that his mental strength is gone.His confidence while facing Nadal is virtually non-existent. Can Federer come back and regain his Number 1 ranking? Can he beat Nadal ever again? The heart says 'Perhaps', but the mind firmaly says 'No'.What Federer needs now is someone more than a coach, a mentor or a psychiatrist.Wonders never cease. If Federer wills and he picks a team which can work on strengthening his mind and help rebuild his confidence, who knows there may be another twist in the Federer-Nadal rivalry, which has bettered the ones between Borg-Connors, Borg-McEnroe or Sampras-Agassi.

If it happens, tennis fans all over the world will be ecstatic and understandably so.