I may be down but I’m not out, proclaims Federer

Roger Federer’s astonishing defeat to a Ukrainian journeyman in the second round at Wimbledon marked the arrival of a new world order in tennis but for the Swiss master this was definitely not the end of an era.  When the new ATP standings are released on July 8, they will show that the holder of a record 17 Grand Slam titles has slipped to fifth in the world after he failed to defend the 2000 points he amassed by hoisting the Challenge Cup last July.

While fans and pundits alike were busy speculating if this was the beginning of the end for the greatest man to have ever wielded a tennis racket, Federer pooh-poohed the notion. “You don’t panic at this point, that’s clear. Just go back to work and come back stronger really,” said Federer.  “It’s normal that after all of a sudden losing early after being in the quarters 36 times (in a row), people feel it’s different,” he added.

“(But) I have more options now than I did have one year ago when I was running around trying to chase down every possible tournament and every point to get back to world No. 1. Maybe that, and the Olympics last year, took its toll. But overall I think I’ve been playing actually not so bad.”
After all, this is the man who has won 67 times at Wimbledon, 122 matches on grass, 257 at the four majors and 905 matches in his career.