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The first time I watched Roger Federer play was in 2003. He was playing Andy Roddick in the Wimbledon semifinals. What the experts expected to be a 5 setter that might go either way became a 3 set Federer rout.. This despite Roddick not putting a foot wrong. It was obvious that this man had it in him to become the most dominant player in tennis since Rod Laver. On that day and through much of the succeeding five years Federer had it all. Unbelievable returns, every shot in the game with an insane variety of spin and crazy angles only he could create. He always seemed to have the perfect shot for any point in any rally. Federer's crafting of matches was poetry in motion.

Since Federer's loss to Nadal at Wimbledon I had been tuning in only for the finals on account of other commitments. After two years I tuned in to watch a semifinal that I expected Roger to win. After all Djokovich on the US Open hard courts has always been owned by Federer. 

But the Roger who showed up was not the one I remember. For two sets he seemed to have tuned out of the match altogether. The two sets he won were based on good serving and powerful forehands. Gone were the precise lobs, the drop shots either went too deep or into the net. The more creative angles were nowhere in evidence. Federer had his hands full breaking Djokovich just twice in four sets. Sure even this degenerated version of his game makes him one of the top 3 players in the world. But  unlike prior years he was never close to overwhelming Djokovich. It is almost as if this is a different Federer. 

If that semifinal 7 years ago predicted the arrival of the new King, this one made it clear that the King has abdicated his throne. Sure he will probably win a grand slam or two more, most likely with Nadal out with injury, but if I want to watch some jaw-dropping tennis, the best bet would be reruns of older tournaments. That Federer was a magician. This one is............another good tennis player I guess.