Roger Federer-Andy Murray: Federer Will Lose His Place in the Sun

They say all good things must come to an end. Sometimes, the bad things do too.

Let's start with the good.

Roger Federer, a one-man Swiss army, has mounted a full-scale attack on the history books of tennis the likes of which has never been seen.

In his monumental effort to become the greatest champion in the history of his sport, Federer has used greats of the past like stepping stones to reach his ultimate goal.

Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Jim Connors, Andre Agassi, and even the astonishing Pete Sampras—all bow down at Federer's feet.

With a record 15 Grand Slam titles, including five straight at Wimbledon and one French Open crown to complete the career slam, the Fed Express has steamrolled his way through the past decade with near unstoppable force.

He hasn't missed a semi-final at a major event in seven years. Even Spain's Rafael Nadal—the once, and perhaps future king of tennis—can't stay healthy enough to keep up with Federer.

Once again, Fed finds himself in the finals of yet another major. But this time shall be different.

Unlike previous tournaments, Federer has yet to face any stiff competition in the 2010 Australian Open. And when he did, he struggled mightily.

Igor Andreev took him deep into an early round match and nearly upset the No. 1-seeded Federer. Unheard of in years past.

In the quarters, Nikolay Davydenko absolutely dominated for the first set-and-a-half. From the first serve, Federer looked sluggish, and most of all, worried.

Unfortunately for Davydenko, all of his confidence and skill went out like a light when he failed to go up two breaks in the second set. Like the lion that he is, Federer pounced on the wounded Russian and tore his way into the semis.

Davydenko had defeated him twice in the last two months and was clearly in control of this match early on. Had he converted that break point, Federer might have gone hungry.

But of course, Federer advanced to face his semi-final opponent, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who appeared to have some sort of stomach ailment—a pulled muscle, perhaps—throughout their match that limited his ability to stretch and use his booming serve. 

Federer cruised to an easy straight-sets victory. But the road to the finals was a poor indication of the championship match to come.

Now the bad.

In 74 years, no British men's tennis player has won a Grand Slam tournament, and none has won the Australian Open in 76.

Fred Perry was the last Brit to win a major. Andy Murray will be the next.

At just 22 years of age, the young Scotsman has climbed his way back up to the No. 4 seed in the world and is primed to go higher. 

Murray's path to the Australian Open finals was far more rocky than the one Federer traveled, including a thrilling four-setter in the semis against Marin Cilic, the man who eliminated American Andy Roddick.

He has been tested in this tournament and come through with flying colors.

Now, he'll face Federer with as much confidence as he has skill. Murray is one of the very men in the world who actually holds a winning record over Fed, going 6-4 in their previous 10 meetings.

One of those four losses was in the finals of the 2008 U.S. Open, when Federer took advantage of an exhausted and inexperienced opponent.

This time around, he'll face a player who's a little older, a little wiser, and a little stronger than he. 

It won't be a complete surprise if Federer does manage to take home his 16th Grand Slam title. After all, he is the greatest champion to ever swing a racket.

Federer's career has been nothing short of brilliant and may never be topped. But at 28, he's on the back end of that career. He's starting to get beat just a little more often, starting to lose just a half step of that Hall of Fame quickness.

Murray, meanwhile, is just coming into his own, just about to break through, just about to be the next great champion for years to come.