Roger Federer: Fed-Ex Must Prove He Is Still Elite at Wimbledon

In tennis these days, there are the elite—Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal—and then there is everybody else. It's time that Roger Federer reminded everyone that the game's elite used to include three players, not just two.

The common notion around the sport has been that there are four elite players in the world—Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Andy Murray—but I don't think that's an accurate statement.

For one, Djokovic and Nadal have owned the Grand Slams, winning the last nine and facing one another in four straight Grand Slam finals. Not since Federer won the 2010 Australian Open has another player on the ATP Tour earned a Grand Slam title.

That's an absurd run of brilliance by Nadal and Djokovic, one the game hasn't seen since Federer and Nadal rattled off 11 straight Grand Slam titles between 2005 and 2007.

But it's more than just the Grand Slams. 2011 was the year of the Djoker, who won 10 singles titles in all and finished the year an absurd 70-6.

2012 has been a strong year for Nadal, with four singles titles under his belt including his usual French Open triumph.

Now, before the Federer camp crucifies me, Fed-Ex has been anything but chopped liver this year. He's won four singles titles already—matching his total from a year ago—and has reached the semifinals in both Grand Slams.

But he's struggled against Nadal and Djokovic in the past two years, posting a 2-4 mark against Nadal and a 1-6 mark against Djokovic. With a 3-10 record against the game's top two players, it's hard to consider Federer in the same class as them right now.

It's not an insult, it's just the truth—Djokovic and Nadal are simply better than anyone else in the game today, including Federer.

But a win at Wimbledon could change that. With six titles already at the tournament, we know he's capable of adding another. And it's not as though the gulf between him and the top two players is insurmountable.

He's still Roger Federer, after all.

But at the moment, he's not one of the game's elite. Only Djokovic and Nadal can lay claim to that description. Both Federer and Murray are close, and represent the level of play just underneath the two players atop the rankings.

And then it's everyone else.

If Federer can win at Wimbledon, this article will be rendered moot. But until then, one of the greatest players the game has ever seen needs to prove that, in the present, he is still worthy of being considered on the same level as Nadal and Djokovic.

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