Roger Federer: What Opponents Must Do to Beat Fed

In his quest for another Wimbledon, Roger Federer has been looking like a very good contender.

His solid play has been hard to match and nearly impossible to find an answer to. However, Julien Benneteau nearly discovered the solution to solving the problem of how exactly to defeat Roger Federer.

Here is the breakdown of how Benneteau nearly pulled off the upset and some tips FedEx's future opponents should be writing down.

One key to beating the No. 3 seed is getting ahead early.

Benneteau was able to gain the early momentum by coming out swinging and playing with nothing to lose. Essentially, do not hold anything back. Federer looked surprised and taken aback by his opponent. The uncomfortable feelings caused him to make several unforced errors and not only gave Benneteau a huge lead but he also became his own enemy and dug his own hole.

An opponent can also feed off these self-destructive emotions and quickly gain more and more confidence. Getting out early allows a player to quickly gain control and pace of the points and steer the match in their favor.

Another key is the combination of power and accuracy.

Benneteau's power kept Federer off-balance, but the accuracy of his shots was what gave him the advantage. The Swiss is always known for having some of the best footwork and quickest movements, but he was scrambling all over the court after balls. The ball would skip by him or he was pushed so far from side-to-side that he had too much ground to cover.

In Federer's recent struggles, the strength of his serve and consistency of his groundstrokes have declined. This was clearly exhibited in the match against Benneteau when Federer double-faulted on many occasions and struggled to get the ball out in front and return a clean shot.

Federer's game is mostly about finesse, which can get him into trouble. He focuses too much on how to return the shot instead of just sticking his racket on it and getting it back.

If there were any questions about Federer's mental or physical toughness, he certainly answered them in his come-from-behind battle in the third round.

Most importantly though, Benneteau exposed the vulnerability of arguably the greatest tennis player ever to grace the court.