Roger Federer Must Have Strong Showing at Swiss Open to Erase Wimbledon Woes

Tennis living legend Roger Federer didn't quite have the 2013 Wimbledon Championships that so many imagined, but he still has time to turn things around at the upcoming Swiss Open.

Federer announced his decision to play in his home country's tournament on Twitter, reminding his followers that he debuted at the event as a 16-year-old way back when:

Federer is one of the most successful players of his generation, and that success usually translated over to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. But that was far from the case this year.

Instead, Federer wouldn't get past the second round when he faced Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky and went down in four sets. 

Wimbledon had seen its fair share of upsets prior to Federer's, but the 31-year-old's loss was certainly the biggest shock of the tournament to date. The only result that may trump the surprise of it was Serena Williams going down to Sabine Lisicki in the fourth round.

Now, the seven-time Wimbledon champion must forget about his woes in London and refocus himself in order to put together a strong final half of the year. 

The Swiss Open is far from a marquee tournament and his winning there won't do more than turn heads, but he obviously needs to get his game together and fine-tune some weaknesses that came back to haunt him in London. 

Federer was set up for a historical performance at Wimbledon this year, with the chance to surpass William Renshaw and Pete Sampras with eight men's singles titles. 

Unfortunately, it didn't end up the way he wanted, but he can't let himself get down on that realization and miss out on the chance to win throughout the rest of 2013.

Federer is 31 and surely not anywhere near being done for his career, but the clock is certainly ticking with elite players like Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, among others, who are in the prime of their respective careers.

The chances for Federer to solidify his legacy are running out, and he has to take advantage of every one of them—even if it's the Swiss Open.

Plus, Federer still has the U.S. Open to look forward to, where he's won five times. It'd be foolish to write him off as a major contender there. 

However, Feds has some work to do before proving to anyone that he's capable of knocking off Djokovic or Murray in the year's last Grand Slam major. 

That work starts in the Swiss Open.