Roger Federer Cannot Afford Another Bad Showing at Western and Southern Open

Roger Federer is falling fast, and he needs a familiar tournament to turn things around.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion ended 2012 seemingly as strong as ever. Despite being over 30 years old, he won Wimbledon for the seventh time in his career, and he ended the season ranked No. 2 in the world.

Unfortunately, he has gotten progressively worse in 2013. After losing in the semifinals of the Australian Open, he only reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros before falling in the second round of Wimbledon.

Things have not gone much better in other tournaments either, as he continues to rest for weeks at a time, missing many big events. When he actually competes, he has not fared well with only one tournament win and a single finals appearance in a Masters tournament.

All of this has caused Federer to drop down to No. 5 in the world rankings, which is the lowest he has been since 2003. 

For the first time since the Swiss player burst onto the scene, he is in danger of falling into obscurity as the younger competitors pass him by.

The good news is that he still has a chance to redeem himself at a tournament he knows how to win.

Federer has won the Western and Southern Open five times in his career, including last year's tournament. In 2012, he did not lose a set as the top seed, and he defeated Novak Djokovic in the finals.

Federer has also done relatively well on hard courts this season, winning 13 of 17 matches.

If he can at least make a deep run in this loaded tournament, it will give him confidence heading into the U.S. Open. He will have already shown he can do well at a hard-court tournament against the best in the world, and it should lead to success in the final Grand Slam of the year.

Ending the season on a high note will be huge going into 2014, as Federer hopes to remain competitive in the future.

Unfortunately, it will be difficult to stay alive in Cincinnati this week.

Thanks to an exciting draw, Federer could end up facing Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals if they both reach that stage. The Spanish player is coming off his eighth title of the year and will be extremely difficult to beat.

Of course, this assumes that Federer will be able to get past early competitors that could include Philipp Kohlschreiber, Mardy Fish or Tommy Haas.

Any of these players are more than capable of taking down the former No. 1 player at this stage in his career. A potential early loss will do nothing to help him going forward, and it could end up being a lost year.

At 32 years old, Federer cannot afford to waste opportunities, and it would likely signal the beginning of the end of his career.

Federer is aware of how important the start of this tournament is for him. According to ESPN, he recently said:

"

Getting my game back together, really, and my body. So far so good. I'm motivated. I'm feeling better and I am entering Cincinnati with a good mindset. Right now, it's key.

Now if I could win more matches, that would be good. I did win a title here, and that makes me think I can do something great here. As at every other event, you always struggle in the first round.

"

Provided he can get off to a good start, defeat some strong opponents and possibly knock Nadal out, there would be plenty of reason to think he will continue to win over the next few months and years.

Otherwise, it might be difficult to ever think of him as a favorite again.

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