Roger Federer: Loss to Novak Djokovic Signals End of His Brilliant Era of Tennis

Novak Djokovic's win over Roger Federer at the semifinals of the U.S. Open was one for the ages. It was a five-set thriller that neither man deserved to lose.

Unfortunately, sports don’t work that way. Someone always has to win and someone always has to lose. In this case, Federer was the one who came out on the losing end.

Federer won the first two sets 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, and appeared on his way to another U.S. Open final. Then Djokovic won the next two.

The fifth set reflected the match itself. Heck, one game in the fifth set reflected the entire match. Federer was up 5-3, serving for the match and up 40-15. Djokovic came back to win that game, then broke Federer's next serve to win.

So what does that mean? Well, Federer's days of winning Grand Slams are over.

At 30 years old, he's now an old man in tennis terms. Yes, he's in great physical shape, but so are the younger men that he's going up against.

Federer has more Grand Slam singles titles than any man in the history of the game. He has 16 grand slam wins, and he's won Wimbledon and the US Open more than any other. Federer has seven wins at Wimbledon and six at the US Open.

Why's that significant now?

Well, those stats would tend to indicate that he's most comfortable at Wimbledon and the US Open. But when he was eliminated from those two tournaments in 2011, he was eliminated in matches where he lost a 2-0 lead.

That had never happened to him in a Grand Slam. Yes, that is relevant and no, it doesn't bode well for his future in Grand Slams.

It's true that Federer is still one of the best players in the world. The problem is that Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray are all significantly younger. And that's just three guys. I am not even looking at other emerging players that we might be hearing more from in the next few years.

Now, Federer's place in the game's history is not in doubt. People can debate as to whether or not he's the best player in the history of the game or not, that's fine.

But with 16 Grand Slam and an unmatched run of consistency from 2003 to the present, Federer's resume takes a back seat to nobody.

I am not saying that we’ve seen the last of Federer. I’m sure that he’ll win tournaments and continue to make good runs at Grand Slams. Just don’t expect any more Grand Slam titles.

Maybe this was just an unfortunate loss against a great opponent. Yes, it was, and that’s the point.

These great opponents aren’t going anywhere any time soon. The fields are only going to get deeper from this point on.

Between 2003 and 2010, Federer took a Grand Slam title home every year.

Unfortunately for Federer and his fans (myself included), we’re not likely to see a new streak start. The 2010 Grand Slam win came in the first one of the season, and he hasn’t won since.

Federer’s been an absolute pleasure to watch. He will continue to be a pleasure to watch for a few more years. But 2011 was his last true chance at winning a Grand Slam.

When Djokovic closed him out today, he basically put an end to Federer’s career as a Grand Slam winner.