Roger Federer fell on Monday in the fourth round of the US Open to Tommy Robredo. As the 32-year-old makes another early exit from a Grand Slam, can Federer ever win another major title?
World No. 7 Federer lost in three straight sets to Robredo (6-7, 3-6, 4-6). Federer didn't look like himself, making 43 unforced errors and converting only two of 16 break points, according to ESPN.
"I kind of self-destructed, which is very disappointing," Federer said after the match, via ESPN. "It was a frustrating performance."
Federer had won all 10 of his previous matches against Robredo, which made his three-set loss to the Spaniard even more surprising.
"Roger, when he was No. 1, (compared) to the Roger right now," Robredo said after the match,"he's not maybe (playing) with the same confidence, no?"
Federer's loss on Monday was another disappointing performance at the majors this year. He lost in the Australian Open semifinals to Andy Murray, in the French Open quarterfinals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and in the second round of Wimbledon to World No. 116 Serhiy Stakhovsky.
"The story of my life: When I lose, people are shell-shocked to see me play this way," Federer said.
He won the 2012 Wimbledon, but lost in the opening round of tournaments four times this year. Federer also struggled with back injuries this season and underwent a failed experiment using a larger racket head. Father Time also appears to be catching up, and longtime rival Rafael Nadal admitted the window is closing for them to meet head-to-head in the US Open for the first time.
"Didn't happen (this year)," Nadal said. "(Doesn't) mean cannot happen in the future. We'll see. Hopefully. But is true that we are getting older, so the chances are less today than five years ago."
Despite his subpar season at the majors, the 17-time Grand Slam winner doesn't sound close to considering retirement, which begs the question of whether Federer will be able to add an 18th Grand Slam title to his storied career.
"I've definitely got to go back to work and come back stronger. Get rid of this loss now as quick as I can, forget about it, because that's not how I want to play from here on," Federer said. "I want to play better. I know I can."
