Tennis-Fear factor no longer Federer's secret weapon

  2008-08-16 00:35:47 GMT    2008-08-16 08:35:47 (Beijing Time)    Sina.com

  Not long ago, when Roger Federer was collecting grand slam titles for fun, it seemed fear had most opponents beaten before the warm-up had even finished.

  Now, after another body blow at the Olympics on Thursday when he lost in the quarter-finals to James Blake, the cloak of invincibility looks tattered and torn and rivals are queuing up to take their chances against arguably the greatest player ever.

  First it was Spain's Rafael Nadal, who will end Federer's 1,659-day stay as world number one on Monday, who dared to stand up to the king of tennis, beating him in three consecutive French Open finals and snatching his Wimbledon crown this year.

  But when Federer starts losing to the likes of Mardy Fish, Ivo Karlovic and Radek Spepanek, solid enough players but the sort Federer once ate for breakfast, questions must be asked. Whereas many top players have a small army of people to turn to when the going gets tough, Federer travels the Tour with a tiny support group led by girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec.

  The former professional, who he met while playing at the Sydney Olympics eight years ago, is Federer's soulmate, media manager, business adviser. Now, more than ever, she will have to be his sport psychologist.

  She looked ashen-faced and close to tears at Wimbledon this year when the Swiss lost an epic final to Nadal to end his five-year reign at the grand slam.

  Near the end of his error-strewn defeat by Blake, a man Federer had beaten in all eight previous meetings, she held her head in her hands, seemingly unable to watch.

  Federer, who hired Spanish coach Jose Higueras in April after sacking Tony Roche last year, played down talk of a crisis in the early hours of Friday, despite his 12th defeat of the season.

  But behind the calm exterior and his polite demeanour, he knows something is wrong.

  "I can't hide under the radar any more. When number ones in the world lose it's always in the headlines. It looks a little more extreme," he said. "It's just not so easy to keep it up all the time. Eventually, sometimes they get you."

  After playing in the doubles in Beijing, Federer will fly off to New York as world number two, where he will try to cling on to the one major still in his possession.

  The line of players waiting for a shot at the champ is already forming and Federer, as he said, will have no place to hide.