Just when it seems Roger Federer is about to re-conquer the tennis world, his makes a misstep that reminds everyone that the year is 2014, not 2007.
The 33-year-old Federer bowed out in the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters quarterfinals on Friday, losing 7-6, 7-5 to seventh-seeded Milos Raonic, according to tennis.com. It's the first loss in seven matches against Raonic for Federer.
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The keeps Federer 670 points behind Novak Djokovic for the No. 1 ranking, which could be settled at the ATP World Tour Finals in London later this month. Djokovic remains in the event and could extend his lead by 640 points if he wins in Paris.
Federer has been agonizing close to several milestones in recent month, only to fall short each time after it looked as if the stars were lining up correctly for him.
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At Wimbledon, he was losing to Djokovic two sets to one when he stormed back to win the fourth set and seemingly had all the momentum in the world. But it was Nole who prevailed in the fifth set.
Then, Federer reached the semifinals of the U.S Open and watched Djokovic lose his semifinals match. But then Federer also laid an egg, losing to Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Federer then crushed Djokovic in the Shanghai Masters 6-4, 6-4 in just over 90 minutes, and it appeared as if Federer was going to take the next step and conquer the world stage. But Raonic was not to be denied.
Federer has said he thinks he's a better tennis player now than he was when he was dominant from 2004-07, but he doesn't have that same confidence he once had. Federer has had it in spurts - especially in his last match against Djokovic - but his opponents no longer are in awe of him, and he seems incapable of willing himself past his foes like he once did.
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