Roger Federer

One thing seemed as clear as Saturday's blue skies above the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, where the men's singles finalists were determined for the BNP Paribas Open. We have not seen the last of Roger Federer, but we may have seen the last of Roger Federer at his best. On a day in which the predictable took place in the second semifinal, with No. 1 Rafael Nadal out-battling an improved and game No. 7 Andy Roddick, 6-4, 7-6 (4), the day was defined by the opener.

Roger Federer was a twitchy, unsettled mess, channeling his inner Serena Williams by angrily lecturing the chair umpire. And this was after he had won the third set. The crackling forehands of his 20-year-old opponent, Juan Martin del Potro, bothered him. Del Potro's sneaking glances toward his coach before he'd ask for a call to be challenged bothered him. The swirling winds, the blowing trash, the noisy crowd, these were moments of imperfection unappreciated...

It was a day of tennis heaven in the desert Saturday, one of those right out of the Indian Wells tourist brochures. Temperatures in the low 80s were modified by a slight breeze. In mid-afternoon, a wisp of cloud interrupted the endless blue, but only for a few minutes, until it drifted away, probably on command from the Chamber of Commerce. People strolled leisurely, napped under trees on meticulously manicured lawns and munched on ice cream cones.

Roger Federer is never impolite, but he has noticed a tendency by some fans, some media and even some players to suggest his career might be in its descent. After Federer lost the first two sets to talented young Czech Tomas Berdych in the fourth round of the Australian Open, Federer took note of what had been written and talked about in the locker room.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Even the man who produces classics on demand wasn't quite sure what tone it set for his title chances at the Australian Open after it took nearly 4 1/2 hours and 39 aces to subdue his Serbian opponent. Perhaps, somewhat ominously for top-seeded Roger Federer, the Serb on the other side of the court wasn't No. 3 Novak Djokovic, but Djokovic's wingman, the Dostoevsky-loving Janko Tipsarevic.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- The first sign or two of weakness in Roger Federer -- practically invisible to the naked eye -- is detectable by that vaunted Serbian eyesight. Or at least with the help of Janko Tipsarevic's hip glasses. The original seed of doubt was planted by No. 3 Novak Djokovic, who not only beat Federer in the summer in the Montreal final, but appeared to slightly irritate the world No. 1 as time went on.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- It turned out that monster Roger Federer was talking about after his straight-set loss Friday in the Australian Open semifinals was not buried within, nor entirely of his own making. Evidence surfaced that it was a karaoke-singing Serbian, 20-year-old Novak Djokovic, armed with a retro buzz haircut, an inspired flair for imitation of his tennis colleagues and the ability to hit a passing shot around the net post on a pivotal point.

Being on a pedestal means others will be looking for ways to knock you off. Some pedestal-sitters are oblivious to that. The smart ones, the Roger Federers, recognize their high ground and protect it warily. Federer has been No. 1 in men's tennis since Jimmy Carter was president. OK, it just seems that long. He actually took over the top spot Feb. 2, 2004. That was after he had won his second major, the Australian Open, and before he won 10 of the next 15 Grand Slam events.

Streaks on the line, Part I: Roger Federer vs. the French. Federer extended his winning streak to 19 consecutive matches against Frenchmen, beating Nicolas Mahut, 6-1, 6-1, in the third round of the Pacific Life Open. "Look, I've always enjoyed playing against the Frenchmen," the top-seeded Federer said Tuesday at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. During his 19-match streak, he has treated the French like a 16th-seeded team in the NCAA tournament.

There was no explaining this one. The planets must have been out of line. Martians must have sneaked into the stadium and sent out strange laser beams. This couldn't have been the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, home of the Pacific Life tournament. It had to be the Twilight Zone. This time, seeing wasn't believing.