Since the turn of the year there hasn’t been an extreme amount of commotion from the tour’s leading competitors. On the WTA tour Justine Henin has fallen considerably short from where she concluded the 2007 season, and on the men’s tour Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal haven’t been much more impressive. It brings to light the question: Are they losing their star power and slowly becoming old news?

Both of the top-ranked men have fall significantly short compared to their previous seasons. After three months neither man has captured a title and they continue to succumb to the most unlikely opponents. But one aspect that remains the same is their Popularity among Tennis fans across the globe.

Even though the young Spaniard Nadal has failed to claim a title, he is still extremely consistent. On only one occasion has he failed to progress to at least the quarter-finals of an event, falling in Rotterdam to Andreas Seppi of Italy.

‘Nadal has already appeared in two tour finals, in Chennai and Miami, but he hasn’t put up much of a fight and lost both matches in straight sets...’


Nadal has already appeared in two tour finals, in Chennai and Miami, but he hasn’t put up much of a fight and lost both matches in straight sets, one to Nikolay Davydenko and another to Mikhail Youzhny. But even more shocking is the fact that he lost 6-0, 6-1 to Youzhny. Nadal doesn’t often drop a set to love, and for the young clay-court king to only manage one game in a match is something astonishing.

On the other hand, Federer hasn’t even reached a tour final in 2008. Starting the season with a virus could be part of the reason for his lapse in form.

Probably one of the biggest surprises for Federer was his loss in Indian Wells. Although he advanced to the semi-finals, not many would have considered it possible for him to fall victim to Mardy Fish, who ranked barely inside the world top 100 at the time. Federer didn’t put up much of a fight against Fish in a 6-3, 6-2 defeat.

Some tennis enthusiasts across the globe have grown bored with the world’s top two men. But at times it’s obvious that there is an unrealistic amount of pressure on them. It’s virtually impossible to win and dominate every single tournament, year after year.

Nadal and Federer have some of the greatest supporters and both men continue grace the sports headlines. These two men will never be forgotten and although they may be enduring a rough patch their careers are far from over. It’s impossible for any player to be perfect and it’s only human that they lose a few matches here and there.