In the weeks following the Australian Open and Davis and Fed cup opening ties, tennis has been relatively surprising. The players that shined in the sunshine Down Under have had mixed results; an erratic Maria Sharapova came through in Qatar, and Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Justine Henin have all struggled to keep up their usual top level. But no one’s results have been more surprising than Roger Federer, who has yet to make even a dent in the ATP 2008 race after showing indifferent form in the first Grand Slam and another shocking display since then. It is further proof perhaps that the world’s best player can say farewell to the years of absolute dominance, particularly 2004 and 2005, when he lost just ten matches.

Federer’s apparent decline is due, in part, to his opponents growing wiser to his game and vastly improving their own styles and fitness to levels that would allow them to challenge Federer. Nadal, Murray, and Djokovic also have the added bonus of youth. This aside, Federer has evidently lost his own sense of invincibility. An illness over the opening months (Federer was diagnosed with mononucleosis in January) of 2008 resulted in a muted Federer, who appeared to never enjoy his tennis and became easily and therefore uncharacteristically frustrated over the course of a match. This was most apparent after the shock loss to Murray in Dubai. Before the tournament, the Swiss proclaimed himself ‘refreshed and relaxed’ at the Laureus Sports Awards in February. After being comprehensively beaten by the Scot – Murray never faced a break point in his 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory – Federer resorted to criticizing the Scot’s style.

While it may be that Murray simply waits for his opponents’ mistakes, it was unprofessional and thus unlike Federer to make such observations publicly. Something clearly isn’t right in the Federer mentality despite some recent words of defiance after yet another exhibition match against Pete Sampras: “Honestly, losses like this motivate me more than anything…trying to come back, trying to prove I’m still the one to beat, I just want to prove I can do it all over again.” Only a fool would bet against Federer doing well at the next big tournaments, but it has been a long time since he has been in the position of having to prove himself as the world’s best.

Other players have experienced some welcome returns to form. The most satisfying came at the aforementioned Dubai event, where Andy Roddick triumphed after beating Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in a week that saw the American play his best tennis since 2003. On the women’s side, former top ten regular Elena Dementieva lifted the trophy the week before. The Russian had been searching for her form after injury and loss of confidence, but after comeback wins against Ana Ivanovic and Francesca Schiavone, who herself enjoyed an excellent win over Justine Henin, Dementieva played herself into blistering form to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. Henin, like Federer, has had a slow start to 2008, but for less clear reasons. She will surely be targeting the big two in the coming weeks to stamp her authority on the year.