What's Eating Roger Federer?

He didn't break into tears the way he did in Australia. He didn't smash his racquet the way he did in Miami.

But the mystery of Roger Federer continued Saturday in Rome, even without a major demonstration. He looked like Roger Federer again, The Roger Federer version we had been used to for years. But then, up 6-4, 3-1 over Novak Djokovic, Federer fell apart, missing simple shots and losing 11 of the next 14 games.

Djokovic, ranked No. 3 in the world, won 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to advance to Sunday's final against Rafael Nadal.

"All of a sudden, it became a different match ..." Federer said. "I usually don't give away opportunities like this."

What is going on in Roger Federer's head? Why has he let Nadal psych him out so much that he's losing to other players, too?

Tennis was counting on Federer to produce a long-term rivalry with Nadal. The general sports fan might not be paying attention for now, just waiting for the majors -- the French Open starts in three weeks -- and assuming Nadal-Federer will be there. But plenty of tennis fans are wondering if Federer might not be able to hold up his end of the deal.

They should be playing Sunday. And tennis, which has been a little quiet, could have made some noise. But Federer didn't get there.

Tennis needs Federer here. Djokovic and Andy Murray are great players, who can do anything with the ball. But aren't ready to take Federer's spot in a rivalry meant to get the world's attention. Neither has magic.

So Federer seems to be cracking, but does that have to mean he's done? No.

Still, when he fell apart Saturday, you wondered what he was thinking. He never lets you know. Maybe deep down, he was afraid of playing Nadal the next day on clay.

Could Nadal be in his head that much? Or, maybe this was just Federer during the process of building up for the French, trying to peak at the right moment. That's the mystery. But we have been watching Federer dissolve these past few months. To me, he's going to get it back and win more majors. But who knows?

That's going to require getting his head back on straight. Perfection doesn't smash its racquet. But if he's just going to fold up here, then he was never the champ we thought he was.



Remember that before Federer was FEDERER, he used to have trouble closing out matches. Somehow, he got past that, and when his confidence grew, that was no longer an issue. Now, it is again. He led 3-1 in each of the final two sets, and then lost five straight games.

"Too many friends are telling me like, 'It's going to be OK, Roger. Don't worry,' " he said. "I'm like, 'What's the problem? There's no problem.'

"You know, just for the last five, six years I've been playing so well and I've been so dominant there was really little to write about in a negative way. All of a sudden, some people think when you're only playing semifinals and the finals, then things are kind of getting really tough, which is not the case."

Oh yes it is. And when Federer talks like that, it sounds like denial. He has not won a tournament since October. And on Saturday, up a break at 3-2 in the second set, his next service game included a double-fault and three unforced errors.

He gave the game away in crunch time. He had a similar lead a few weeks ago against Djokovic in Miami, then suddenly lost his forehand, and his head.

This time, there was a rain delay early in the second set. Djokovic was moping around before the rain, unable to get over a fan who had whistled during his serve once. (Read: Boo-Hoo). After the delay, Djokovic took over. Federer said the break worked well for Djokovic. Fine. Sure. Maybe. But we seem to get an awful lot of excuses about Federer lately.

Last year, it was that he had mono, and it threw off his regular training schedule. So did the Olympics, where he flopped. He won the U.S. Open, and that was supposed to be evidence that he had finally overcome his ailments. That was the talk through the Australian Open.

Until he lost to Nadal, and broke down crying afterward.

Look, Nadal is better than Federer. But that doesn't mean Federer has to fold up.

Some people thought Federer should have bypassed the clay court season, concede the entire surface to Nadal, who drilled him in France last year. Start work early for Wimbledon, where they had their classic match last year, with Nadal winning.

Others thought Federer needed a mental break, a little time away. What did he do? He joined in the clay season earlier than expected, in Monte Carlo, shortly after getting married. But he lost early. Why play more on clay?

He hasn't given up on beating Nadal at the French. That's what this is all about.

"The hard work has been paying off, but I've just got to fix my serve a little bit," he said. "I still have some work to do on the clay." He was better in Rome than in Monte Carlo. But it's hard to see that as progress after his collapse on Saturday.

The serve will return. The mystery is in his head.