Everyone loses from time to time, but Wednesday's defeat to Novak Djokovic will rank among the most harrowing of Federer's career. He played his worst tennis of the match in the most important points - an alarming development for a man who was once famous for picking out the right shot at the right time.
His backhand, in particular, folded under pressure as Djokovic bombarded it with inside-out forehands. Time and again, the ball looped high and long off the frame of the racket, floating poignantly up and away like a lost helium balloon at a funfair.
Throughout the final hour of the match, it was Djokovic who commanded the court - both during the points and between them. The Serb resembled an angry puffin as he stuck out his chest and eyeballed his increasingly hassled opponent.
Pressed from all sides, Federer even began to show signs of irritation on the court, which is unheard of for such a lordly and apparently dispassionate figure.
During the first set, he had words with the umpire, objecting to Djokovic's interaction with the coaches in his player's box. During the third, he raised a sarcastic hand to complain about the interminable length of time - fully 13 bounces - that the Serb takes between each serve. Djokovic must have known then that he had his man on the run.
Facing his third match point, Federer dumped a backhand feebly into the net, then tore off his sweaty headband. His chin dropped to his chest, and his hair hung lankly around his face - a picture of dejection. For a second or two, this handsome man of 29 almost looked old.
At the post-match press conference, Federer's answers were upbeat, even if his mood was gloomy and his delivery slow. When it was put to him that we might be seeing the end of an era, he bristled.
"Yeah, they say that very quickly," he replied. "Let's talk again in six months."
From a statistical perspective, though, the point is unarguable. With a hamstrung Rafael Nadal having lost to David Ferrer, Sunday's final will feature neither of tennis's twin towers.
In Grand Slam events, that has happened just once before in the last six years - in the Australian Open of 2008, in fact, when Djokovic beat Federer in straight sets in the semi-final.
Yes, the score from 2008 might sound familiar, but that always had the look of a one-off anomaly, given that Federer had come into that tournament on a run of ten consecutive finals. Yesterday's result, by contrast, fits into the downturning trend of the past couple of years.
"Time, please," is the call of the umpire after each changeover. So does it now apply to Federer, the man who has walked on air throughout the modern era of tennis? And are we seeing a symbolic changeover for two men who have been languishing in his shadow (and that of Nadal, of course)?
Both Djokovic and Andy Murray have had to bide their turn, despite Djokovic's success in this tournament three years ago.
But here, with a lower-ranked player guaranteed as his opponent in the final, the Serb sounded unusually confident that the wheel might be turning.
"It's good for the sport to have more players being able to win against Federer and Nadal," Djokovic said. "All credit to them for what they have done in last five, six years.
They've been very dominant and just a great example of champions. It was really hard to challenge them, especially in the big events where they play their best tennis. But now these things are changing a little bit."
Of course, Federer's credentials have been questioned before. Even now, he still keeps churning out some of the finest, most elegant and skilful tennis you will ever see.
Yet this was no ordinary defeat. In sport, mortality begins to sneak up on you like a child playing grandmother's footsteps. Only in Federer's case, it is no longer tip-toeing.
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