Earlier this week, Roger Federer said the difference between his game now and his game during his dominant years was his confidence, which he said was much greater between 2004-07.
But he appears to be wrong.
Lack of killer instinct keeping Roger Federer from winning any more Grand Slams
Marin Cilic's straight-sets victory over Federer in the semifinals of the U.S. Open in an hour and 45 minutes proved that it's not Federer's lack of confidence but opponents' lack of intimation anymore at the prospect of playing the former No. 1 player in the world.
Cilic defeated Federer in one hour and 45 minutes 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, saying afterward that the reign of the "Big Four" - Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, whom ESPN reported had at least one of those players advanced to the final since 2005 - was coming to an end.
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According to the New York Times, Cilic said that Stan Wawrinka's victory at this year's Australian Open "opened the door for the second line."
"Most of the guys have a bigger belief," he said.
Federer just doesn't have that fear factor that he had when he won the majority of his slams from 2004-07. Just like Tiger Woods lost the ability to intimidate his fellow competitors when he starting losing more tournaments, Federer no longer can count on lesser opponents to alter their game plan in an attempt to alter their attack to try to get success.
Ask Cilic.
"It was just an amazing day for me to be able to play like this," the 14th-ranked Cilic said, according to the Guardian. "I never dreamt of such a day. It was the best performance ever in my career."
And without the fear factor he used to put on other players, Federer seems destined to play through a tournament until he runs into a motivated and fearless younger player, like Cilic.
Enough of those players seem to be out to prevent Federer from earning a Grand Slam title until world's No. 1 Rafael Nadal returns. Which means Federer likely is stuck at 17 slam titles for the rest of his career.
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