Roger's a Wreck

Roger Federer, the number one tennis player in the world, is now a certifiable head case.

He is suffering from PTND, Post Traumatic Nadal Disorder, a rare condition brought on by the relentless onslaught over a period of several years of a young Spanish dynamo who gets into your head and acts like Kryptonite does on Superman.

It is said that Federer, who has been the second best clay court player in Paris for the last three years, lost his finals match to Nadal two years ago in the tunnel before they came out for the match. The apocryphal story has Nadal jumping up and down and freaking out Roger so badly that the game was over before they hit the court.

This year, Nadal didn't beat Fed in the Roland Garros finals; he crushed and demolished him, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0, in a match that was unwatchable for its profound level of embarrassment.

In last year's Wimbledon, Fed's fifth win in a row, he came within a hair of losing to Nadal.

In this year's final, won by Nadal in an epic, already legendary match, Nadal prevailed 9-7 in the fifth set and in the dark.

But Federer had already lost the match in the second set when he was up 3-0, then 4-1 and went into his famous cruise control, losing 4-6.

Cruise against Rafael Nadal. Nada, baby.

So yesterday it was hardly a surprise, if still horrifying to witness, that Roger Federer, with 12 Grand Slam titles, only two away from equalling Pete Sampras' record, came completely unglued in the second and third sets against number 23-ranked Gilles Simon of France. Fed lost 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, spraying forehands all over the York Centre park.

Worse, Mr. Classy evaporated to be replaced by Mr. Truculent, Senor Argumentative, and Monsieur Pouty.

Do you think Roger has been rattled by his loss at Wimbledon two weeks ago?

You bet.

Can he recover his cool and his forehand for Flushing Meadow a mere few days away?

Not likely.

If he pulls his fragile self together and wins in New York, it will be the biggest and best comeback I will have witnessed.

But I'm not putting my money on it.

I think Roger Federer needs a great coach, a ward full of psychologists, a long rest, and Tania Harding to start dating Rafa.