Federer loses 2nd match in a row!

Andy Murray, the biggest Jekyll and Hyde performer on the men's tour (besides perhaps David Nalbandian) ousted Roger Federer yesterday in the FIRST ROUND of the Dubai International, marking a second consecutive defeat for King Fed, as his last competitive match was his semifinal defeat at the hands of the Djoker in the Australian Open.

So what does this mean?

On a technical level, shockingly it means that Federer's stranglehold on the world # 1 ranking is in actual jeopardy this week, as his 1st round loss costs him 300 points since he won this event last season and will thus be unable to defend those points after this early exit. If Nadal wins this event (and I would project there is a 40% chance of that) then Roger could very well be the # 2 player in the world behind Nadal entering the Masters tournament at Indian Wells (which Rafa won last year, and the pressure would be immense for him to defend both that title and his # 1 ranking...a scneario that could see Nadal cede the ranking right back). But this is all contingent on the future, and to be honest, if it doesn't happen this week, it's likely to happen during the early summer clay court run-ups to Roland Garros, unless Nadal were to fail to defend his clay title points (unlikely). Ultimately, what is clear, is that Roger Federer cannot be # 1 forever, or at least he can't possibly go every week of every year for the better part of four years without EVER conceding top spot, can he?

More significantly, on a psychological level, this loss shows a real chink in the armor, and has to be giving the rest of the men's field loads of confidence that the undisputed best in the world can be beaten. Is Federer starting to fade? Doubtful. But it is possible that he may be losing some measure of his ultra-dominance, which in and of itself is a major development.

All things being equal, 2008 just adopted even more intrigue than it already had, with this "Federer Watch" now promising to add a lot of talking points to not just the three remaining slams, but to every big tournament the King competes in.