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Everything about tennis is topsy-turvy heading into the French Open.
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Roger Federer, seemingly invincible against anyone but Rafael Nadal, is off to his worst start to a season since 2001. Nadal, meanwhile, recently lost a match on clay -- for only the second time in three years.
Justine Henin, like Nadal the three-time reigning champion in Paris, suddenly retired this month at the age of 25, the first woman to walk away from the sport while ranked No. 1.
There's more: Andy Roddick, the highest-ranked American man, is sidelined by a bum shoulder; new No. 1 Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams also pulled out of recent matches because of injuries; high-profile players are openly complaining about tour calendars and commitments; and the subject of gambling won't go away.
It's enough to make one wonder which way is up as the tennis world gathers at Roland Garros for the season's second Grand Slam tournament, which begins Sunday.
Start with Federer, whose 12 major singles championships put him two shy of Pete Sampras' career record. Consider this: Each of the past six years, Federer arrived at the French Open with at least two -- and as many as six -- tournament titles to his credit. The past three seasons, he was a combined 103-9 with 13 trophies entering the French Open.
And in 2008? He is 26-7 with only one title. He was upset by eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals in January, ending Federer's streak of reaching 10 consecutive Slam finals.
"For the first time, I get on a plane to leave Australia, and I have some doubt about who's going to be No. 1 in the world at the end of the year," U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe said. "Whereas in years past, there was no doubt that Federer was going to be No. 1 -- it was just a question of how many majors he was going to win. This year, it's very much in question."
Ask Federer where he thinks he stands, though, and there's nothing but optimism.
"Maybe I feel a bit more ready for Paris," he said last weekend at the Hamburg Masters, where he reached the final before losing to -- you guessed it -- Nadal.
That dropped Federer's career marks against the Spaniard to 6-10 overall and 1-8 on clay, including losses to Nadal in the past two French Open finals. The clay-court major remains the only Grand Slam title missing from Federer's resume.
The Swiss star pointed to a bout of mononucleosis as a reason for his struggles in Australia. But he's had his problems even after pronouncing himself healthy.
"I am not going to make those mistakes again by underestimating opponents or thinking it's too easy to win Grand Slams. I know how difficult it is. I've done it so many times," Federer said in Hamburg. "It's a great challenge for me, and Paris even more so, because I haven't been able to win yet."
