Thirteen years after Roger Federer broke through at Wimbledon for the first time, he's facing his most important event at the All England Club.
Now, as in 2003, Federer is at a critical career juncture. Back then, as Federer's drive to the title picked up momentum, we asked: "Is it finally beginning?" As Federer begins his Wimbledon quest in less than a week's time, we can't help but wonder: "Is it finally ending?"
Call them bookends, with most delicious volumes sandwiched between.
During those 2003 Wimbledon Championships, Federer was already as polished and smooth as a candy-apple red race car. But nobody really knew what was under the hood. Did he have the raw and steady power of a champion, and the shock absorbers fit to handle the stress?
Federer was just 21 when he won that first major at Wimbledon. A slew of players, including Andy Roddick, Carlos Moya and Lleyton Hewitt, had won titles at an earlier age. Greatness almost passed him by in favor of someone else. We saw what happened next.
But Federer is 34 now. The vehicle ("great acceleration, turns on a dime, responsive handling") might be slowing down -- might even breaking down. This has been the most challenging year in his career, not because of whom he's had to play, but because of whom he's been unable to play, which is almost everybody.
Federer has competed in just 22 matches this year. He's played just one match against a Big Four rival, an Australian Open semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic. Federer might not even recognize Andy Murray if they bump into each other in the Wimbledon Village Starbucks next week.
The all-time Grand Slam champion hasn't won a tournament since October of 2015. He's on a losing streak against human frailty.
Shortly after he lost to Djokovic, Federer injured a knee in a domestic accident. It required minor surgery. He had to postpone his late-March comeback because of a stomach virus. He finally returned on the red clay of Monte Carlo and won two matches. He had to quit Madrid before he even started. This time it was a bad back.
Federer once had been the most durable of players. But iron man was becoming irony man. His back injury lingered, forcing him to miss the French Open. It ended his record of playing singles in 65 straight majors.
It is all a function of age. Federer prefers not to talk about it. He would be the last person to call this a crisis. He's unfamiliar with the word. He's so Alpine cool that he chooses to train in the desert in Dubai.
After bypassing Madrid, Federer rebooted in Rome, which was supposed to be prep work for the French Open. In his two appearances, he tussled with two big young talents. He whacked 19-year-old Alexander Zverev but lost to Dominic Thiem, 22.
"I'm still almost beating Thiem and beating Zverev with whatever [injury or lack of match play] I have," Federer told the press in Rome. "I'm surprising myself. But it doesn't matter. Like I said, who cares about the results here and now? It matters what comes now, in the next couple of months."
The next couple of months are here. Federer is still ranked No. 3 but shedding ranking points like sunburned skin. He can't seem to escape those demonic and voracious helions, Zverev and Thiem. What's he doing, auditioning potential successors? Federer lost to Thiem again, this time in Stuttgart and on grass, and to Zverev last week in Halle.
"It's unbelievable to get a win against Roger, especially on grass," Zverev told the press Saturday in Halle.
Federer then took one of his signature passive-aggressive digs after that one. "[You all are] talking to me after a loss," he said. "Clearly, it's is always tougher to step back and just to reassess how great everything is," he said, adding, "but I must say it's gotten better and better."
That's more Federer irony. He can barely get through a tournament these days, yet sounds like he's ready to lace 'em up, run out and snatch the big trophy.
Why not? He's done it more often than anyone else in tennis history.
Still, look at his year. Look at his age.
Wimbledon will be Federer's crossroads tournament. He can afford his signature optimism. His back appears to be fine. His game is particularly deadly on grass. Last year, only Djokovic played at a comparable or better level. That was just 12 months ago.
But it was a long 12 months -- a trial-filled 12 months. Federer has turned back the forehands of Djokovic, the serves of Roddick and the backhands of Stan Wawrinka.
Can he continue to turn back the hands of time?