Federer of Switzerland holds up runners-up trophy after being defeated by Australia's Hewitt at men's singles final match at Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane. (Reuters)
Federer of Switzerland holds up runners-up trophy after being defeated by Australia's Hewitt at men's singles final match at Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane. (Reuters)

Without question, Roger Federer is in the twilight of his career. But is the Swiss legend’s career over? Or will he have a resurgent year in 2014?

2013 has been tough on one of the most popular and likeable players in this era. He finished with a lowly 45-17 win-loss record for the year— it still is a winning record but poor by Fed’s standards he set as a multiple champion in previous years.

He bagged only one title in 2013, a minor one in Germany in June, and suffered defeats in all other 17 tournaments he joined. His 2013 Grand Slam resume has been near atrocious as well, especially in the latter two, prompting fans and expert alike to ask: is Federer done?

Lost to Andy Murray, 4-6, 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(2), 2-6, in the semifinals of the Australian Open
Lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 5-7, 3-6, 3-6, in the quarterfinals of the French Open
Lost to Sergiy Stakhovsky, 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 5-7, 6-7(5), in the Round of 64 of Wimbledon
Lost to Tommy Robredo, 6-7(3), 3-6, 4-6, in the Round of 16 of the U.S. Open

Obviously, one-fourth of Federer is still better than more than half the field of ATP players. After all, the Swiss is still ranked 6th in the ATP rankings entering this year. But it appears, his dominant years are behind him.

In his first and warm-up tourney leading up to the Aussie Open, Federer lost to tour veteran Lleyton Hewitt in the final of the Brisbane International. Is this a sign of what’s to come for Federer in 2014? Still managing to get the wins, but not good enough to take down the title?

The sportsbooks appear to agree with most Fed critics too.

Bettting Odds - How many Grand Slam Titles will Roger Federer win in 2014?
 None (1.1)
One (2.51)
Two (7.4)
Three (211.0)
Four (501.0)

The simple formula:

Amount of Bet (X) times Betting Odds = Total Payout

Clearly, the “None” option (meaning he won’t win a Grand Slam title in 2014) is the runaway favourite. A $100 bet on this betting line will only net the bettor $110 or just $10 winnings—another clear sign that even the books disrespect Federer’s skills at this (low) point of his career.

Then again, maybe the Swiss legend can turn back the clock and be his dominant self again? If you are a believer of Federer then the next four options looks enticing. The same $100 bet will net a Federer backer of $251 if he wins one title; or $740 payout if he wins two! If he wins three or four? Those are big wins of $21,100 or 50,100, respectively!

Do you believe in Roger in 2014?