Roger Federer fans probably are starting to feel fearful. The greatest player of all time is having his records hunted. And if the records are gone will Roger still be regarded as the best player of all time?

This was not meant to happen so quickly. Roger was supposed to sit happily in retirement enjoying twenty years in the spotlight as the best of all time, then pass on the torch to the next great, much the same way as Rod Laver. Ten years from now, his name should have been that of eternal lore, as Michael Jordan’s name still is with basketball.

Remember back to when Pete Sampras owned the most major titles of all time. What if Agassi had eclipsed the Sampras record shortly after Pete retired?  Worse still, imagine if Agassi had done this while Sampras was still around, with his skills declining. Fortunately for Pete, this did not happen.  He remains the best player from his generation.

These are very real threats for Roger, and something that Rafael Nadal might well accomplish. This was not supposed to happen and most certainly not during his own generation by his greatest rival.

There are a few things that Roger fans can overlook and give good excuses for.

-Rafa has won the Davis Cup four times, while Roger has not won a Davis Cup.  Switzerland cannot boast such strong teammates as Spain (at least until recently with the rising Stanislas Wawrinka).

-Rafa has won an Olympic gold medal in singles. Roger has only managed this in doubles (with Wawrinka). The Olympic schedule usually comes soon after Wimbledon when Roger is tired, plus the Olympic honour has only grown in importance in recent years.

-Rafa has won 26 ATP Masters 1000 titles to Roger’s 21. Nadal arguably has an unfair advantage since he wins so many events on clay, which hosts three of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments. If there were an equal number of grass events, Federer might have won as many.

-Rafa has beaten Roger 21 out of the 31 times they have played.  This stat is somewhat misleading because 13 of Nadal’s 21 victories came on clay.

The main argument that Federer fans have is that Roger owns 17 major titles. He and they have been sitting pretty with this stat for quite a long time, but Nadal is threatening to turn this on its head. Rafa has won just about everything that he has entered this year. He has almost recaptured the world No. 1 ranking, and he claimed two of the three majors that he played in 2013. Those two titles brought Nadal’s own career total to 13, overtaking Roy Emerson and bringing him one shy of Sampras. Even a non-calendar year grand slam could be a reasonable objective if his ferocious hard-court form persists.

If the wins keep racking up for Rafa, as they have been, and Roger continues his downward spiral, as he has been, the label of greatest player of this generation might need to be reconsidered.

The stat that worries Federer’s fans more than anything is one that they can do nothing about, no matter how loud they cheer or how hard they pray.

Rafa is still only 27 years old, five years younger than Roger. Would you have the courage to bet against Rafa winning at least three more Roland Garros titles and maybe two more hard court majors? Could you see Roger, with his current woes, winning one more?

None of us knows the answer to those questions, but many of us will spend a long time pondering them.