Dear Roger Federer,

On behalf of all writers/pundits/reporters/commentators/know-nothings/blabbermouths everywhere, I'd like to extend a brief, heartfelt apology.

These last two seasons were tough on you — what half decent pro would be content with a mere three major titles in two years? It was indeed a pathetic performance, and we flogged you for it. We urged you to get a coach, and when you couldn't come to terms with Darren Cahill, we sounded the alarm. "He's too stubborn!" "He's delusional!" "He should hire a therapist to dislodge Rafael Nadal from his mind!" You needed a new backhand. You seemed too thin and a little fragile. In Melbourne last year, you cried not just about a match gone wrong, but a career in crisis. When you smashed a racquet in Miami last season, we reacted as if you had taken a hammer to a $4 million Stradivarius. The maestro had gone mad. Not even back-to-back wins at the French Open and Wimbledon could convince us that you were the invincible champion you once used to be. After all, Nadal didn't stand in your way. When you lost the U.S. Open, the doubts returned. Some predicted you wouldn't win a major title in 2010. (What fool, you ask, would write something like that? Here's a link.)

Can you blame us? If one thing goes wrong in an otherwise perfect career — really, one of the most charmed lives in the known universe — most people begin to wonder, is that the beginning of the end? When you endured a beating at the 2008 French Open, it seemed like an omen. Then you lost your Wimbledon title. In Australia the following year, Nadal took the hard courts away from you, too. You were shattered.

Well, congrats, Roger, you've shown us, and shown us good. Three times, in fact — three times and (gulp) counting. You won last year's French Open and warded off a few upsets along the way. You won a Wimbledon thriller the year after losing one. And after a hiccup at the U.S. Open, you're suddenly back to your old self, barely losing sets, winning without sweating, hitting the perfect shot whenever it's required. In your recent press conferences, you've said, essentially, "I told you so." And you have. And you will continue to, over and over. We should have listened the first time. We'll never hear the end of it, and rightfully so.

Slideshow   Career highlights Take a look back at key moments in Roger Federer's tennis career. NBCSports.com

What's next? Maybe you'll inform Severin Luthi, your friend and part-time coach, that you don't need him anymore. Maybe you'll play an entire Slam without sleeping, since you didn't seem affected by an all-night celebration after the final. Perhaps you'll win your first three rounds in Paris with a glass of champagne in one hand and a racquet in the other. I'm sure you've been meaning to try out your two-handed backhand on clay; maybe your underhanded serve, too. With so much down time in between blowouts, you might consider coaching Andy Murray on the side, but still pummel him when you meet in a final. Could you win a major final with one of the twins strapped to your back in a Baby Bjorn? How about one in a backpack while holding the other in your arm? We wouldn't doubt it. Not anymore.

No, no one should have ever doubted you, Mr. Federer. The man who almost always wins, the man who reaches the semifinals as surely as he wakes up in the morning, the man who rarely suffers an injury, paper cut, stuffy nose, or bout of heartburn isn't just great. He's not lucky, either. He's the best there has ever been.

Tom Perrotta is a senior editor at TENNIS magazine. Follow him on Twitter.

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