Roger Federer slips to No. 5 in rankings

Roger Federer is ranked as low as No. 5 for the first time in 10 years. (Alastair Grant/AP)
Roger Federer fell out of the top four in the ATP rankings on Monday for the first time in 10 years. Federer dropped from No. 3 to No. 5 after his second-round loss at Wimbledon, his lowest ranking since he was fifth on June 23, 2003, two weeks before he won Wimbledon for the first of his 17 Grand Slam championships.
The 31-year-old Swiss trails No. 1 Novak Djokovic, No. 2 Andy Murray, No. 3 David Ferrer and No. 4 Rafael Nadal. This marks a career high for the 31-year-old Ferrer, who climbed one spot from fourth.
The ATP rankings reflect a player's performance over the last 12 months. Federer's 2,000 points from his 2012 Wimbledon title fell off on Monday. In that 12-month span, Federer has two titles -- the 2012 Cincinnati Masters and an ATP 250 event in Halle, Germany, last month -- and his best finish in a major is a semifinal appearance at the Australian Open in January. Meanwhile, Djokovic, Murray and Nadal have all won at least one Slam in that time, and Ferrer has made the semifinals or better at three of the last four majors.
Also, Federer is sixth in the ATP's Race to London, a measure of a player's performance in the current season. The top eight at the end of the year qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals, a tournament Federer has won six times. He has qualified for the event the last 11 years.
Federer is back in action next week on red clay at an ATP 500 event in Hamburg, Germany, followed by an ATP 250 clay tournament in Gstaad, Switzerland.

Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.