Roger Federer, whenever he decides to call time on his phenomenal career, will almost certainly finish as the greatest player the men's game has seen. He might end up with 20 or more grand slams titles, but sadly he will never be the owner of a Golden Slam - which includes an Olympic gold medal as well as titles in the four traditional slam events.
He will be 35 by the time the Olympics roll into Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and the tournament might be played on clay.
These London Games were his best chance.
Playing on the All England grass courts where has won seven Wimbledon crowns - the most recent less than a month ago - Federer was expected win his first Olympic singles gold after failing to win a medal in three previous efforts - in 2000 Sydney (finished fourth), 2004 Athens (lost in the second round) and 2008 Beijing (reached the quarter-finals).
However, Andy Murray, the man Federer had defeated in the Wimbledon final on July 8, avenged that loss with a masterful performance.
The Swiss, however, did not appear downcast at the awards ceremony; he seemed to enjoy the up-close view of Murray in his golden moment.
Federer does not seem very upset about the prospects of finishing his career without an Olympics singles gold.
"People think I have to gobble up everything to make my resume as great-looking as possible," he said. "It's not the case. Don't feel too bad for me. I am very, very proud, honestly, to have won a silver."
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