Sean,
again, right on time. I am amazed!
Great analysis. yes , Rafa is on a roll. Quite imopressive. It is interesting that his records on hard court are much better than Federer right now. He reached the semis in IW, the final in Miami and won Toronto. Fed reached semis in IW, exited early in Miami and Toronto. So even if Fed wins Cincy, he is still very much trying to catch up with Rafa even on his best surface.

Cincy is humid and I have read that the courts are faster. Usually Rafa doesn’t do well there. besides, as you said, Rafa has been playing for such a long time. So, I am not sure about a title either. But that said, Rafa had never won a title in Toronto either ( he won in Montreal).we never know.

Fed-Roddick will be interesting. Roddick was in great shape at the beginning of the year, being the only one defeating all top 3. Right now he seems to be a bit rusty, but he has won Cincy before and he is at home. Those might work out for him.

That knee issue for Murray, as you probably know, is an ongoing anomaly - he has a split patella which will flare up here and there. He actually travels with an ultra-sound machine for his knee which will help make the kneecap more stable.

I agree with you that Novak has a loaded quarter, that’s why I am not so sure he’ll get through to the final, much as I’d like to see him back on form and winning another title. I am also not sure that Fed gets through. Someone like Dr. Ivo could be dangerous now. Look how close he played Rafa on grass, and Cincy courts are fast. Maybe he’s no threat; Roger’s never been beaten by him, but in best of 3 that’s his best chance. Roddick is in a slump right now too - so confidence-wise he’ll be at a disadvantage. His best run was directly after he dumped Connors earlier in the year; maybe he needs to dump someone else?

I can’t imagine who doesn’t believe in Rafa right now; one doesn’t have to be a convert, but the wins speak for themselves.

Jane
*** His best run was directly after he dumped Connors earlier in the year; maybe he needs to dump someone else? ***

O…O…? who do you think he should dump?! lol!

Toronto was the first week after Wimbledon. So everyone was a bit rusty. Rafa had the momentum and used it. He still is on a roll, but physically it may not be possible. Besides, I bet you that both Fed and Novak have improved their game after their exit. They have a couple matches and this is a better surface for them. Still, I think the winner is among Fed/Djoko/Roddick ( long shot?) and a very remote chance for Rafa.

btw, I posted this in the other thread, might be interesting:
********
Federer, Borg to team up against McEnroe and – Nadal?

http://tennis.com/news/news.aspx?id=140786
**********

I agree with your semi-final prediction but I wouldn’t count Nadal out. Djokovic, hasn’t been playing really well recently and Nadal could surprise him.

tennisx in the trunk-
2. Roger Federer
Get a coach and some confidence.
——-

add roddick to that too.. am tired of him losing to goonies.

Somebody said this before, and I agree to some degree that Nadal has the ability to do it and may sweep everything this year, including USO and TMC, marking a beginning of Rafa era. Absolute domination of Rafa may sound scary but likely to happen if he continues his streak in the manner he is doing currently. Can he repeat Federer’s 2005-2006? I don’t know if I want to see anyone, including my favorite player, dominating tennis the way Fed did again. Once was good enough. I would prefer more ups and downs with more strong challengers and close competitions among at least 4-5 top players.

Sean,
Your prediction is traditional: Federer v. Murray, Novak v. Rafa. The final could equally be Rafa vs. Murray as Rafa vs. Fed or Djoko vs. Murray/Fed. Any one of these is a conservative prediction. My preference would be a 3rd set tie break, no matter which two players make there.

Of course, Rafa is the #1 player this year. The stats don’t lie.

But I do find it rather strange to put so much emphasis on Roger ‘not having reached a single HC final this year’.

ALL the HC tournaments - bar one, Toronto, of course - where in the first three months of this year, so it might well have been appropriate to at least mention Roger’s illness during that period - or was that ‘comfortably’ left out of this article, Sean?
I wonders…

Catherine,

In defense of Sean here, I don’t think there’s any need to mention Fed’s illness; at this blog, at least, it’s been mentioned, debated, and referred to enough.

Great column. Nadal is #1 right now regardless of the computer. This is not uncommon. Roger won Masters Cup 2003 in November and was not #1 until Feb 2004, but everyone knew he was playing the best ball on tour. I am glad someone pointed out Djokovic is also struggling. Wertheim is calling for Federer to go on sabbatical and Peter Bodo is throwing dirt on his empty coffin. Federer has posted a 21-4 record from Hamburg to present and has won 78% of his matches in 2008. I am not drinking Kool-Aid he is struggling and not where he would like to be. Nevertheless, from Hamburg to present Djokovic has a 15-5 record. If Roger needs all of the help Wertheim suggests or the obituary Bodo seems to want to write then Djokovic is in even worse form, but … neither man is really as bad off as they appear. Each just needs a signature win to jump start their game. Djokovic has won 2 MS events and a title Down Under in 2008. The media tends to go nuts over these things a little too much. Had Hewitt or Guga in 2001 lost to a player in Simon’s spot (6 match winning streak and top 25 ranking) in the manner Roger lost (dropping 2 different break leads in the 3rd set), everyone would have said it was a bad loss, but no one would be checking for a pulse. The norm is that top players do not win 90% of their matches etc. Federer broke the norm 2004-06 in that regard and now when he wins 78% of his matches people say he is toast. Djokovic and Federer are struggling by their standards no doubt, but the hysteria is really unbecoming of people like Bodo and Wertheim. If Federer wins in Flushing Meadows or somehow medals in singles and doubles in Bejing, Wertheim and Bodo will be talking about what a great comeback it was. A comeback to elite status from the lowly state of a 17-3 Grand Slam record in 2008. Great work by the top tennis reporters. By the way, Nadal’s era is off to a great start and it ought to be fun to see how he handles being at the top of the pecking order for awhile.

I can’t watch Fed’s match. Anyone knows what is happening. How can he be break back two times, serving for the set? Is the forehand that is still off?

It seems like he can’t save breakpoints anymore!

Ginepri up a set? Well it is super hot today in Southern OH, if Roger wants to win he has to go into the well now. No one wants to go 3 sets in this heat and humidity. Very strange so far…

Well my hopes are staritng to go away. It looks like Fed are in a “court panic attack”, after that Wimby final. I think it will take longer for him to heel and all the excitment that we tought lies ahead of next weeks will fade. If he loses this match will be the first time he lost back to back first rounds (second) in the worst time ever. I am almost hopeless!

Daniel,
Fed played the 1st set miserably, making all kinds of errors. Now Ginepri takes the 1st set, in the easy break. Probably Fed’s worst ever tie break! He seems to have lost confidence in his game. You can only hope he gets back into the match sooner than later.

Daniel - have hope. Pete once said something like this “my game can get well in a hurry.”

Well, looking trough scores his service games are faster an eaiser but he is not playing well the important points. Missed 2 breack points just now to lead and seal the set and allow me to breath!

I know he is not loosing sets 6-1 or 6-2, but deep down he must know he is not playing well and that must probably be killing him. I am afraid of him missing opportunities and them collapse in the end.

He had break points in 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 and didn’t convert them! I hope now at 4-5 he mamages to break to win the set and start serving the thrid.

Problems… Federer 5-6 down and Ginepri serves for the match

Me and my mouth, I hate beig right! He plays perfect service games and in the one that matters the most he lost.

if that is possible i think Fed is playing worse than in the French Final, at least there he knew he couldn’t win ,but here?

Ginepri is serving for the match. It will be devastating for Fed to exit in the 1st round. He is missing his both forehand and backhand at critical moments. Let’s see if he can break here.

Tie break

With that unbelievable forehand, Fed break back. Now tie break.

Federer is still alive. 7-6, 6-7 and third set

One set a piece.

Uhhff….

He needs this win to boost his confidance again.
And as he mention, he or wins in Cincy or lose early, so..

Dan_M - I take your point about Djoko and Fed; I agree they are both struggle, as is Roddick, as Sean’s title implicates. However, in a way you’re comparing apples to oranges. Novak only broke through last year; this is his first season of trying to maintain his number 3 ranking. Fed has thrown down way more intense numbers / wins than anyone, has been number 1 for eons, so of course his standards are different and thus the press will be more quick to judge / bury / committ in that regard. It’s not great, but it’s rather predictable.

Novak is able to fly under the radar more because right now Nadal is points away from taking Fed’s number 1 status for the first time; all the focus is on them and that - makes sense, really.

Dan_M - “struggle” should be “struggling”…don’t bother to proofread, sorry.

Dan_M

Daniel - have hope. Pete once said something like this “my game can get well in a hurry.”

You are wise man!

Daniel and Dan,
Must be a relief for now, at least for today. Fed has to be a much improved player in the upcoming rounds, though.

Well this 6-0 was more like: that’s for embarassing and making me nervous!

Anyway, Fed really needs to work on his second serve if he wants a Golden medal or a Slam this year. He fineshed with less than 50 % points won in that department and lost his serve 5-5 when he was leading 30-0 due to second serves. But it was a great comeback!

No need to be sorry. Fed could have been out and obviously did not play his best for long patches but that is a good win in hot conditions. It might help turn the corner.

Shital

I was never that nervous in a match, which I wasn’t even watching, before.

Can I change my pick? Robby served for the second, gagged and then never won another game. Not a good start for Federer at all. I’m not sure how that win is going to help his confidence.

congratz to Fed fans. That was a hard win for Federer.

Sean,
It wasn’t a landslide win, but at least Fed won.
I think his next one will be better.

Robby choked big time. what a shame!

The winner! Jose!

Jane,
to see if Fed/Djoko/Roddick are struggling, we need to see how they do in Cincy/Olympics and US Open.

The openning tournament in toronto is not a measure. They just had to switch surfaces from clay to grass to hard. Let’s see what happens in Cincy!

talk about getting thru by the seat of his pants! thank you for the bagel third set roger. some light at the end of the tunnel. let’s hope this win gets him back on track.

nadal is on fire - i don’t think anyone can refute that at this stage, but did have taped knees and fingers in toronto. how many more body parts can you tape up before something gives?

andrea
those tapes are for precaution. Just like the way they tape their ankles to prevent injury. Rafa is taping the knees after the injury he had in US Open.

Another terrible performance by Roger Federer… how does the quality decrease that much that fast?? it really is astonishing to me to watch the once unbeatable Federer play like this… tournament after tournament… hes definitely not my pick to win this tournament….. my final is Andy Murray vs either Djoko or Nadal…. if Djoko wins the semi Murray wins the final but hes got no chance if hes up against Nadal.

Federer seems totally disinterested in being on the court right now. He has the look of a guy who has lost the most important thing in his life.

He is playing way too casually to beat the ever hungry pros on the tour. He needs a couple of adrenaline shots to REALLY get him going.

Even last year, being a break down to Federer, was the end of the deal. I think Agassi said, during his commentary last year, something to the effect “being a break down to Roger is like a death sentence” Well, not anymore.

Good news is that he will play karlovic and roddick/soderling and they all are big servers, and have the type of game, Fed loves to play. If they can make Roger hit more than 3 shots in a rally, they will have better chances than challenging him in

Gosh, Robbi Ginepri, what happened? I can’t believe the choke — these guys need some mental fortitude. Anyway, a win is a win, however we look at it, and Fed showed that patience pays off, by making the most of that window of opportunity presented in the second set. This win should be a boon for his confidence.

If Rafael Nadal did not exist this website would not exist. This site should be called rafael-x.com or something. I enjoy your analysis of things tennis, but your emotion over Nadal really hurts all of your articles. I think if you wrote from the perspective of someone who didn’t root for one player to succeed more than others your articles would reflect a more critical mind. For the most part this site works as a countdown to Rafael Nadal’s next “big thing.”

Federer, was lucky to win the match. Ginepri, choked that one away. Nadal would have been the new Number 1 had Fed lost.

My condolences to Von and all the other Roddick fans. This is very disappointing news. Perhaps it will allow him to recover by the time the US Open is underway.

matt
It’s funny, because I am a Rafa fan and I always thought Sean is rooting too much for Federer!

Matt:

Spot on. I’m elated that there are some objective posters around. It appears that tennis has forgotten there are other players who contribute to the sport and those players should be given some credit for their hard work.

And it was very cool of Andy to retire prior to the first serve and allow someone else a chance to compete in his place.

Ra:

“My condolences to Von and all the other Roddick fans. This is very disappointing news. Perhaps it will allow him to recover by the time the US Open is underway.”

What have i missed? Did Roddick pull out of Cincy? Please enlighten me. Thanks.

Wow! poor Andy. Hope he gets better before US Open. I thought he could win this tournament.

There goes another part of my ATP bracket challenge!

Yeah, Von. He started to warm up, but he announced that he woke up with neck and back issues and felt that even if he started and played today, he wouldn’t be able to make it very far and would rather give someone healthy the opportunity to have a run. He ensured that possibility by retiring prior to the official start of matchplay.

What happened to Roddick, suddenly he vanishes from my live scores and someone with a cartoon name come up?!

It’s sad cause he always liked to play in Cincy which favor his serve.

Thanks for the update Ra; I have no TV coverage so was a little baffled when somehow the name “Andy Roddick” transformed into “Woong-Sun Jun”.

Hope Andy gets over the back stuff soon.

hey guys, the “matt” that posted in here at 7:03 p.m. is not me, he is another “matt”.

I’m matt, you know, the old guy.

To “the new matt”:

Please, would you post with another name so that people don’t get confused?

Ra:

Thanks for the information and your kind thoughts regarding Andy. His back problems have really escalated, and now there’s cause for concern as to his longevity in the sport. Sampras began having severe back problems which led to his decline, but he was older. Andy’s too young for that type of scenario.

“old matt”

I found that was strange! You always have somthing constructive to say and your posts are always a great trip into the past full with enlighting stats. Keep on that!

matt - I wasn’t confused; you always leave a space between almost every sentence plus it didn’t sound like you! But thanks for clarifying anyhow.

I know how you feel though; last week or the week before another jane, only one who spells her name with a capital “J”, showed up here and I felt the need to clarify too.

Thanks Daniel, I’m glad you like my posts.

Jane and Von,

You are welcome. And, so you know, he literally took the mic and apologetically announced it to the crowd, explained his situation and reasoning, thanked everyone for their support, and earnestly stated his disappointment about having to withdraw from one of his favorites of all tournaments.

Btw, I was watching Federer-Ginepri match and with 7-6, 6-5 and Ginepri serving…I turn off the TV.

I just didn’t want to see it again two consecutive weeks.

Now I know Federer finally won, so I’m glad.

But, anyway, I guess he hasn’t fully recover from that Wimbledon loss and I am a bit worried about his mental state.

I’m sorry for Roddick, I think he had a good oportunity here to do well.

jane, I’m glad you noticed.

What happened to “that Jane”?

Did you reach an agreement?

matt -

“That Jane” came, she saw, she went. I don’t know if she conquered.

But I haven’t seen her since. I actually didn’t ask her to change her handle or anything direct like that, but I did respond to her comment, partly because I wanted to respond, and partly because it clarified that she was one Jane, and I another jane.

About Roddick - at least he wasn’t defending a ton of points here; I believe he lost fairly early last year, although the year before he won the thing.

About Fed - maybe that was a hurdle he needed to jump. Maybe it’ll help him jump more?

Hey, how cool is this?

From the Cincy website:

“American wild card John Isner set an ATP record by winning all 39 first serve points in his 7-6(2), 6-3 victory over Italian qualifier Andrea Stoppini.

Isner fired 17 aces and only lost nine points, all on second serve, in 11 games. Since the ATP began keeping match statistics in 1991, no player had won more than 35 points without losing one in a match.”

matt: not a problem about me changing my name, i had no idea this site was being used as a chat site too! lol

question: tv coverage on espn is very lacking this year no? compared to previous years it seems like tennis is not getting much coverage. is cincinnati going to get espn coverage? thanks.

To “that matt”:

Thanks.

I find it amazing that SO many of you live by a 24 hour clock - what are you… butterflys?

If Federer were to lose the #1 spot (and it looks like this will happen) he should retire??

Are you kidding me???

On April 12, 1993 Pete Sampras became number one and held it for most of 1994, 1/2 of 1995, all but 7 weeks of 1996, all of 1997, all but 6 weeks of 1998, until 1999, when he started to dip, actually falling to the number 7 spot in November.

Guess what? In 2000 he regained the number one spot again.

Other Number ones who were number one and lost the top spot and regained it include Borg, McEnroe, Connors, Lendl. Do you really think that once Roger Federer loses it he is gone baby gone???

During the Sampras era the world’s best were close to each other.

Does any of you really think that Djokovic is that close to Federer and Nadal? Not Nadal now, certainly, and not Federer when he returns to his groove.

When Nadal becomes number one Federer will be a strong number two - all it means is that you have to look at the bottom of the drawsheet to find his name - one of them will still play the number 3 in one semi while the other will play the number 4 in the other semi. The only way Rafa and Rog meet is in the final.

My guess is that one year from today these two brilliant players are still Number One and Number Two in the world - I am just not going to bet which one will have the better ranking, and I defy any of you to do it without having that Nya-nya homer sound to your voice.

that matt,
Ref: “i had no idea this site was being used as a chat site too.”

This is the charm of this site that a lot of us have glued onto it and have made it home for a long time now.

Gordo,
Welcome back after a short leave.
Ref: “Does any of you really think that Djokovic is that close to Federer and Nadal? Not Nadal now, certainly, and not Federer when he returns to his groove.”

And we can decide this when/if Fed meets Djoko.

Totally agree with Gordo.

All the long time nº1 (Connors, McEnroe, Lendl, Sampras….) lost and regained the nº1 several times during their careers.

Federer will lose the nº1 soon, but he will regain it again next season, and possibly it will change hands several times during the year (next year).

matt

we don’t know yet if Fed will lose his No1 spot. So far he is in good position. If he wins Cincy, he will still be No 1 at least going to the Olympics and if he does well there too, he’ll be No 1 in US Open as well.

If Djokovic plays Federer in the final, I’m going to have to go with Djokovic.

Ginepri almost knocked Fed out already in R32. He’s not regained his confidence yet.

Besides there is no reason for Fed not to gain No 1 again if he loses it.

JCF,

Murray and Gasquet are both on Roger’s side of the draw, I believe; if either of them meet Roger, and play like they played last week, they have a good shot at the upset - unless Roger is back to his best form. And even so, it was here that Roger lost to Murray in 2006. Gasquet, however, has never really done well here.

I think that IF Federer is able to recover his groove it will actually not be THAT difficult to recover his n1 spot…. considering this year he hasnt won squad and still is n1…. he wont have to defend almost any title next year, which he will enter being either n1 or n2

Wow, I just realized that we’re going to be dealing with the other side of this ranking points fiasco a year from now. Of course, we don’t what kind of differential there’ll be at the top by then.

Jane -

Remember when Roger lost to Murray in Cincinnati 2 years ago there were actually whispers that he threw the match to ensure he was well rested for the US Open. He had just won Canada and no one has ever won Canada - Cincy - US OPEN in the same year.

Now I do not think Roger would ever throw a match, and his play of late has not been that awe inspiring, and I could say here is what we see he is made of, having survived the scare of Ginepri. The truth is even if he loses in the next round and loses his number one ranking, should he repeat at the US Open and/or survive the Chinese smog and get a gold medal he is right back in the hunt.

Gordo -

Welcome back from your hiatus. I hadn’t heard those “whispers” that Fed threw that match with Murray in 06; last year Roger came close to winning all three, losing only in the finals in Canada. He won Cincy and the USO, so I cannot see why he’d need to throw a match to be rested. I assume he lost in 06 fair and square.

But his seasons were stronger in 2007 & 2006.

I didn’t mean to imply Roger is out of “the hunt” either; how could he be? He’s still number 1 on paper, and #2 off it, so he’s hardly sidelined!! I just meant to point out that there are some tough customers on his side of the draw here, so the title’s not his yet, that’s all.

Gordo:

Roddick won cincy, canada and US open in 03. I think Agassi did the same in 94 as well.

I do think Fed was not super-motivated that week in cincy 2006. He was on a 17 final streak and he had won toronto where nadal was the defending champion and lost early (to berdych?). He really looked like he didnt care much about the match. Infact he should have lost to srichapan in the round before that, but paradorn did a ginepri and handed the match to Fed!

As good a player as murray is, Fed would have beaten him that year if it was at any other tournament.

Also Fed took it a little easy in 2004 cincinnati with his concentration being on the olympics that year. Hrabty beat him in the 1st round then. Again, a match fed would have won if it mattered any more to him.

Anyway, Fed hates back to back masters. He likes IW/miami because they are effectively played over 3 weeks. look at his performances in rome/hamburg.

Jane,

I don’t think Federer threw the match in 06, but I don’t think he dug that deep in 2006 vs. Murray either. In 06, the top 8 did not get a bye in the 1st round so Federer won 6 matches in 6 days in Toronto - traveled on Sunday or Monday, played Paradorn on Tuesday night and Murray in the 2nd round on Wednesday afternoon. In 2007, Federer plays 5 matches in 7 days in Montreal, travels on Sun or Mon and plays the 2nd round on Wednesday. 10 matches in 14 days is a lot different than 12 in 14 days.

I live in Southern Ohio, and Cincinnati can and often is very humid and nasty. I think in 06 Roger went on court with the mindset of I am playing one even keeled level and trying to get into an air conditioned room as quickly as possible.

In 1998, Pete Sampras and Patrick Rafter played an electric final in Cincinnati with Rafter winning 1-6, 7-6, 6-4. The next week both men showed up at the Pilot Pen in CT with a 1st round bye. Sampras lost to Leander Paes in a mediocre effort. Rafter lost 7-6, 6-3 to Guillaume Raoux. Did either man tank - I don’t think so, but both new NY was where they wanted to play their best tennis and did not seek to dig super deep when trouble arose at the Pilot Pen. IN all fairness Raoux did play pretty well in 1997-1998.

See http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9500E0DB103DF932A1575BC0A96E958260

new = knew typo and no proofreading on my part - sorry DM

Dan_M,

Thanks for the backfill; I would imagine Roger would’ve been rather zonked, although Murray does have the style of game to mess with his rhythm I think.

I’ve lived in Toronto and am still in Canada. Did you say you saw some of the matches at the Roger’s last week?

I think if anyone doesn’t dig deep this week it may be Rafa, but given that guy’s work ethic, it’s difficult to imagine. Then again, they all have the Olympics and USO in their sights so that will affect their mindset whether consciously or subconsciously.

Wow, that was a close one for Fed. His recent approach has been a strange one, he doesn’t really have a coach (surely Higueras does not qualify as the ideal coach for hardcourts) and he has not indicated thats about to change. And nobody seems to be asking him that in interviews. Pretty weird that. I remember when he fired Tony Roche, it seemed that Fed didnt consider him ideal for making an assault on RG, which made sense then considering that his clay game got better after the split with Roche. Since thats out of the window anyway, I would figure someone in Roche’s league would qualify again when he’s struggling to win on surfaces, other than clay.

Irrespective of whether Fed loses Cincy and/or the Olympic gold, I think he’s going to be the favorite at USO, not Rafa. Fed has by all accounts been as formidable at the USO as he has been in Wimby. And he was utterly dominant there except in the final. And unlike grass where Rafa already had two assaults at Fed, there is little reason to suggest that Rafa will get to the final and far lesser to consider him beating Fed in the final. So I think the USO this time might be Fed’s and talk of him losing the # 1 rank for anything more than a week might be well premature.

“Wow, that was a close one for Fed. His recent approach has been a strange one, he doesn’t really have a coach (surely Higueras does not qualify as the ideal coach for hardcourts) and he has not indicated thats about to change.”

I wonder who Higueras was rooting for in that match with Ginepri, and who he helped out more.

“I wonder who Higueras was rooting for in that match with Ginepri, and who he helped out more.”

Diego is Ginepri’s coach whenever Higueras is in Federer’s box. Higueras is the head coach and Diego is his assistant.

I can’t remember exactly who it was (I would hazard a guess that it was Wilander) that stated Higueras is coaching Federer the opposite of how he should be playing. Per the comments, Higueras was not a crackerjack of a player on any other surface apart from clay.

The Cincy website has Fed’s interview. He said it was quite hot and it took him a while to get used to it. He also said in the third set Ginepri was not there physically ( perhaps because of the heat). Also last year Rafa withdrew with an arm cramp and dizziness. One of the rn.com members who was in Cincy wrote that he never saw Rafa swaet that much. Perhaps Cincy conditions are harder for some players.

JCF,
I wondered too that how Higueras would manage the situation. How would he advise tactics, etc! funny!

Kroll,
I agree. Fed (or perhaps Djoko) will be the favorite for US Open, especially if one of them wins Cincy.

Fedex, Sean,
some more scenarios for No 1:
http://tinyurl.com/create.php

oops, sorry, wrong link:
this is the correct one:

http://tinyurl.com/56nhat

I have strong believed that Djokovic will win USO. BUT, if nadal manages to keep his momentum in Cincy and Olympic (by winning them, not only progressing in quarter-final or semi-final or final but WIN them!), I bet all my money on him! At the moment, I stay with Djokovic, and then Nadal and then Federer.

Really, he is mentally damaged for beating by those players. And I really consider that, it was a miracle for Roddick to had beaten Federer this year! Someone is who could hardly take a set off him. And that serious hurts Federer’s confidence. And seriously, if you are having doubts for Chang being in the hall of fame. The same doubts go for Roddick as well. Because he only won the US Open, he is a one hit wonder! I doubt that he would ever get back to the top 3 again. He has the serve, but what you need to win in tennis is a mind. And sorry to say that, Roddick doesn’t really think when he is on the court. He needs someone like Brad Gilbert to give him some strategies on the courts. I doubt that he would does any good in the Slams these days. His win in Dubai this year, it’s really a once off. And as for Federer, his career would gets more difficult if Nadal ever takes the number 1 ranking off him. It means that, Federer would be the number 2 seed in many tournaments that he plays, and it is more likely that he has to deal with Djokovic in the semi. Nowadays, not many players are afraid of playing Federer, everyone are learning from Nadal when they have to play against Federer.

His first match at Cincy is horrible! Other players are not afraid of him these days. Just keep the ball in play, and wait for him to go bonkers on his forehand and backhand. And keeping serving to his backhand like Nadal did at Wimbledon! There you go, this is how you could beat Federer! The so-called best tennis player ever!

Whenever he is on the court now, he would thinks of getting beaten by other players. Something that was never on his mind during his old days!

Fed’s trouble may be more physical than mental. It’s hard 2 focus when you are tired.

He is lucky to get out of this one! But definitely not showing that he is the number 1 player in the world!

Wow some posts want to bury Fed. The guy is struggling but not dead. I agree with Jane that Murray has a style that bothers Roger. My diagnosis of Roger’s problems is that he is feeling indecision on the court. I think 04-07 Roger reigned in some aggression in order to be more consistent and this was enough to win in small and big situations. Now, with Nadal playing so well, with Djokovic out there and a loss in confidence, Roger has to become more aggressive but to what degree? I think he will more or less figure out where his aggression needs to be and not become Euro-Blake and simply be a guy who can be awesome when zoned but prone to error filled losses when not zoned. Will the new mix of aggression and consistency he choses lead him back to the 04-07 dominance? unlikely but it will likely help him win big matches and events in the future.

The other guy choked in those two tie-breaks. If it was someone with experiences like Blake or Roddick. They would had another rare win from Federer. Or maybe Gonzale would had done it. Like Federer said in his Gilette commercial. Yesterday is history! lol