| 22 August 2010
Welcome back Roger!
After going nearly eight months without a title to his name, world number two Roger Federer defeated a very determined Mardy Fish to capture the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati on Sunday by a score fo 6-7(5), 7-6(1), 6-4. With the win Federer ties Bjorn Borg for 5th most singles titles in the Open Era with 63.
"I've been playing well the past couple weeks, and today was just another proof that I'm playing really well," said Federer. "I thought I played an excellent match today. I had huge belief that I was going to win today from the first point until the end. That sometimes can make a bit of a difference. Then I was positive all the way through because I felt I was playing well, even though I lost the first set. So I never got down on myself and doubted myself. I think that reflected in the game as well."
The two players both brought their best tennis to the court and neither player broke serve until Federer did at 4-4 in the final set. The quality of tennis was intensely entertaining and both players should be proud of how they fought for the championship.
For Federer the victory is redemption for a season plagued by mediocrity compared to his usual high standards. Aside from winning the initial Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne, Federer has lost three finals and failed to advance past the quarter-finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon.
Things seemed to be taking a turn for the better after a six week hiatus during which he vacationed with his wife Mirka and twin daughters before starting a new coaching partnership with Paul Annacone who once famously coached Pete Sampras. Federer returned to the ATP World Tour in Toronto almost two weeks ago and advanced to the finals of the aptly named Rogers Cup where he lost to Andy Murray. During that tournament he defeated Tomas Berdych and Novak Djokovic in two incredibly tight matches.
This past week in Cincinnati, Federer was fortunate to receive a first round bye, followed by an easy second round win against Denis Istomin who retired with an ankle sprain while down 2-5 in the first set. In the third round, Federer had a walkover as Philipp Kohlschreiber pulled out of the tournament with a shoulder injury. Then it was show time for Roger as he defeated Nikolay Davydenko and Marcos Baghdatis with ease before taking down American Mardy Fish in a tightly contested match.
While Federer owned a 5-1 career head-to-head record against Fish coming into the finals of Cincinnati, the American has shed thirty pounds since their last meeting in 2008 and re-dedicated himself to the sport of tennis. The results have been enormous as Fish has been on-fire throughout the summer winning two titles and then making the finals of a Masters 1000 event. He rises from 36 to 21 in the world rankings and will be guaranteed of being seeded at the U.S. Open in one week's time.
Fish was remarkably upbeat after the loss to Federer and reflected on the positive aspects of his recent surge.
“I feel great. I've done some things that I've never done before,” said Fish. “I'll be able to put this match in perspective very shortly. It's a great tournament. It's as well as I've played. I played well today; he played well today. It was a pretty high level, I thought, for the most part.”
Whether Fish can maintain this momentum at the Grand Slam level remains to be seen. He has never been known to rise to the occasion during the big moments and in the past his fitness was questionable during best of five set matches. He did manage to make the quarter-finals during his last appearance at Flushing Meadows in 2008, so perhaps he can make a dent in the draw with his confidence and fitness levels at all-time highs. He is definitely a player most will want to avoid when the tournament bracket is released.
Federer meanwhile is clearly coming into the Open as the favorite once again. The five-time U.S. Open champion lost a five set match against Juan Martin Del Potro a year ago but is looking like the guy to beat on hard-courts once again. With his closest competitors proving unreliable of late, I would not at all be surprised if Roger captured career Slam number 17 in a few weeks time.
World number one Rafael Nadal failed to get past Murray in Toronto in the semis, as well as Baghdatis in Cincy in the quarters. Novak Djokovic can't seem to fight his heat-related issues and has also looked inconsistent in recent losses to Federer and Andy Roddick. Andy Murray represents the greatest challenge to Federer, but can his mental toughness rise to the occasion during the finals of a major?
In one more week we will have a better idea of where things stand as the tennis world focuses on the final Grand Slam of the year and offers players like Federer one last chance to leave their names in the history books in 2010.
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