Time to bounce back for the Maestro?
Well, we are saying this for some time, but apparently Roger is really struggling to get back to his best tennis. In 2013 Roger managed to win only 1 tournament (the 250ATP in Halle) and he has recently lost with various low ranked players in Wimbledon, Hamburg and Gstaad.
The new racket and the injury
Roger is trying to take advantage of this “transition period” to test a new larger racket that might give more power to the Maestro (and hopefully less shanks). So far this is not really working well, but it’s not clear if the real problem is the racket, the back injury… or simply Roger struggling with his tennis or his age.
Down to World no.7
Now ranked world no.5, Roger has to do everything he can at least to stay in the top 8 to play the Finals in London. Unfortunately his participation is not for granted anymore as a bad Cincinnati could sink Roger to an unceremonious world no.7 rank.
In Cincinnati
Roger had a not so good draw in Cincinnati. First, he fell in the same quarter of his nemesis: Rafael Nadal. Second, getting there won’t be easy as Roger will play world no.26 Philipp Kohlschreiber. in the opener and then Granollers, Anderson or Haas in the third round (all of them are tricky customers).
Today match will definitely be an important test for Roger that will test his fitness and his ability to defend his title in Cincinnati. Head to head is 7-0 for Roger vs. Kohlschreiber, but the past is not a good indicator… anymore.
This are the highlights of last year’s final when Federer beat Djokovic 6-0 7-6
