The Wardrobe of a Champion?

Walking onto court with his new jacket and vest this year made me cringe. To compound the problem, a coincidental NetJets commercial starring the Swiss aired moments before. Lets put aside the fact that his outfit and purse look a bit ridiculous. Roger Federer, being a role model to millions of children, should watch after his image and take care not to disconnect himself with this snobbish look. Obviously he is wealthy beyond most people's wildest imagination. Just ask Mirka - it looks like she dunked her hands in a bowl of glue, then a bowl of jewels. All I ask is to tone it down a bit. Show some humility and class. We know he's a classy player and person, so why not portray this externally? Put down the matching purse and vest and throw on a Roger Federer Foundation t-shirt!

Wimbledon Preview

With Nadal unable to defend his cherished title the door was left wide open for Federer to claim number 15 with relative ease. For so long the grass courts have belonged to one man - Roger Federer. Then Nadal came along and eventually prevailed. But even then, it took the best match in tennis history for Rafa to overcome the reigning champ. So even though Federer is having one of his less successful years, he will not be so easily pushed aside on his favorite court.

I personally doubt Federer will have any trouble winning this year. He's now a veteran of grass and has more experience than anyone else in the draw on this surface. Consider that this is his best tournament and realize that he is to Wimbledon what Nadal is to Roland Garros. So who out there can top him besides his greatest rival? Here are a few challengers and my take on them -

Andy Murray -

All eyes are on him this year. Even if he wasn't playing for the home team, he does have a winning record against Roger and one of the best return games on tour. He's been to a slam final and won a few masters titles, so the only variables are his temper and the pressure of the press. He will be under the microscope as his the official favorite for many. I pick him to make the final, but also pick Federer to make mincemeat of him when he gets there.

Novak Djokovic -

He's been to the semis in 2007 and the finals of Queens in 2008. With few weaknesses and incredible defensive skills this guy is a contender wherever he goes. Remember he has a grand slam and Murray does no so experience should be no factor. Unfortunately his lackluster performance at Roland Garros is a worrisome variable. If he's feeling good I see him as the #3 favorite for the title in my mind.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga -

One of the most aggressive players on tour is sure to love the grass courts of London. He's only played Wimbledon once (l. to Gasquet) but did not fail to impress. Shorter rallies mean he'll have to hit less backhands which I'm sure he wont mind, and his soft hands will create more than a few unreachable drop volleys. Big serve + big groundstrokes always equal success on this surface but he's also got a far better than average forecourt game. My dark horse pick.

Andy Roddick -

Sorry Roddick fans, but this guy is outdated. After years of trying to improve his game he's got little to show for it. His massive serve keeps him floating in the top 10, but his backhand is still one of the weakest in the top 50 and he's lost a lot of zest from his forehand since 03-04. He is now hitting far less winners (almost always less than his opponent) and is still hitting questionable approach shots. He'll probably cruise through a few rounds, but as soon as he faces a quality player I don't see him lasting long.

Juan Martin Del Potro -

While he is shaping up to be a legitimate challenger for major titles, I just don't see him doing well this year. He's obviously quite tall but unfortunately he doesn't play like Goran Ivanisevic. He likes to stay at the baseline so the low bounce won't favor his game. For a 6'6" man, his serve is still not where it should be.

Fernando Gonzalez -

My sleeper pick for Roland Garros will be riding a wave of confidence as he moves onto the grass. His slice will stay low and his fierce forehand translates to any surface. His relatively weak returns won't make things easy for him but he can counteract this with his ability to end a point from any spot on the court.

The Legend Continues

When someone accomplishes something or something happens that is beyond belief, something that has never happened before, something that may never happen again, it is looked back upon as legend. An event or series of events so remarkable that their reality is debatable. The legend of Roger Federer earned a new chapter today, in a way ensuring that this chapter will not be the last. Had Roger succumbed to any one of the many serious challengers this week he may have been forced into a downward spiral. But here he stands, a new man. No doubt the events of last week will give him much needed confidence as he continues his career. 

The early exit of Rafael Nadal opened the door wide for the world number two. Federer managed to take full advantage, and after a few bumps in the road he claimed what Nadal had kept from him for the last four years. With a knee injury threatening to keep Nadal from defending his Wimbledon title later this month the path could be cleared again for Federer to claim a 15th major title with relative ease and break Sampras's record. Sure there are going to be challengers other than Nadal at the all england club, but few have the vast grass experience that the 28 year old Federer has. 

The Swiss maestro now ties the record of 14 majors, has made the semis or better in the last 20 slams, and now has all 4 slams under his belt. We are watching history in the making, and I consider it a an honor to be a tennis fan during this period.

Soderling vs Nadal

So much has already been written about the shocking loss of Rafa Nadal to Robin Soderling so I won't dwell on the historical implications here. Instead I'll take a more technical approach. 

At the end of the day it boils down to this - Nadal played terribly and Soderling played great. I thought it would have been fun to see Nadal go for broke for 4 or 5 games in order to change the rythm of the match. He's as strong dude (probably stronger than Soderling) and can hit winners from anywhere. At least dictate as much as possible. Soderling isn't the best mover, and he can't pound groundstrokes as consistently if he has to dash from corner to corner. Pretend you're on grass Rafa!

Another thing Nadal could have done was employ the slice and hit more drop shots. If you've ever seen Roger Federer play Soderling or Berdych he does exactly this and it works perfectly. These big guys are tanks from the baseline but flounder a bit in the forecourt - especially with balls below the height of the net. Relatively speaking, Soderling is terrible volleyer and no one passes better than Nadal.

The problem was that Nadal would not or could not change strategy during the match. You can't really blame him either - his strategy has won him 4 French Open trophies. This was also the guy that made Lleyton Hewitt look like a club player just a few days ago. There are a lot of things Nadal could have done differently but we can't be too critical. He seems to be struggling with his backhand lately, and in all fairness strict defense is a often a viable play against a player like Soderling. Unfortunately Soderling was ready to hit a few extra balls and was playing out of his mind. It apparently was no fluke either - today he crushed Nikolay Davydenko 6-1, 6-3, 6-1.