Surviving "Paradise"

Roger Federer has an aching back and it is apparently a bigger problem than we have been led to believe.  It was first rumored that he had his back taped while playing in Hamburg, Germany, testing out a new larger Wilson racquet.  He suffered a loss in the semifinals and it was a disappointing one.  Then, returning home to Switzerland, he lost his opening match to D. Brands of Germany at the Swiss Open at Gstaad in two sets and one had to wonder, what is wrong?  Sure, Federer is 31, approaching 32, and has won only one title this year (grass court tournament at Halle, Germany prior to Wimbledon).  He lost at Wimbledon and his record of 36 consecutive quarterfinals in Grand Slams went by the wayside.  So, is it really Fed on the decline, or is there more here than meets the eye?  Well, first of all, Federer is not the dominating force he was for a decade, of course.  There is Nadal, albeit with his fragile aching knees, and then there is the dynamic duo of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, both younger and in their prime.  But, just a year ago, Roger won Wimbledon and regained the number one ranking in the world, breaking Pete Sampras’s record of weeks at number one in the process of holding onto it well into the fall.  So, again, what is really going on?  First, there is the adjustment to the new racquet for sure.  Interesting that Fed has decided to try and make this adjustment at this point, hoping to re-tune his majestic game and prolong his ability to compete and win (yes, I said win) against the other top players.  But word is now coming out that his back is in fact a problem for him at this point in time.  He was taking antiflammatories at the match in Switzerland.  Roger must get his health squared away first and foremost as the US Open looms a mere month away (his final opportunity at a Grand Slam this year).  Will he play Toronto and then Cincinnati as he has planned since his 2013 schedule was announced?  It remains to be seen, but a healthy Roger Federer at 31 or even 32 on “his” day is capable of beating anyone, and I do mean anyone.  So, the aching back must be tended to.  Here’s to hoping the back problem is solved as the North American hard court season cranks up in early August.  I definitely want to see Roger Federer competing at his best, new racquet and all!

Hard to believe that we are only a month away from the start of College Football season!  Are we ready???  Then, a couple of week later, NFL kicks off.  Gee, since Alabama won the National Championship and Baltimore won the Super Bowl, we have seen three of the four majors in golf; Adam Scott wining the Masters, Brandt Snedeker winning the US Open and then Phil Mickelson having a magical Sunday of golf to win his first British Open last weekend.  We have now had three different winners of three of the four Grand Slams in tennis; Djokovic taking the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal winning the French Open and Andy Murray ending the long drought and winning Wimbledon (first British man since Fred Perry).  We have the PGA at Oak Hill in Rochester, NY for the final major of the year in golf coming up (can Tiger get it done and win a major for the first time in four years?) and then we of course have the US Open in Flushing Meadow, NY coming up at the end of August.  Can Roger Federer get healthy and be a factor?  Interesting questions as we look ahead to these events with the start of what is arguably the most popular time of year in America, the kickoff of College Football and the NFL?

On a personal note, I hope the Atlanta Falcons finally get it done this year, and ignore all the media predictions, watch out for my Georgie Tech Yellow Jackets in the ACC!!

Over and out for now…

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