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Roger Federer returned to action last night in Cincinnati (Western and Southern Open) and defeated P. Kolschreiber in straight sets, 6 – 3, 7 – 6. Federer looked sharp, especially in the first, had a bit of a hiccup in the second but went on to close it out in a tie break, albeit an adventurous one. Fed has returned to using the 90″ Wilson racquet he has used for a decade after experimenting with a larger 98″ Wilson prototype. All the other big names use one at least that size, some larger, and Federer’s racquet is the smallest frame on the men’s tour. Never the less, Federer has waved that magic wand to seventeen Grand Slam titles. He indicated in his post match interview that he was not finished testing out different racquets (one would have to expect he will make the transition at the best time for him) but that he would wait until after the US Open to resume experimenting with a larger racquet frame. Does make sense as it takes time to develop a comfort level and consistency with a new piece of equipment, especially after many years of using basically the same racquet. Roger was outstanding on serve last night, winning 87% of the points on his first serve and 63% on his second serve. Glaring weakness, only 2/11 on break points. Will need to improve that statistic as he hopefully moves on in the tournament to face the likes of Nadal, Djokovic, Murray. Still, so happy to see him back and looking good!
Today’s action is jam packed full of stars. Andy Murray has dispatched M. Youzhny in two straight sets. Later today, Djokovic and Nadal (tonight) and Serena Williams (now) and Li Na (tonight). Stay tuned…the action continues all week and the weather is really nice, sunny but only mid to high 70’s!
