Roger Federer wins 73rd career title in California

It's a great Monday, made even better by the news that Roger Federer won the Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, California in the early hours of this morning.

All pictures taken from Roger Federer The Champ facebook page

My wife and I woke up at 4am this morning to watch Roger Federer take the court against the giant John Isner in the final.

Roger Federer has been playing great all week, beating Denis Kudla, Milos Raonic, Thomaz Bellucci, Juan Martin Del Potro and Rafael Nadal en route to the final.

Roger Federer will turn 31 in August and he is still as fit as a fiddle, playing and beating the best in the game. It was thrilling to see him hitting winners so cleanly off both the forehand and backhand wings. He was so dominant on serve, out-aceing Isner.

These are the glory days and we hope Federer will back up his great current form with a few more majors in the coming years. I know that one day he will hang up his racquet and the tennis world will lose the greatest player of all time, but for us fans, we dream that he will keep playing, keep winning, and that his retirement will never come!

Based on his form this year, his retirement is not even a thought. Roger Federer is playing sensational tennis, is fitter than ever, and I'm so excited to see what he does at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the Olympics, the U. S. Open and the end-of-year masters in London.

For now, Roger Federer is heading to Miami for next weeks tournament. I'm loving the tennis and having the privilege of watching the great Roger Federer thrill us with his beautiful game!

Keep going Roger!

Federer Masters His Peers

I know it's a little like 'late news' now, but I've not been online since waking up in the early hours of Monday morning to watch the ATP World Tour Masters final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. That's because I've been down with headaches and an off stomach ever since this disruption of my normal sleep pattern.

But Roger Federer is worth writing about at any time of the day, week, month or year.

His victory over Nadal, and it has to be said, in the end it was an absolute pasting, was long overdue. Federer's 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win was a highly significant result at the end of a mixed season for the Swiss champion. After stuttering through the summer with injury and poor form, his Australian Open final demolition of Andy "angles" Murray was almost forgotten about. Nadal went on to win the remaining three slams as Federer's career was being written off right, left and centre.

So this fantastic week of dominant tennis is a great reminder to the world that Federer is still only 29, by no means old, and as he brushed aside so comfortably the other 4 players at the top of the rankings alongside himself, he has laid down a marker for the year 2011. I'm sure Federer would have loved the Australian Open to be this week, but we will have to wait a couple of months to see the genius at work again.

The whole week in London was a huge success and a great way to finish the year. Perhaps for me, the greatest thing of all was the magnificence of Federer's backhand. Touted as a weakness, it was anything but, as he used it to marvellous effect as preparation to set up winning forehands, producing sensational winners themselves either up the line or cross-court, and as wonderful deep, defensive shots to get himself back into rallies.

Long may Federer keep hitting the sweet spot on the backhand, and the forehand. He was also masterful on serve, showing magnificent variety and placement.

Now he has renewed confidence to go and, if necessary, beat Nadal all over again on the biggest stage of all - a Grand Slam.

ATP Tour Masters London Final Line-up

So Rafael Nadal struggled his way through his semi-final with Andy Murray, who blew a 4-1 lead in the final set tie-breaker to gift the Spaniard a final berth.

Meanwhile, Roger Federer obliterated Novak Djokovic 6-1, 6-4 to enter the final, as he attempts to win the end-of-year Masters for a 5th time.

LET'S GO ROGER, LET'S GO!!!

ATP Tour Masters London Semi-finals

So we have arrived at the semi-final stage of the ATP Tour Masters in London. There are no surprises and 2 stand-out players thus far. The semi-finals will shape up like this:

ROGER FEDERER aka the G.O.A.T.    vs     NOVAK JOCK-STRAP

RAFAEL NAYDULL     vs     ANDY "ANGLES" MURRAY

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have both come through the round robin stage undefeated, with 3 wins out of 3. Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic qualified as group runners-up after losing one of their three matches each.

I'm desperately hoping Andy Angles can go against all the odds and beat Nadal because to be honest, I'm scared of Nadal but not Murray. As for Federer, he just has to play to a similar standard as he has in the round robin stage and he should have no problems against Djokovic. Federer is hitting the ball sweetly and most pleasing, his backhand was magnificent in his victory over Soderling. Nadal has not been at his best, doing enough to win, but he did enjoy a 6-1 thrashing of Berdych after he took the first on a tie-break. Nadal dropped a set against Roddick but Federer has yet to lose one, with a perfect 6-0 record in that department.

I hope Murray makes the final, but in my head, where common sense normally prevails, Nadal will slaughter the helpless Scot and enter a mouthwatering final with Federer.

And Federer is due a win over his Spanish rival...

Federer the Fans Favourite

Roger Federer was awarded his eighth fan's favourite trophy yesterday at the start of the ATP Tour end of year Masters. People voted online at www.atpworldtour.com for their favourite player of the year, and Roger Federer came out on top for the eighth time. I voted for him as well and I'm glad he took the moment to thank me for my vote. He may not be the current world number one any more, but he is still the fan's favourite tennis player for his great successes, fair play and respectful treatment of his opponents.

Roger Federer looked dapper in a bright red shirt as he comfortably beat Spain's David Ferrer in his opening round robin match yesterday at London's O2 arena. He ran out a 6-1, 6-4 winner and will next face up to Scotland's Andy Murray.

Talking of Murray, he opened proceedings by beating Robin Soderling 6-2, 6-4 in an absolutely awful shirt that kind of matches his personality and character.

Federer and Murray have become big rivals on tour, sharing wins and losses of late. But it is their deeply contrasting styles which are the most interesting to analyse. Murray is loud and boisterous; Federer calmly and quietly goes about his work. Murray, as previously mentioned, wears some awfully distasteful attire; Federer always wears simple and neat clothing. Murray's hair and face is a complete mess, not even for the end of year Masters can he get himself looking anywhere near decent; Federer is always smartly dressed, appropriately for whatever occasion, and looks clean-shaven and neat when on-court. Murray's frustrations too often get the better of him, leaving him vulnerable to collapse; Federer's mental toughness sees him soak up pressure and overcome it more often than not. Murray delights in ice-baths (which didn't do much for him at this year's Australian Open under the coaching of Miles Maclagan, who since then, has parted ways with the Scot); Federer simply goes for family time with his wife and daughters, and other advertising appointments with Credit Suisse and Lindt, for example. Murray hits a double-handed backhand which can be pretty effective with slow balls but limited in its reach; Federer has the most exquisite single-handed backhand which can hit balls to any spot on the court. Some have targeted Federer's backhand as a potential weakness but I've never believed it. Only Ree-shard (Richard) Gasquet has a backhand comparable. Murray has a disastrously vulnerable second serve; Federer's is as reliable as they come. Both players are immaculate at mixing up their shots in both speed and direction and placement. Murray has yet to win a Grand Slam; Federer has 16.

And so in the build-up to tomorrow's showdown between the two players, I will share a clip of highlights from their round robin clash last year, which Federer won. The only catch is that this clip includes the most hilarious Arabic commentary ever with the translation to English subtitles sure to provide a barrel of laughs! 

Take the time to check it out, it's a fantastic bit of fun!

Let's hope the standard of tennis was as high as last year.


GO ROG!!!