ROGER FEDERER CATCHES FIRE IN CINCINNATI, SENDS A MESSAGE FOR U.S. OPEN BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 25th August 2015

ROGER FEDERER CATCHES FIRE IN CINCINNATI, SENDS A MESSAGE FOR U.S. OPEN BY RICKY DIMON

epa04895293 Roger Federer of Switzerland in action against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during the final of the Western & Southern Open at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 23 August 2015. EPA/TANNEN MAURY |

That Roger Federer rolled to the Western & Southern Open title last week likely came as no surprise. After all, he has now won the thing seven times in his illustrious career.

But the way in which he did it was particularly impressive–if not downright scary.

First consider Federer’s 2014 trek through the Cincinnati draw: he lost sets to Vasek Pospisil, Gael Monfils, and David Ferrer, In fact, Ferrer even breadsticked him in the final (Federer eventually won 6-3, 1-6, 6-2).

This time around, the Swiss was undeniably dominant. He did not drop a single set in victories over Roberto Bautista Agut, Kevin Anderson, Feliciano Lopez, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokoivc. Only Murray and Djokovic managed to push Federer to a tiebreaker and Djokovic earned just one point in his tiebreaker effort. Federer also did not get broken the whole tournament. He faced a mere three break points in total–none against anyone other than Lopez.

But it was return of serve that sent shockwaves through the tennis community.

Federer abused Bautista Agut’s serve in his opening match, often half-volleying returns from just outside the service line, and he never had any reason to shy away from the tactic. He did the same thing against Anderson, and against Lopez, and against Murray, and against Djokovic.

In his 7-6(1), 6-3 defeat of Djokovic in Sunday’s championship match, Federer approached the net off a second-serve return 11 times and he won seven of those points. From the start of the event through Djokovic’s first five service games, Federer made contact with 14 returns within six feet of the service line.

Roger Federer of Switzerland in action against Andy Murray of Great Britain during their semifinal round match in the Western & Southern Open at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 22 August 2015. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

“I think I moved well,” the 34-year-old reflected. “I was explosive moving forward. Volleys were good. I think from the baseline I was hitting my forehand very well. Now I’ve got the confidence, I’ve got the matches, and I’m actually still feeling really fresh even after this week, because the matches [were] rather short.”

That confidence will carry over to the U.S. Open, which begins next week in New York.

And don’t underestimate the importance of Federer’s Cincinnati triumph. By beating Djokovic for the title, the 17-time Grand Slam champion regained the No. 2 world ranking from Murray and will thus be seeded second at the Open. That, of course, means that he will be on the opposite side of the draw from Djokovic.

At the same time, though, the top-ranked Serb does not sound worried.

“I think he’s more aggressive here (in Cincinnati) than in any other tournament because the surface and conditions allow him to play very fast,” Djokovic said of Federer. “He generally copes well with the fast balls, the fast game. He likes this rhythm.”

Is Djokovic insinuating that his rival does not like it as much in New York? If so, there’s only one way to find out. And we will find out starting in less than seven days.

Game on.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Atp World Tour, Cincinnati, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Tennis News, US Open, Western and Southern Open

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10sBalls_com says:

August 25, 2015 at 10:30 am

-@rogerfederer CATCHES FIRE IN #CINCINNATI, SENDS A MESSAGE FOR @usopen BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/UAZpF1SWP7 #tennis #Federer
Dimonator says:

August 25, 2015 at 10:44 am

RT @10sBalls_com: -@rogerfederer CATCHES FIRE IN #CINCINNATI, SENDS A MESSAGE FOR @usopen BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/UAZpF1SWP7 #tennis #Fe…