The Federer Express is back in service. At least it seems that he is finally regaining some of his best shape once the professional tour made its move over to the fast courts in preparation for the US Open. Federer completed a good comeback in the first set against the Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela in the second round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto. Federer took over the close first set 7-6 (7) and had to struggle only for 34 minutes to win the second set 6-3 over Chela.
This was Federer first match since he lost at Wimbledon during his quarterfinal match against Thomas Berdych. Now he is back in the most important Canadian Tournament trying to find the way up to his third Rogers Cup. Federer had for a while stayed out of competition since his early exit at Wimbledon. He went on vacation extensively and kept a low profile for a while until he hired a new coach Paul Annacone and work his way back to this tournament.
On the personal note, Federer celebrated his 29th birthday with his wife and their two twins as well as his new coach Annacone. This is quite a step. Federer has been know to be quite a reclusive and low-profiled figure out of the tennis courts. And if you take a look at his past, despite having occasionally work with some coaches, most of his best years came when he was a one-man show. Federer’s decision to bring in some extra help was certainly motivated by his early exit at the All England Club. As if that was not enough, he fell to third place in the ATP rankings. Considering the success of his career, this might have strike him as unacceptable.
Federer is reluctant about giving out too many details about the sort of training that Annacone might bring in. One thing is certain; his new coach has plenty of experience and knows what it means to work with very high profile athletes. Paul used to coach no other then Tim Henman and Pete Sampras.
Federer has the talent and the motivation to get over this bump. He has struggled recently like we have never seen him struggle before. Rumor has it that Federer’s decision not to play in doubles is a means to have more one on one time with his new coach. One thing is for certain, and Annacone knows this well. The deal is not permanent. If I were to take a guess, I would say that Federer would dismiss the American coach if he does not make it at least to the US Open final match.
No American Men in the ATP top-10
On the other hand, things are not looking too swell for the American male tennist players. After Andy Roddick’s withdrawal from the Rogers Cup because of an undisclosed injury, the American tennis player fell to eleventh place in the ATP world ranking. For those of you out there keen of statistics, this is the first time since the rankings began in 1973 that there is no male American in the Top-10.