The Maestro is back, new look and all

What an incredible display of tennis from the Maestro, Roger Federer, in his first match back after his unexpected early round loss in Madrid.  I knew he was highly motivated by his press conference after losing last week and I could see it in the look in his eye on court today, especially in his first return game.  In his match against Nishikori last week one of the things I was very disappointed with was that in the 1st and 3rd sets he made no impact in the return games.  Today was a different story.  Every point he looked extremely focused and intent on winning it.  He played aggressively and seemed to be the one usually controlling the rallies.  His stats for the match are amazing - 35 winners and just 8 unforced errors.  This had to have felt as good as it looked!

But, of course, the biggest question is, what role did his short new haircut play in his performance?!  It might take a little getting used to, but if this is what it does to his level of play, I will take it!

Obviously the matches will only get harder from here, but hopefully he got the feel of playing his brand of tennis again and will be able to go on and prove himself this week to the doubters that always come out every time he has a lull.

On another topic, I have to share this quote that I read from Tommy Haas's father:

“I’ve never seen a tennis player – and I’ve met many athletes and champions from all professions throughout Tommy’s entire career – as a person and a complete athlete, Roger is so friendly, so cordial, so open with people. With zero arrogance. The hair on my arm is almost standing up right now. What I’m saying, in essence, it’s almost unbelievable that this type of person exists. He’s such a pure, class act. In other words, he’s humble. Yet he does not need to be.”  Peter Haas (Tommy Haas’s father) about Roger

Just another reason his fans love him!