Back in the winner's circle

Great to see my guy Roger back in the winner's circle today with a 6-3 7-5 win over Lu.  I thought overall he played well after having not played a competitive match in almost four weeks, after his Davis Cup victories in mid September.  After the distraction of the death threat and the extra security that has been flanking him this week, he was able to put that behind him and play with his usual style and class.  Though there were maybe a few more unforced errors than we (and he) would have liked, he did what he needed to do and won the match, thrilling the much enlarged crowd with his presence.

Here is his post match interview:

It's too bad how often he ends up in the same portion of the draw as his good buddy Stan-the-Man Wawrinka (or Stanley, as Roger likes to refer to him).  In order to make it to 300 weeks at #1 he needs to win this match.  My fingers are itching to write about the incredible accomplishment that would be, but I will save it until he gets there.

Novak Djokovic was looking very sharp today.  It's obvious he is hoping to regain the #1 ranking before the end of the year.  His chances of doing so are very strong and I'm sure many scenarios will come out on how he can do that depending on what plays out this week.  Lots to still play for in the coming weeks.