The situation looks bleak indeed for Roger Federer fans. The Swiss has yet to notch a victory against a top ten opponent this year, and last's weeks flame out against Jurgen Melzer in Monte Carlo was particularly alarming. It wasn't his footwork that seemed off, or his quickness--he was ghosting around the court as effortlessly as ever. The glaring, can't-stand-to-watch quality of Fed's tennis these days is his unforced errors to winners ratio. Not only are his unforced errors high, but they're ugly. Like Smeagol ugly. Like routine backhands landing somewhere in general admission ugly.
He can still conceive the impossible angles, and get in position to hit them, but the execution is lacking (again, even on the routine stuff). So what do you do? Well, it's almost unfathomable that someone like Roger would swallow his pride long enough to even consider it, but one solution would be to use a larger racket. At 90 sq inches, Fed's Wilson Six.One Tour BLX is the smallest racket of anyone on tour. In the past, Rog's swing was so crisp, the motion so fluid that he didn't need the extra size to generate pace. And his hand-eye coordination was so otherwordly that he could keep the errors contained enough to win (a LOT) of matches.
Imagine what, say, an extra 10 sq inches (giving him 100 sq inches in total--the same size as Rafael Nadal's Babolat Aero Pro Drive) would do for his consistency. Heck, it might even add a little oomph to help hit past the Novak Djokovic's of the world. Either way, something's got to give. If he wants a real shot at winning majors, an adjustment of this kind is necessary. Pete Sampras was too stubborn to make the adjustment, and missed out on some late-career titles and any shot at the French Open. Let's hope Federer doesn't make the same mistake.
Daniel, You are hilarious! Keep writing buddy (this is Eric)
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