Rekindling the Federer Magic

It took a while, but the all-time great Federer seems to have rediscovered his magic. The signs were there since the end of last season, when he reached the semis at the ATP Masters Cup, but the Swiss only reached full capacity in January. He reached the final in Brisbane, beat Tsonga and Murray to make the semis at the Australian Open, and he now stunned Djokovic and Berdych to claim the title in Dubai—his sixth at the event and first since Halle last year. 

Things finally seem to be heading in the right direction for Roger and I wholeheartedly admire the patience, the fight, the drive, and the determination of this monumental player who refuses to give in, despite the emergence of the younger generation. Since his miserable mid-2013, Federer has been working intensely to get back to his vintage form. He changed the racquet—opting for a larger head model—plus he changed tactics, playing more aggressive tennis, coming more often to the net, and relying more on his serve-and-volley game—he hired Swedish legend, Stefan Edberg, to help facilitate the process. The results were quick to show. Not only did he won the title in Dubai, but he impressed in comeback wins over Djokovic and Berdych. These two players have put a lot of problems to the Swiss in recent meetings. However, although they both took the opening act, they could not seal out the victory. Roger played magnificent tennis to eventually overcome them both. Especially against the Czech, the Swiss looked headed for a defeat. Tomas led by a set and a break , but Federer rekindled the magic. 

"I was happy I was able to use momentum, win that second set, and then it was a tough opening period in the third, wasting the Love-40 game on Tomas' first service game," said the Swiss. "Then saving break points myself. Anything could have happened there.

"Things definitely went my way out here tonight, but I have had a lot tougher matches in the last one and a half years, so this is nice to get a lucky break again."

Although this is a really sweet victory for Roger, it's surely not enough to take him back to the top of the game. He needs to ensure he plays consistently at this level for the remainder of the season if he wants to challenge arch-nemesis Nadal for the No.1 position. Plus, he needs to continue to beat the younger constants, especially Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, Berdych, Tsonga, etc. if he wants to give himself a shot at another Grand Slam. Well done, Roger! #thekingisnotdead

Roger Federer reminded the world of his magic when he crowned himself champion in Dubai for a record sixth time. The Swiss put forth a sublime performance to stun Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych, in the semis, respectively the final. 

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