It’s not hard to see why Roger Federer is filled with a bit of joie de vivre as the French would say as he heads into the final stretch of the season. Emerging from an extended break after the U.S. Open, Federer returned to tennis and back to his winning ways by claiming the Swiss Indoors title for a fifth time over the weekend and based on his form there, the “Swiss Maestro” looks to be in very good shape for the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals in London coming up in a few weeks.
Winning a title would put anyone in a good mood, which is probably why Federer seemed a bit perplexed at all the downer questions the press threw at him during his press conference today at the BNP Paribas Masters over in Paris today. When asked about the lingering talk about a possible strike by players, Federer dismissed it saying that it was better to wait until the ATP hires a new CEO after Adam Helfant steps down to deal with the issue, adding, “I think normal common sense can solve so many problems within our sport.” The former No. 1 then went on to muse about why the tennis media had to dwell on such negative issues instead of focusing on more positive stories like they do, say, in other sports, like golf.
Golf? Really? Federer might keep up with golf as much as I do, which is next to zero, but even I couldn’t escape the latest controversy this week surrounding Federer’s former brunchmate and former Gillette spokesperson Tiger Woods. Federer may not be interested in striking or want to be involved in any discussion of the current schedule, but as long as other players continue to bring up the subject, the tennis media will have no choice but to follow the issue and ask Federer about it, whether he wants to talk about it or not.
But until then, Federer is right to feel happy this week. He’s playing well, he’s feeling good and he has an excellent chance to finally win the Paris Indoors for the first time ever considering Rafael Nadal is MIA this week, an ailing Novak Djokovic is still TBD for even playing and Andy Murray is still recovering from a “broken butt” he suffered in Basel. Plus, Paris loves Federer and who wouldn’t feel good with an entire city yelling “Allez Mon Amour” on your every move.
So c’mon everybody. If Fed’s happy, we should all be happy. And to get you off of your moaning and groaning glut, start humming this classic from Ms. Judy Garland.
Adjusting the Net 