We\u2019re moving across the country from the dry heat of Southern California to the sticky stuff in Miami where both tours begin a nearly two-week event called the Sony Ericsson Open. Somehow the mugginess of Florida doesn\u2019t promise much respite after the desert furnaces of Indian Wells, but it\u2019s good to get out of town. I can think of a handful of players who probably think the same way.<\/p>\n
Having received a surprising comeuppance in the desert, it would be wise to bet the entire house on Roger Federer this week. I expect him to come out with blood in his eye and smoke pouring from his ears emitting both \u201cfire and music\u201d as the inestimable Margo Channing once said. Appropriately we suppose, his opener occurs this coming Saturday night. It features entertainment ripped from the pages of Super Bowls past, replete with fire and music, sound and light, and a rendition of our national anthem from some secret superstar singer. If Roger is not laughing hysterically at the thought of all this hyper inflation, as I am now, then he should go out and win, convincingly, with style and panache, just to show who\u2019s in charge. You\u2019ve bought pizzas for all the ball kids, Roger, and you hung around like a really good guy and schmoozed the world in Indian Wells after your loss. But now we want to see you on your feet and swinging. Entrails scattered around the court would be nice too. Andreev\u2019s or Querrey\u2019s. One of them you\u2019ll meet in your opener.<\/p>\n
It would be nice to see him face Nadal again in a final. They have not met since the semi-finals of the year-end ATP championship in Shanghai. Roger won in two sets on the indoor carpet surface. I hope you guys meet again so I don\u2019t have to keep watching my Shanghai tape to remind myself of how great it is when Federer meets Nadal. That match featured some serious heavy ground strokes from both players in long rallies. Nadal played a wonderful match but Federer was just sublime. Fans and inspectors need more of that intensity. If we are to experiment further with the round robin format, let\u2019s use it to get Federer facing Nadal in more finals. Why fool around with anyone else, let\u2019s just cut to the chase.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s good to see Nadal with a big win under his belt. He was having a long hiccup there. I am not a diehard Rafa fan, but it\u2019s important for the game that he runs into Roger more often. Now that he\u2019s finally gotten into a final, maybe he\u2019ll get a taste for staying in them. The match on Sunday was a lot more vital for Nadal to win that Djokovic but the fact that he won and Federer lost doesn\u2019t really import any dramatic changes anytime soon in the shape of the men\u2019s game. Federer is far ahead of the pack, even far ahead of Nadal, yet Nadal is also far ahead of the pack.<\/p>\n
Hopefully the pack can generate a few more rivalries of its own since they really can\u2019t touch the top two players. Murray and Djokovic would be a good rivalry since they are the same age and are already familiar with each other\u2019s play. It may be more of a rivalry now rather than later as I see Murray rapidly developing an all-court game. He has hands in the great tradition of Ilie Nastase and John McEnroe.<\/p>\n
Djokovic has the drive to succeed but can he add more to his game? He can serve big but from what I saw of him against Nadal, his serve may not be big enough. Nor consistent enough. His forehand is his weapon de jour but that\u2019s about all that\u2019s in his bag. I don\u2019t feel particularly drawn to his personality or his style of play. I have seen it all before. Federer has spoiled me rotten. I want to see every new player showing his particular gift; something unique. Djokovic is more of the same. I am happy to see my co-writer agrees with me in this regard. He will make the top ten after last week but I hope Murray follows closely on his heels because he has the more interesting game. Too bad Novak wasn\u2019t playing a five-setter because he might have been able to get his teeth into it a bit more.<\/p>\n