Reynolds on the Rise

      How did Roger Federer drop a set to Bobby Reynolds in the first round of the Swiss Indoors event?  It seems like just yesterday when Bobby and I were playing in the 2003 Atlantic City Challenger, just a few weeks after he led Vanderbilt University to the team finals of the NCAA championships.  At that time, Bobby was light years away from being ranked #86 in the world, and it seemed unlikely that his game would ever be able to win a set against an all-time great such as Federer.  It's only a set, big deal right?  Well, I think that result means one of two things:  1) Reynolds is improving tremendously and deserves to be considered as one of the top flight Americans; his 2008 results prove this (round of 32 at Wimbledon, Quarters at Indianapolis, Quarters at Delray Beach); by next year, he could be well into the top 35 on the world rankings.  2) Federer is losing focus/hunger at this stage in the season.  Rafael is a lock for the year end #1 ranking....Roger already has his US Open title and Olympic Gold Medal under his belt, and there is virtually nothing to play for at this point of the season except the Shanghai Masters Cup title.  I am 100% sure Roger wasn't giving the same effort against Reynolds that he was against Igor Andreev at this year's US Open. 

      Side Note:  We all love tennis, but seriously, what is the point of playing these tournaments this late in the season?  As a fan, I would MUCH rather see the Shanghai Masters Cup take place in early October, and spend October-December talking about "who will come back strong after the off-season"....these tournaments after the US Open mean very little (with the exception of Davis Cup), and are a good way to burn players out and make them more injury prone going into the Australian Open....As Rafa would say "shorten the tennis schedule!"

Bobby Reynold rips a backhand

photo courtesy: Dailylife.com