Along with the majority of avid tennis followers I have to admit that I’m a huge Roger Federer fan. I was a lukewarm fan when he won the Wimbledon Junior crown at the age of 17, but became a drooling disciple when he beat Pete Sampras, the defending Wimbledon champion, in his first try in the main draw at the age of 19. He lost in the following year then went on to win 5 in a row. A feat he just repeated at the US Open a month ago, the only player to accomplish this feat in 84 years since Bill Tilden did it back in the nineteen thirties.

To me, it was the way he won, rather than the fact that he did win. It was the semifinal match with Novak Djokovic that opened my eyes to the fact that Roger was back on form. For the first time since his bout with mononucleosis he played like the old Roger we admire and love. He was sharp, quick around the court, graceful, imaginative with his shots, and intuitive with his shot selection. All the attributes that have made him the best player to ever play the game, and the skills that have been missing for the entire 2008 season. Sure he made a few finals, won a couple of tournaments, he can still beat most players when he’s only playing about 95% efficiently, but it hurt to watch him lose so often and to play so poorly. He is a better player than Nadal on every surface other than clay, and I predict he will be back as the number 1 player in 2009.

He will kick off the 2009 season at the Australian Open where he will be seeded second, and if everything goes according to plan he should meet Andy Murray in the semifinal,a repeat of the very one-sided 2008 US Open final.

Roger is chasing Sampras for the most Single Grand Slam titles, he’s one behind, and now with the effects of the mono virus behind him the odds must be in his favour to pass Sampras in 2009. Judging by his performance in New York it is apparent that he has regained his game and his confidence, which is wonderful news for his fans, but not such good news for his competitors.

He seems to have been around for ever but he’s only 27, he’s earned more than $43 million in prize money, and heaven knows how much with endorsements. It could be a sign of age because he recently admitted to having some thoughts about his future after his tennis career ends. He is deeply involved with his Foundation, and has briefly contemplated marriage and becoming a Father. He actually said, “I have started to think about the future more seriously, things like family and marriage have crossed my mind.”

He’s always positive, and said about his performance in 2008, “I had a good year, 3 titles including a major.” For any other player he would be correct, but from Roger we expect much more.