The Australian Open Final – and Your Game

Who doesn’t like to see Roger Federer happy?

I mean no disrespect to Andy Murray, who handled himself with greatly increased maturity, but really, who wouldn’t pull for RogerFederer (other than people from England) in the Australian final?

I enjoy his wins, suffer through his losses, and hate to see him cry. I just love watching him collect Slam titles. And there is a lot to learn for any player who closely observes his matches.

The Australian final was a beautifully played match, and, for me at least, satisfying in its outcome. Federer’s game is poetry in motion: clean, smooth, deadly, inventive, and effective – – all apparently effortless. Of course whenever I watch someone else running it feels effortless to me since I’m not doing the running. And his character and demeanor are as classy as his game.

Several aspects of the match seem to me worthy of comment, with some implications players at all level can note.

In Australia, Federer’s topspin backhand seemed greatly improved.

The first is that Federer’s backhand topspin appears greatly improved. It’s now a first – class shot, not as good as his forehand, but first – class, nonetheless. How many players at any…