Federer still elite? Ya’ think?

World No. 3 Roger Federer is 39-2 since last year's U.S. Open

 - and still elite !

I’m always amazed at how some so-called ‘tennis experts’ continue to question whether or not World No. 3 Roger Federer still has what it takes to win a grand slam title, mostly because the all-time career grand slam leader hasn’t won one since beating World No. 4 Andy Murray in the 2010 Australian Open final.

Well, I’m here to say what I’ve continued to say over the last two years.

Yes Federer still has what it takes to win grand slam titles – and then some if you ask me.

Now, with the game’s most regal-like player having recorded an insane 39-2 mark since the completion of the 2011 U.S. Open, many of Fed’s same critics are backtracking on their previous claims.

As Federer correctly pointed out, most of his detractors want to point to one thing as a sign of decline – and it’s not his on-court performances either.

"I think it's more the age that people always talk about right now. That's what stands out to me," Federer said following his win over world No. 1o John Isner at Indian Wells. "Some don't understand how you can play tennis at 30, which is shocking to me because normally that's when you're still young enough to play some of your best tennis. I think I'm showing that since I turned 30 in August. That's basically when my run began."

Eye On Sports expects Roger 

Federer to win a grand slam title in 2012.

30-years-old or not, all I see when Federer plays is a guy that still moves around the court like someone half his age – and if you haven’t heard the terminology before – it truly looks like Fereder is ‘floating’ most of the time instead of running (I know, amazing).

What I like most about Federer how much he genuinely loves the game of tennis, which is why I believe he’ll be able to maintain his level of play for at least the next half-decade.

"Sometimes people think so much in the short term," Federer said. "It's a bit unfortunate. But, it's nice that I'm putting together a lot of wins in a row at the moment and just that I have shown also great reaction after the tough loss I had against Djokovic at the U.S. Open, because obviously that hurt."

Now ask yourselves this Eye On Sports tennis fans.

Is there anything you’d put past Roger Federer?

Not this year Novak!

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has already suffered two
losses this season and  has 'come back to earth'
after winning three grand slams a year ago.

While I’ve still got mad love for World No. 3 Novak Djokovic and fully believe he will likely win another grand slam tournament this season, I said it at the end of last year and prior to this year’s Australian Open … there was no way possible that the Djoker could continue playing at the insanely high level he played at a year ago.

I said Djokovic was bound to “come back to earth” a bit this year and sure enough, he has – if only a little. Djokovic did manage to win the first grand slam title in Australia this year, but he’s also suffered a pair of recent losses to John Isner and – believe it or not – World No. 4 Andy Murray.

Now, I’m not going to say that Djokovic is going to even lose his No. 1 ranking this season, but he’s clearly going to have a bit tougher time winning titles this season!

Revenge on Fed’s mind!

World No.3 Roger Federer extracted some revenge
on Rafael Nadal and John Isner at the BNP Paribas
at Indian Wells this past weekend.
Nadal and Isner are the only two players to have
beaten Federer since the end of the 2011 U.S. Open.

I knew heading into Sunday BNP Paribas final at Indian Wells that World Np. 3 Roger Federer had revenge on his mind when he took to the court against now, World No. 11 John Isner after losing to the hard-serving big man in their Davis Cup showdown in Switzerland just last month.

How’d I know Fed was looking for a little payback?

Well, just listen to this quote tennis fans.

"Without taking anything away from John in Switzerland, the conditions were extremely tough for both of the players. It was altitude, it was a clay that was virtually unplayable. Every second bounce had a bad bounce in it," Federer said. "So tomorrow hopefully will be a bit more normal."

Federer handled Isner in Sunday’s fnal, beating the quickly-improving American 7-6 (9), 6-3 in a match that was a lot closer than the score would seem to indicate.

Three cheers for John Isner!

New World No. 10 John Isner knocked off
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in their BNP Paribas semifinal matchup at Indian Wells on Saturday.

Who says Americans can’t hang with the ‘big boys’?

New, World No. 10 John Isner pulled off one of the biggest wins of his career on Saturday by beating World No. 1 Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7), 3-6, 7-6 (5) in a thrilling semifinal showdown.

Isner fired a whopping 20 aces against the multi-faceted Djoker and finished the match off with a blistering 135 mile per hour offering.

Isner is the first American player to beat a world No. 1 since respected veteran James Blake defeated Federer in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"It's something that you don't experience every day," Isner said. "I was just trying to take it all in."

Isner connected on a whopping 74 percent of his first serves, but he’ll have to duplicate his Herculian feat in order to top World No. 3 Roger Federer in Sunday’s BNP Paribas final at Indian Wells.

American Tennis Takes Another Hit!

With Serena Williams getting the old heave ho from the 2012 Australian Open on Sunday, American tennis took what is now becoming a routing bashing at the grand slams. That’s right racquet fans, it’s crystal clear that the U.S. has fallen way behind a host of other countries, most notably Spain, when it comes to producing grand slam worthy superstars. 

Now, there are no American left in the Aussie as it heads into its second week – and it’s painfully obvious that the U.S. may not have another grand slam winner for quite some time. Hell, even the Williams sisters have been mostly ordinary for the better part of the last two years. 

Highway Robbery!

Maybe it’s me, but after seeing how David Nalbandian got robbed by chair umpire Kader Nouni late in his second round, five-set Aussie Open match against John Isner – and then seeing the 6-10 Isner act like he beat the hell out of his opponent – really pissed me off – and tells me that Isner will take a win any way he can get it – even through a cheating (okay maybe he’s just blind) umpire!

Maybe this is why the big-serving American hasn’t come close to making a grand slam finals appearance even though he’s got the biggest serve on the planet these days.