Take Roger Federer to bounce back from recent disappointment in Canada by winning this week’s Masters Series event in Cincinnati.
The Swiss suffered a shock second round defeat to Gilles Simon in Toronto but we’re willing to overlook that loss as a complete one-off.
It was Federer’s first outing since his momentous Wimbledon final defeat to Rafael Nadal so we can excuse him lacking match sharpness.
A week on in Cincinnati it should be a different story for the defending champion (he beat James Blake in a straight sets final in 2007 and also won this event in 2005). Federer has been drawn in a very weak looking first quarter that features a much faded Andy Roddick.
Rafael Nadal is again Federer’s main challenger but with an energy sapping run all the way to the Toronto final against Nicolas Kiefer it is asking a lot of the Spaniard.
Novak Djokovic would appear another credible candidate but he looked lacklustre in losing to Andy Murray in Toronto quarters and is probably best overlooked this time.
In terms of outsiders Scotland’s Andy Murray makes appeal. Murray famously beat Federer here in 2006 and he has been drawn in a very winnable second quarter of the draw.
His form in Canada last week was excellent – reaching the semis before falling to Nadal.
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