Federer Finds Form, Fun At Indian Wells Practice

Roger Federer was back on the practice court at the Indian Wells tennis stadium on Tuesday afternoon with his coach, Severin Luthi, and hitting partner A.J. Bartlett.

I have been to more than 50 of Roger’s practices and this was one unique in a few ways as Roger hit for a longer time than usual, had some two-on-one drills, and skipped the overhead drills.

Roger walked down the Center Court stadium stairs with his coach, physiotherapist, and A.J. Bartlett after James Blake and Andy Roddick had practiced for two hours.  After removing his black and red RF jacket, Roger was sporting a white shirt with an RF logo, grayish/black shorts, black Nike shoes with a red RF, and even matching black socks with a red Nike swoosh.  Roger and A.J. were exchanging groundstrokes for about twenty minutes before Roger asked Severin to participate in a two-man drill.

Roger hit most of his shots to A.J. but hit a handful to Severin.  He threw in a few drop shots to Severin, prompting his coach to run them down.  Often, his coach had a big smile on his face as he hustled towards the net.  Roger would lob over Severin if Severin returned the drop shot, but Roger once fired a ball right back at Severin, who luckily had his racket up to deflect the volley in self defense!  I could not tell if Roger hitting the drop shot to make Severin run for kicks, but Roger was consistently dropping it barely over the net and with so much backspin that the ball barely bounced after it hit the ground.  Roger’s improved drop shot over the last few years could be a weapon if the match conditions are windy or the temperature is a bit cool.  They continued to do the two-on-one hitting drill for about 30 minutes.

After taking a short break, Roger put on a white and black RF cap, along with his black and red jacket.  The wind slightly picked up and since the sun was setting, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees.  He came to the net and hit volleys to Severin and A.J. for about 20 minutes.  Since Roger had two guys on the other side of the court hitting with him, play was going on continuously for almost the entire time.  Roger retreated to the baseline for about 15 minutes, hitting shots to Severin and A.J., who were both up at the net.  Roger effortlessly crushed a few passing shots down the middle of the court and threw in a few nice backhand topspin lobs over Severin and A.J..

After a short break, Roger served for about 10 minutes, and practiced returns for about 5 minutes.  He met A.J. at the net and exchanged handshakes.  He signed a tennis ball for a boy patiently waiting for his practice to end, before packing up his stuff and exiting back up the stadium stairs.

Roger looked extremely sharp as his footwork was impeccable and he effortlessly blasted his forehand to desired locations all over the court.  He was consistently and effectively driving his backhand and after being pulled off the court a few times, he took his backhand down the line for would-be winners.  This was one of the better hitting sessions I have witnessed from Roger in terms of accuracy and power.  He appears healthy, relaxed, has a nice spring in his step, and determined to claim his second title of the year.

Some other notable tidbits from the practice:

Roger’s father, Robbie, joined the practice about half an hour into it, while Roger was taking a water break.  As his father was making his way to the court, Roger exclaimed:  “That is me in 5 years!”  His team got a chuckle out of it.

His Swiss friend, Marco Chiudinelli, walked onto the court towards the final hour of practice.  Roger caught him from the corner of his eye and let out a big grin.  They talked on the court for a few minutes after exchanging hands.

If Severin or A.J. miss-hit any balls, Roger would let out a playful “Ah-huh” in a high pitched voice.

Topics: Andy Roddick, Backspin, Black Shorts, Black Socks, Drop Shots, Indian Wells Tennis, J Bartlett, James Blake, Nike Shoes, Nike Swoosh, Physiotherapist, Red Jacket, Rf, Roger Federer, Self Defense, Short Break, Tennis Stadium, Tuesday Afternoon, Twenty Minutes, Volley

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