Fatherhood

It's been a little more than two weeks since Roger left the previous grand slam tournament on a sour note, bidding his seventh straight US Open finals apperance goodbye.

While all the top players with the likes of Nadal, Djokovic, Murray are starting to compete in some of the minor tournaments such as Thailand Open, Malaysian Open, Japan Open and etc.. ( not sure why these small tournaments are mostly in Asia. why why why?).  Roger is still resting and enjoying his time off from tennis.  His next tournament only starts next week which is in Shanghai ( also in Asia take note. )

So why does Roger play lesser tournaments than he used to be?  Ageing could be one good reason and phasing himself with fewer tournaments is definitely a good thing to do.  There is a balance needed to keep one's health in check and to avoid injuries as the body begins to take the effect of all the wear and tear through the years of playing.  He always say that he wants to focus on the Majors, which he was able to achieve for the past couple of years.  But 2010? Roger only won 1 of 4 grand slams and didn't even reach the semis of the other 3.

Obviously something must have took over his hunger for winning more slams.  Something more important than just playing tennis.  Fatherhood definitely played a key role in Roger's game that we are seeing now.  It's written all over the history books on how fathers struggled in the past.  Seems like there is no exception to this rule.