he is going to need to get on clay asap and start fine tuning that ground game. he needs to strike gold in Dubai. that starts the process of moving up.
but first and foremost he needs to start getting in some sessions on clay.
running to the net is not going to cut it anymore against the likes of nole, nadal, and andy.
I am expecting andy to start making solid gains in his game. he is determined. he had a good tournament in Melbourne.
nadal is going to hit the red clay in just a few days. nole is probably already practicing some on clay in monte carlo. I hear he likes to hit on the red clay there pretty much year around when the time permits.
I firmly believe that Fed would taken his 18th slam had he been able to sneak into the final. so he is coming back quite strong in 2014 just as we predicted months ago.
stan is good but he is no match for Federer.
anyway the key is rock solid ground game. you need red clay for that. there is no other way to deal with nole, nadal, and andy.
Federer may have to go to Portugal if he decides to skip monte carlo again. I am talking about the estoril event.
you are right about Madrid: Madrid is relatively fast now so Federer can make some gains there.
there are plenty of points to be had. miami masters is another option.
perhaps he can hit both events: indian wells and Miami masters.