Federer's new look

It's almost a rite of summer at this point. Come late June, the flowers are blossoming, Ozzie Guillen is making a fool of himself, and Roger Federer is humiliating people at Wimbledon.

The Swiss star is so untouchable on the grass that even he seems to have stopped taking the tournament seriously. Faced with a doozy of a first-round match against Richard Gasquet, the young French hope, Federer showed up in an absurd, cream-colored blazer instead of the usual warm-up suit.

Apparently Feds had the top custom-made, and he seemed quite enamored with it. He made quite a show of draping it elegantly over his chair before he began play and putting it back on as soon as the match was over. The Telegraph called it "terribly tongue-in-chic," but I think that might be giving him a little too much credit. I'm not sure if it was a deliberate affront to Wimbledon's all-white dress code (If he can wear cream, what's next? Beige? Taupe?) or just to fashion.
But in the end, Federer could probably have worn his jacket out onto the court and still won. Better yet, he might have tied the arms around his neck to fashion a cape. For all of Gasquet's (deserved) hype, and even despite the defeat he handed Federer last year, he should never have come back out after the match's interminable rain delay. Roger took the first set 6-3 before the downpour and made things look even easier the next day, surrendering just four games in the last two sets.

And this was to a player that was supposed to provide one of Federer's stiffer Wimbledon challenges.

There were, I suppose, some nagging doubts coming in. After Federer lost to Rafael Nadal in the French Open final, a desperate writer searching for a storyline could have questioned his mindset going into Wimbledon. But after this display, I can't envision anything sort of a tank (or a racquet flung by Nicholas Keifer) stopping the champ. I harken back to the days when Pete Sampras would show up deflated and demoralized after a second-round French loss, then breeze through two weeks without losing a set--all while nursing a back injury. There's just that feeling of certainty that would make the whole thing seem bland if Roger wasn't so much fun to watch.

Still, it's almost a shame that Federer is so good, because there are lots of potential storylines here. Rafael Nadal is still looking to take that step from lovable dirtballer (and he is lovable--for all his naked agression, those capris still make me giggle) to somebody that's a factor year-round. Lleyton Hewitt is yearning for that wonderful two-year span when there were no dominant players and he could sneak out a grass-court title. Ivan Ljubicic and James Blake are both climbing the rankings, and nobody knows what to make of Marcos Baghdatis.

And hey, how about this one--if Roger Federer weren't around, we'd all be talking about three-time Wimbledon Champion Andy Roddick.

You might as well throw out those plots, though, because Federer's almost certainly going to win again. Nobody that saw his first-round match could really disagree. For all his grace and skill, Roger just doesn't look comfortable in France (or even in Australia), where he just plays solid defensive tennis with the occasional spectactular winner. But as soon as he sets foot on those lawns, his game turns explosive. That right arm starts whipping through the ball, and angles appear that you thought were impossible. The shots that were just deep groundstrokes at Roland Garros become untouchable. And as Gasquet found out, instead of just chasing after every ball, Federer will track it down and hit it past you.

For all his lack of fashion off the court, Roger certainly compensates with some pretty tennis between the lines.

Let's hope he wears that blazer for the trophy presentation.