The leg and back injuries that troubled him during the grass-court season have cleared up, he has rediscovered the aggressive style that served him so well for so long and he has just won his first title for seven months. As Roger Federer heads for the US Open, which begins next Monday, the former world No 1 could hardly be in better shape going into the last Grand Slam tournament of the year.
You write off Federer at your peril. Although it remains to be seen how he will fare over a possible seven best-of-five set matches in New York, the manner of his victory in the Cincinnati Masters, secured with a hard-fought win over Mardy Fish in Sunday's final, suggested that the 29-year-old Swiss has put his recent difficulties behind him.
Having made such a good start to his 2010 campaign by winning the Australian Open, Federer aroused suspicions that he might be in long-term decline when his record-breaking run of 23 successive appearances in Grand Slam semi-finals ended in quarter-final defeats at both the French Open and Wimbledon. He left the All England Club bemoaning injuries, but the 16-times Grand Slam champion's failure to impose his game on opponents – particularly hard hitters like Robin Soderling and Tomas Berdych, his conquerors in Paris and at Wimbledon respectively – was arguably his greater problem.
Since Wimbledon, however, Federer has worked hard to regain form and fitness. Most significantly he has had a trial period with Paul Annacone, who used to coach Pete Sampras and Tim Henman. The fruits of their work have been evident in Federer's more positive play and in the greater variety on his serve, which was always one of his greatest strengths. In 42 service games in Cincinnati Federer was broken only once, while Fish forced just one break point in three sets.
"It's nice knowing that the hard work I put in during the off-season after Wimbledon has paid off right away," Federer said. "I know it's not all [down to] work from there, but I've been committed to this sport for many years. I think when you do that and give yourself chances over and over again, you'll break through by winning tournaments again.
"I came close a couple of times earlier in the season. I felt I should have won Halle. I could have won Madrid, but things didn't really work my way. I was maybe playing a little bit too passively. Now I'm taking it more to the opponents again. I'm happy that that's the right game plan right now."
drive from www.independent.co.uk