• What the Deuce

Mixed messages from Federer

Roger Federer ended a seven-month title drought in Cincinnati © Getty Images

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Cast your mind back a couple of months when Roger Federer lost to Tomas Berdych in the quarter finals at Wimbledon, on the court where he had won six titles in seven years. It was hailed as the beginning of the end for the great champion.

But now, just two months later, he is being tipped as the favourite to win the US Open for a record sixth time. Rafael Nadal's slump in form may have something to do with it, and Federer's first title in seven months, but What the Deuce can't help feeling his new favourite tag is a little premature.

After spending only a little over three hours on court in Cincinnati before Sunday, Federer needed nearly that much time again to battle past a stubborn Mardy Fish and defend his Cincinnati Masters crown - his first trophy since the Australian Open in January.

Federer sailed into the quarter finals without having to complete a set - courtesy of retirements of Denis Istomin and Philipp Kohlschreiber. He was on court for 28 minutes in his opening match before Istomin hurt his ankle, and didn't even make it on court before Kohlschreiber withdrew with a sore shoulder.

Nikolay Davydenko posed a tougher test - having beaten Federer twice in the last 12 months the Russian was more than capable of pulling off an upset, but has failed to rediscover his form since returning from the wrist injury that sidelined him earlier in the season.

Next up was supposed to be the blockbuster semi-final between the only two men to have occupied the world No. 1 spot in the last six-and-a-half years, and the true acid test of how both Federer and Nadal were holding up ahead of the final Major of the year.

But the dream semi-final was denied by world No. 20 Marcos Baghdatis - who hadn't read the script and sent Nadal crashing out at the quarter-final stage after a 6-4 4-6 6-4 victory. While Baghdatis, like Fish, pulled off his fair share of upsets last week, (Baghdatis claimed the scalps of Marin Cilic, Berdych and Nadal; Fish saw off Fernando Verdasco, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick) - for both of them, a resurgent Federer was one step too far.

But just how resurgent is Federer? No disrespect to Baghdatis and Fish, and even Davydenko - Federer would expect to win all three matches with relative ease. While a player can only beat the opponent on the other side of the net, Federer must have been rubbing his hands together as the draw in Cincinnati unfolded - it was quite possibly the easiest route to a Masters title he has ever had.

Roger Federer can look forward to New York with relish © Getty Images

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A final appearance in Toronto and a title in Cincinnati is not to be sniffed at, but the true test will come at the US Open. Federer has an uncanny ability to raise his game beyond all recognition for Grand Slams - he played a near-perfect match against Murray to win the Australian Open in January.

It is certainly a psychological boost for Federer before the US Open - but time will tell just how prepared he is for the final Grand Slam of the year. While nobody in their right mind would write off the 16-time Grand Slam champion, he has plenty to prove before winning a sixth title at Flushing Meadows.

His best victory in recent weeks arguably came against Novak Djokovic, who he later replaced as world No. 2, in Toronto. After surviving a nail-biting quarter-final third-set tiebreak against Berdych (the man who has knocked him out of the last two Grand Slams), Federer pulled out a 6-1 3-6 7-5 victory against Djokovic to reach the Rogers Cup final.

At a set and a break up, Federer looked to be cruising to a straight sets win - but Djokovic battled back to force the match into a decider, which went oh-so-close to going to another tiebreaker. Is this a sign that Federer has lost his killer instinct? How often did the Federer of old let a lead slip?

The fact that he battled it out to reach the final is credit that the 29-year-old still has the fight in him, but two gruelling three-setters clearly took its toll, and the effects showed in the final against Murray.

Federer is evidently not the player he once was. And yet it is tribute to just how much he has dominated the sport for so long that, despite the fact he is below his best, he is still the second best player in the world and capable of winning Masters 1000 titles.

While he may never return to the form that saw him dominate the sport in the vein of 2004-2006, when he won 34 titles in three years, including eight Grand Slams, Federer is still capable of beating the world's best.

To write him off would be foolish.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.