In the two decades that he’s been playing profession tennis, Roger Federer has raised the level of tennis so high that what was considered extra-ordinary once, are almost mundane now. For instance, consider the ‘tweener: a shot that was considered near-impossible to execute, he’s pulled it off so many times that it doesn’t shock us anymore than it did the first time. Also, he’s 37 and a father of four. He might have the game to win tournaments and stay in the top-five in the rankings but he mightn’t shock and awe like he did in his younger days, right?
Wrong.
Here you go. Watch this shot and you’re most likely to react the way Nick Kyrgios does in the video:-
Mind. Still. Blown.@rogerfederer 😱#USOpen @usopen pic.twitter.com/svzRTxDDsc
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) September 2, 2018
After powering past Kyrgios 6-4, 6-1, 7-5 to reach the fourth round of the US Open, Federer, obviously was questioned about the shot.
“You don’t get an opportunity to hit around the net post very often,” Federer said.
“You can’t train for that. The net is out further and the court is more narrow, so for a shot like this to happen in a practice, you will be running into a fence and you will hit it into the net.”
“These shots can only really happen on a big court,” he said.
His opponent, meanwhile, expressed in words his immediate reaction after witnessing the shot from the opposite end.
“It was almost unreal,” said Kyrgios, who is no stranger to trick shots of his own.
“Almost got to the point where I wanted him to start making shots like that, and I finally got it.
“If anyone else is doing those shots against me, I’m probably not too happy. But it’s Roger.”
Without sounding like a fanboy, congrats to @rogerfederer today. Too good on the day, GOAT. Good luck extending that lead, go get 21. Everyone else, thanks for the support during @usopen sorry I couldn’t get it done today. #MuchLove ❤️🙏🏽
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) September 1, 2018
Here’s how others reacted to the shot on Twitter:-
Federer > The Gods. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/zw6yczHP0n
— Sean Kent (@seankent) September 1, 2018
#Federer is the Miracle of Tennis pic.twitter.com/oBJ26FzFQK
— Sur (@Sur_2015) September 1, 2018
Roger Federer remains a very bad man pic.twitter.com/nfyfYpxipb
— James Dart (@James_Dart) September 1, 2018
Roger Federer's shot & Nick Kyrgious's reaction 😍😂😂👏👏 #GOAT #USOpen pic.twitter.com/GQ5JDwLhMY
— Ansh K Rai (@PyaraCetamol) September 2, 2018
robert frost: writing poetry without rhyme is like playing tennis without a net
— Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) September 1, 2018
roger federer: free verse it is https://t.co/Z4VTPaHC5y
This is Federer, a mix between tennis and poetry pic.twitter.com/iR1iOIworf
— Burnt tennis player (@tenisquemado_en) September 2, 2018
U N R E A L ! 😱 @rogerfederer #AustralianOpen 2005. #USOpen 2018 pic.twitter.com/ionbRZfqne
— Allez Roger (@kah22jad) September 2, 2018
Fed's top 5 shots in Flushing Meadows:
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 2, 2018
1️⃣: 2006 🆚 Henman...
2️⃣: 2009 🆚 Djokovic...
3️⃣: 2010 🆚 Dabul...
4️⃣: 2014 🆚 Groth...
5️⃣: 2018 🆚 Kyrgios...
Which was your favorite, @rogerfederer??? 😉#USOpen pic.twitter.com/E9FFCEPPQt