- Friday, April 19, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Roger Federer is not only known for his exquisite tennis skills but also polite conduct in public. The 41-year-old, who announced his retirement from the sport last week and will appear in the Laver Cup in London this week as his final assignment, was once found teaching the umpire in a match about physics related to the game and his style bowled his countless fans over yet again.
The Swiss, whose own style of play defied the laws of physics several times as he manufactured near-impossible shots from a number of angles, also showed the official that his knowledge about the science behind tennis is also no less significant.
A video came to the fore which showed Federer playing against Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych in the final of the Madrid Open in 2012.
Class: Physics
Teacher: Professor Federer@rogerfederer #RForever pic.twitter.com/m2F5HJERaO— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) September 18, 2022
Federer lost the first set and was leading 3-0 in the second when he played a drop shot that seemed to be out of his opponent’s reach. But Berdych covered the distance well and made an incredible return by lifting the dropping ball from a low height. Berdych eventually won the point after Federer came up with a weak backhand.
But then, the 20-time Grand Slam champion came up with an explanation about Berdych’s incredible return which left the spectators and experts stunned.
“Did you see how the ball bounced towards me?” he asked the Swedish umpire, Mohamed Lahyani.
“To me, it looked like it came (from) under the racquet,” Lahyani said, suggesting that he had no problem with it.
“The ball came bouncing at me in a top spin way,” Federer then said.
“The only way (that can happen) is if you push (the ball) down into the court first. I agree it was close but the result was obvious, that he didn’t hit it the right way,” the former world No.1 said, trying to put across the message that the ball had hit the ground twice before coming back to him.
Replays showed Federer was indeed right.
However, the Swiss maestro did not drag it too far to establish his point or seek a replay. He remained cool despite losing the point and went on to bag the game played on a blue surface 3-6, 7-5, 7-5.
