Mardy Fish may have retired from the tennis court nearly a decade ago but his knack for playful banter is still going strong. The former World No.7 and 2007 Australian Open quarterfinalist faced plenty of formidable rivals throughout his career. From Roger Federer, the 20-time Major winner, to Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Slam king as well as compatriot Andy Roddick, Fish faced them all. This one Spanish opponent, however, proved to be an especially tough challenge for Fish. While Fish had an edge in their head-to-head battles, it was this particular rival who spoiled farewell, his last tennis match in September 2015. But guess what? Fish has returned with a comeback!

We are talking about Feliciano Lopez, a former World No.12 and a fiery foe for Fish during their active years on the court. The pair faced each other nine times, with Fish bagging five victories. However, when he played his career’s last match, the American failed to wave a victorious goodbye. Lopez beat him 2-6, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the second round at the 2015 US Open. Lopez may have denied Fish his fairytale ending but the American has found a witty way to get back at Lopez.

On Thursday, Fish admired a young talent’s impressive tennis skills on X. That little star with a racket? None other than Dario Lopez. Yes! You got that right. The Spanish ex-pro married model Sandra Gago in 2019, and she gave birth to their son, Dario, in 2021.

Last month, Sandra shared a post on Instagram, celebrating Dario’s fourth birthday. Revealing a clip of him taking to a tennis court, she wrote, “My big mouse turns 4 years old. ✨”  And this IG video went viral. So far, it’s amassed over 2 million views and close to 83,000 likes. Adding on, this clip was reshared on X by a fan and it didn’t take long for Fish to notice Dario’s skills! How could Fish miss the chance to get back at Dario’s dad?

Capitalizing on the opportunity, the ex-American pro took a dig at Lopez. Praising the 4-year-old, he wrote, “His one hander is already better than Dad’s! @feliciano_lopez”

It will be intriguing to see Lopez’s reaction to his former rival. But he’s not the only one Fish has taken shots at in recent times.

Mardy Fish playfully targets Roger Federer as he remembers a 2004 face-off

While Lopez was a tough rival for Fish, Roger Federer, the tennis GOAT, was on another level. Whenever they met, it was the Swiss Maestro who used to have the last laugh. His dominance gets underlined by the fact that he beat Fish in eight out of their nine ATP battles. The American was able to overcome Federer only once, during 2008’s Indian Wells Masters.

Several months back, Fish recalled his time on the court with Federer while throwing light on how the former World No.1 dominated him. It was a match from 2004’s Halle Open, where the tennis GOAT simply outclassed Fish. He sealed the win in just 57 minutes, with a score line of 6-0, 6-3. Talking about Federer’s ruthless performance in that encounter, Fish said, “I think he probably felt bad for all of the people that had paid money to come watch, and I’m still, to this day, convinced, that he prolonged the match a little bit longer so it was 6-0, 6-3. He made it, like an hour.”

A few days ago, a user on X asked a question “Has a celebrity ever been rude to you??” In response, Fish replied by sharing a cheeky comment on Federer. Highlighting memories of his face-off from the 2004 Halle Open, he wrote, “OMG Yes! This one time, Roger Federer won the first 9 games of our Final in Halle Germany. Super rude!”

But Fish has also been seen heaping praise on the Swiss Maestro. On a previous occasion, in the Netflix documentary Break Point, he admitted, “Roger had this aura and invincibility about him, where you just could never breathe, cause he could turn it like that.. Boom. Point’s over.” Now that’s a true mark of respect. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.