US Open Pays a Tweener Tribute to Birthday Boy Roger Federer and Triggers a Comic Response From 39-Year-Old Former Argentine Tennis Ace

Roger Federer celebrated his 42nd birthday on the 8th of August, and love poured for him from across the globe. From legendary Billie Jean King to hardcore fans, they cherished the moment, as it was his first birthday after hanging up his racket. The Swiss legend played thousands of iconic shots in his career – some that he probably doesn’t even remember. However, the internet did the job for him.

The official account of the US Open paid tribute to the 20-time Grand Slam champion by revisiting one of the Swiss maestro’s signature shots. The opponent in question still remembered that one particular shot, though it took place more than 12 years ago!

Former professional recalls the moment when Roger Federer’s magic bewildered him

The Instagram account of the upcoming Grand Slam uploaded three throwback clips of Federer from his past US Open appearances. In each, Federer was seen returning even the most difficult shots with his mesmerizing tweeners that earned him a standing ovation from the crowds attending the respective matches. One of them was particularly gob smacking.

In the 2010 US Open, Federer played his first-round match against Brian Dabul. During the match, Federer unleashed an absolutely unexpected tweener on Dabul. It’s been 13 years since then, but the Argentine’s memory of the moment is still crystal clear. In his comment on the Instagram post, Dabul wrote, “Yep! I still remember when he did this to me 😂 #goat @rogerfederer.” 

Dabul couldn’t believe the shot at the time. However, he shrugged it off as if it was bound to happen. Even the legend took time to process his own shot as it was unplanned and came out of the blue. The shot became even more powerful than the one he once played against one of his biggest rivals.

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The Roger Federer tweener which went down as one of the best ever in tennis history

While the world already knew Federer would win the game, they did not expect him to best his own legendary shot that he played against Novak Djokovic in the 2009 semi-final of the year’s last Slam. But in 2010, another tweener earned him awe-inspired bows and a standing ovation from the crowd. Federer talked about it in the post-match interview in which he said this particular shot was harder than the one he played against the Djoker.

The God of Tennis declared that the shot at the 2009 semi-final was iconic only because of the importance of its timing. Winning the point meant that Federer went on to set up a match point and ultimately made his way into the final. The Swiss maestro was quite selective about playing tweeners. He didn’t overuse the technique, but when he did use it, he nailed it.

What do you think of Federer’s tweeners? Do you have a personal favorite? If the answer’s yes, let us know in the comments below.

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