“Did He Really Just Say That?” – Jil Teichmann Recalls Unique Interaction With Roger Federer

24-year-old Jil Teichmann became the talk of the town at the ongoing Cincinnati Open 2021. In the Round of 16, she pulled off the biggest win of her career by defeating World No. 2 Naomi Osaka. And the Swiss player didn’t stop there, defeating Olympic champion Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals yesterday.

After her victory yesterday, Teichmann recalled a moment she shared with Roger Federer years ago.

Jil Teichmann recalls Roger Federer wishing her luck in an earlier US Open

After recording excellent results at the junior level, Teichmann moved to the senior level in 2013. However, she only made her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam at the 2018 US Open. It was here that she had an interaction of a lifetime with Federer.

After defeating Bencic yesterday, the 24-year-old revealed she saw Federer with a few cameras around him. Then, the 40-year-old wished her luck for her final qualifying match before she reached the main draw.

Teichmann recalled, “I was walking out of the locker room, and there is this really small hallway. He (Federer) was coming the other way, I’m not kidding, with three, four or five cameras. In the moment of crossing, he’s like, ‘Good luck’ in Swiss-German. I was so in shock, I didn’t answer in that moment. I was like, ‘Oh, my God! Did he really just say that?'”

She further added that former tennis player Patty Schnyder stood with her during that moment. “I told her like, ‘Patty, this happened.’ She’s like, ‘Relax, it’s okay’. Then he walked again, and he said again ‘Good luck’ to both of us. Now it’s impossible. Did I lose? And I actually qualified that year.”

Teichmann defeated Dalila Jakupovic in her opening round after the interaction. However, she lost to Estonian Kaia Kanepi in the second round.

READ MORE: THROWBACK: When Roger Federer Got Fined at the US Open 2009 for Dropping the S-Bomb

Teichmann to face Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open 2021

The unseeded Swiss will take on Pliskova in the semifinals later today. Although she ranks 72 places below the Czech, her victories against Osaka and Bencic make her anything but a pushover.

Can the World No. 76 continue her fairytale run to reach her maiden WTA 1000 final? Only time will tell.

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