Roger Federer was one of the most graceful players on-court. The Swiss superstar used his single-hand backhand to great effect throughout his career. Not only did Federer win a lot of points with it but also thrilled the fans. One such memorable moment came in his match against Kei Nishikori in 2018.
Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori met in the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Masters in 2018 in front of a packed crowd. The Swiss star won the match 6-4, 7-6 to make his way into the semi-final of the tournament. However, there was one particular point that stole the attention of the crowd and resulted in a standing applause for Federer.
With Kei Nishikori and Roger Federer engaged in a point, the latter showed off his imperious control over his backhand to win the point. The Japanese star was targeting Federer’s backhand throughout the rally but the Swiss man was up to the task. However, the way Federer ended the point was a touch of class. With both players at the net during the final shot, Federer produced a ‘behind the back’ winner to win the rally and the match.
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The crowd responded with a thunderous standing ovation for Federer after the point. Kei Nishikori was left in disbelief after losing a point that he thought he had won. The tennis community on Instagram revisited the point and hailed it as one of the best ever points won by Roger Federer.
Roger Federer predicts future of lack of single handed backhanded players in top 10
Roger Federer dominated the tennis world for two decades. The Swiss star not only won 20 Grand Slam titles but also carried the baton for single-handed backhand players. Roger Federer and Pete Sampras were the players to carry the legacy of single backhand for many decades across tennis. However, now after Federer’s retirement, there is a big hole in tennis.
Federer admitted that he is disappointed to see no players with the ‘one-handed backhand’ in the top 10 of men’s rankings. After Federer, Stefanos Tsitsipas dropped out of the top 10 rankings as well due to poor form. However, now Dimitrov is back in the top 10 rankings after a successful run in Miami.
With one-handed backhand players in limited number now, the responsibility to carry the legacy will fall on the shoulders of Tsitsipas and Dimitrov. Federer was quoted as saying in a GQ interview –
“That one was personal. I didn’t like that. But at the same time, how do you say, it makes the one-handers—Sampras, Rod Laver, me—it makes us special as well that we’ve carried the torch, or the flag or whatever, for as long as we did. So I love seeing players with one-handers like Stan [Wawrinka] and [Richard] Gasquet and [Stefanos] Tsitsipas. Dominic Thiem has a wonderful one. Grigor [Dimitrov], good friend. So I love that. And then I like to see characters, and I like to see explosive athletic players.
“I think it’s still going to exist, it’s going to come back, it’s going to be there… I’m also a bad custodian of the one-hander. But maybe we can still change that.”
