(February 24, 2014) DUBAI – Five-time Dubai champion Roger Federer began his quest for a sixth title on Monday with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Benjamin Becker. During the match the 17-time major champion hit a between-the-legs-shot also called in tennis circles a “tweener.” Here is a video of the point where he hit the “tweener” lob. Video courtesy of supertennistv1.
http://youtu.be/jzU9i9P3WrQ
When Federer was asked about the shot he said: “two shots before that, the dig I had on the volley, I didn’t think I was going to make that. And then the second one was just a reflex. I thought he was going to go to the forehand, went to the backhand. I got it over somehow, and then I thought that was maybe actually going to win, and then he got to it quite comfortably and he had to hit the lob because I was so close to the net.
“Then because he was coming in already, I thought maybe he was going to be pretty close to the net so let me try the lob instead of just the hit just like I usually play it. It worked perfectly, so I’m happy I didn’t miss it wide and even better that he got it back so he created even more to it.
“Yeah, it’s rare for me to win that point with the lob in that circumstance. I know I can hit it, but it’s always exciting, it’s so rare to get that opportunity to line it up because it’s a safe shot for me almost to a degree. It was exciting, and the fans enjoyed it, which is almost as important as winning point.”
Tennis Panorama News is in Dubai this week covering the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Follow the updates on Twitter @TennisNewsTPN.
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