Roger Federer, the Swiss tennis ace, recently grabbed the limelight after he played a cricket-style shot during a Wimbledon match against Adrian Mannario.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion was spotted practising his forward defence during the game. Mannario returned a backhand while Federer was spontaneous enough to showcase his cricketing style. His actions were captured on camera and the video was later shared on social media.
Within no time, the video went viral in such a way that even Sachin Tendulkar noticed the Swiss maestro’s forward defence. The Indian cricketing legend then went on to invite Federer to ‘exchange notes on cricket and tennis’ after the tournament ends.
Here’s the post:
Well, Federer was quick in replying to the master blaster as well. He completely agreed with Tendulkar and stated that ‘he is ready’.
Apart from these two, the International Cricket Council also appreciated Federer’s skills. To acknowledge his greatness, they even altered the ICC Test Batsman ranking and put his name on the list at No. 1 position.
It will be interesting to see if Federer fulfils Sachin’s demand – to the 9th Wimbledon title.
After beating Adrian Mannario, Federer will face South Africa's Kevin Anderson in the men's quarterfinals on Wednesday