MELBOURNE – A Federer off-day hit is an exercise in chill.
Not a surprise since he’s been there, done that so many times.
On Saturday, his hitting partner of choice was Italy’s Andreas Seppi who – as it happens – will be the next opponent of Federer’s friend and Swiss teammate Stan Wawrinka. LOL
Coach Severin Luthi began it by picking up all the loose tennis balls on the court left behind by the previous occupants and handing them to a few fans in the large crowd. Federer bantered quite a bit with Seppi coach Massimo Sartori, who tried to crush a few forehand past the Swiss star just for kicks and giggles.
Boris Becker was there. Even rising young Swiss player Rebeka Masarova (and her burgundy hair) were on hand to watch.
Afterwards, Federer spent a good chunk of time signing and smiling. The fans’ faces say it all – as they do whenever one of the big guns does this. Although with all due credit to Nadal and Djokovic, they get a ton of fans. But nothing like this.