They say that ‘Once a Pro, always a Pro’. That statement hasn’t been truer in any scenario than whenever Roger Federer picks up a tennis racquet. It’s been nearly two years since Federer retired from professional tennis.
But still the 42-year-old Swiss gentleman can wow his fans with his hitting display; as he did to a bunch of Stanford University students on the tennis team. Roger Federer met a fan named Shreyas Lakhtakia while biking inside the Stanford Campus. Things only got better from there for Lakhtakia and his friends and colleagues.
This time it was a sophomore on the SU tennis team, named Nishesh Basavareddy. After being repeatedly told to clean up their locker room, the tennis team realized that someone special was coming to visit them.
Roger Federer wasn’t just there to meet them but also to cheer his agent Tony Godsick’s son Nico Godsick, who joined as a freshman for the Cardinal this year. He was mainly in the Bay Area to announce that the Laver Cup, Federer and Godsick’s brainchild tournament which Europe plays against the Rest of the World, will be coming to Sam Francisco’s Chase Center for the 2025 edition. The visit was successful, as he saw Nico Godsick win his singles match and Stanford beat the Rebels 7-0.
Although Roger Federer doesn’t miss tennis anymore, he always provides the right amount of advice on anyone’s game when they need it. He even ‘summoned greatness’ and put up a display himself to teach them something valuable. Wearing a varsity jacket, a sweater, and jeans, Federer told GQ about how he showed those Stanford kids, what’s what.
Federer said to GQ, “I saw them doing something and I told Tony’s son, ‘Look, on the forehand return, I think you should be doing this.’ And I explained quickly, I took a racket, I was dressed like this [varsity jacket, jeans, and a sweater] and I’m clocking forehand returns, and it’s just there. It doesn’t go away. It’s like riding a bike. And then we did another exercise and then I’m trying to explain how there’s different versions of forehands. There is the loopy one, the fast one, the angle-y one, whatever. And every one I hit was perfect. And I’m just thinking, ‘My God, it’s still there.'”
Always carrying a smile, Roger Federer couldn’t have been prouder of his skills. But his fans were even more mesmerized, and couldn’t believe their eyes.
Roger Federer wins over the Stanford crowd in no time
After 20 years of professional tennis and winning 20 Grand Slams, among many other titles, in the process, it is this infectious energy and passion of Roger Federer that makes him a legend among his fans, despite a few misconceptions. Godsick, Basavareddy, and others were smitten by his hitting prowess, despite being completely out of the game for two years.
“Obviously, he hit every one perfectly. He showed seven different forehands, and all seven forehands were in the exact spot he wanted to hit in. It’s still always mesmerizing,” Nico Godsick told SFGATE.
Basavareddy added, “It’s super cool hitting with anyone of that caliber. I think that’s probably the best player I’ve ever hit with.”
Stanford University has one of the best tennis programs in the US. Legendary tennis rockstar John McEnroe is an alumnus of this University. However, even for a University team that’s very accustomed to meeting famous tennis stars, they had their breath taken away. Not everyone is Roger Federer, and they were bound to be starstruck.
