A majority of those who turned out for the ITPL spectacle at the Indira Gandhi Stadium here on Sunday unfortunately missed out on what, for many tennis lovers around the world, is the ultimate sight on a tennis court: Federer playing Pete Sampras.
From around 2.30 pm on Sunday, the two tennis legends with 31 Grand Slam titles between them, practised for a while. This was almost 12 hours after Federer tweeted “Just landed in Delhi. Look who I found on the plane”, along with a picture of his with the man whose record of 14 Major titles he overhauled.
A handful of fans who took their seats nearly an hour and half before the scheduled start of play were treated to the sight of Sampras and Federer rallying.
They did play to the galleries a bit but looked every bit the professionals as they went about their session.
Is it likely that Federer and Sampras would turn out as doubles partners on Monday?
“I would love to,” said Federer promptly. “He is still, and will always be, one of my idols. So just speaking to him on the plane, seeing him play out on the court, teaming up with him will clearly be very special. So may be we can make it happen a bit, tomorrow.”
Federer, whose presence has sent his fans in the Capital into a tizzy, then laid out a treat for the audience.
In the space of about 100 minutes, Federer played mixed doubles, men’s doubles and singles — and won all three — and showed what it was to be a professional.
“Here (in the IPTL), what I like the most is that you can be substituted. That releases a lot of pressure on me. I was considering doing it during the men’s doubles, and even in the singles, may be, towards the end and put (Gael) Monfils in if I was not feeling it so well, “ he said.
“If something was hurting, there was no reason to push it so to get injured. No one wants it…the fans don’t want it, the promoter doesn’t want it. I don’t want it.
“As long as I felt good, I kept playing. That’s why I decided to play all three sets. Tomorrow, may be, I’ll probably play just two. Today, I pretty much went 100 per cent.”
There was no doubting Federer’s commitment to his team, the Indian Aces. Whether it was alongside Sania Mirza or Rohan Bopanna, Federer gave it his all.
When he returned to do what he does best — play singles — he won an intense battle with Tomas Berdych.
“I haven’t played mixed doubles for a while. I have played with Martina Hingis, Martina Navratilova and my wife…and now Sania,” revealed the man who has an Olympic doubles gold with Stan Wawrinka.
Talking of his experience of playing in India, Federer said: “It’s big deal for me. I thought I got a great ovation. People were genuinely happy to see me.
“I was really excited to see the lights flashing. It was a goose-bumps (inducing) atmosphere…definitely a very cool moment in my career.”
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