Roger Federer Hits Latest Tweener During Qatar Open

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(January 4, 2011)

There's one thing most fans secretly hope for when watching Roger Federer play tennis, the beloved tweener shot. For those lucky enough to attend to the Qatar ExxonMobil Open today, the former No.1 gave his devoted fans exactly what they wanted.

It was Federer's first match of the season, the 16-time Grand Slam champion struggled against the 21-year-old Thomas Schoorel, playing only his second ATP Tour event. During the first set, Federer had to save three set points when trailing 5-4. This didn't last for long, however, after Federer went on to hit five points in a row making the score 5-5, leading to an eventual tie break to determine the winner of that set.

"It was a difficult match, especially in the first set,'' Federer said to Sport Illustrated. "In the first set, he played really well. This player has quality.''

During the 68 minute match, Tennis-on-Wate.aspx">Federer broke serve in the second set leading to his 7-6 (3), 6-3, victory.

 
The big hit came during the first set while the Swiss player was down 5-2 and faced with a ball that changed direction after clipping the top of the net. Before fans could even know what happened, Federer had successfully made it through his fifth through-the-legs shot sent directly into the corner. 

"It's one of the best shots again of my career, one I'm going to look back on and smile, of course,'' Federer told the sports magazine, " It was quite fantastic.''

In the second round, Federer will face fellow Swiss Marco Chiudinelli. 

Edit: Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7db2iVhHtm8

Get all the latest tennis news from www.TennisNow.com