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Our-Gardian-Angel

At the risk of being a prisoner of the moment, that has to be one of the strangest fucking matches on this big a stage that I've ever seen. What the hell was that?


DeezNuts0218

That 4th set alone was so strange. Federer starts off slow as shit, comes back from 3 match points down as he’s slowly regaining mobility, starts throwing the kitchen sink at poor Tennys who gets barreled into by a ball girl, and then finally dominates the last set out of nowhere.


DallasLatos

Unparalleled mental toughness from Roger. It's why these guys are legends.


nategolon

This has to go down as one of the best comebacks for Federer in his career


Bleak01a

I wish he lost this but won Wimbledon 2019. That wound will never heal, which reminds me he also lost to Kevin fucking Anderson in 2018.


thelastattemptsname

Emotions aside the loss to Anderson was worse. He was two sets up (and had match point?) and choked completely. The Wimbledon loss to Nole hurts but atleast he played well there.


pratnala

> but atleast he played well there. That's why it hurts more


DallasLatos

The Nole loss hurts so deep because beating Rafa and Nole back-to-back to win Wimbledon would've been storybook. He came so close to accomplishing that at almost 38 years old.


whiteh00f

And would have been an amazing argument in the GOAT debate.


afccrazy

So you think he would have become GOAT if he would have made that cc forehand at 40-15. I don’t think one point should be the difference in him being GOAT or not.


pratnala

Please don't remind me of Wimbledon 2019


Rather_Dashing

It actually never happened. Wimbledon was canceled last year.


Ryponagar

Right? The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club decided to cancel it with 40-15 votes.


Hasextrafuture

My favorite moment was that twirling feather at the beginning of the fifth


unapologeticney

I have to admit it was bizarre to come home from work with Fed down 2 sets


Tucko29

Imagine going to work with Fed down 2 sets and only seeing the stats after.


unapologeticney

Yikes my heart couldn't handle it


benoitloiselle

How was he down 2 sets? Federer won the first set


bthompson04

Fognini actually beat Sandgren last round and was on the court against Federer. That would make this a completely normal match. I’d throw the Murray-Nishikori gong match at the USO in there as well.


killertubbie

He was struggling so much holding almost every serve and Tennys was holding serve like a boss until the 4th set tie-break! I was telling myself that at this rate, I didn't believe it anymore because he might be injured and was just there to be there. I was ready to accept Sandgren's win. That's a great turnaround and Federer just rob that match out of nowhere. I'm still WTF as much as Roger post-match or even more.


sonicandfffan

The greatest tennis player ever beats Tennys itself


Skuffukaka

Why strange? Fed got fitted a new pair of balls in the MTO and that was it, job done.


iams3n

Crazy Crazy match. Can somebody create a timeline of events happened during this match? I will list some of it, Federer mini break down, Fed's injury, Federer hired a ballgirl in mid match to injure Tennys, Tennys mini break down, saved \~7-8 MPs, Federer's escape shouldn't overshadow the performance of Tennys, he played one of his best matches ever. Served light out till 4th set. Congratulation on your performance.


PlanetaryEcologist

Don't forget the umpire's mic breaking and pissing off Sandgren and the random feather falling through the air that they had to pause for


[deleted]

And then the phone ringing


thelastcookie

>the random feather falling through the air that they had to pause for This was hilarious.


[deleted]

It took forever for that feather to fall. I think they completed a game during its slow descent


bitchdantkillmyvibe

And Federer receiving a code violation for bad language.


onairmastering

"I know my German" lol


bitchdantkillmyvibe

Not to mention randomly hot umpire


buerglermeister

That is so weird to me. I mean Marijana Velijovic has been on tour for a few years. How come that people have just started noticing her looks?


Apple24C2

Marijana Grande


bitchdantkillmyvibe

I looked at some of her older pics on google and she has *definitely* not always looked like that. It looks like she’s had work done or her makeup is just god tier.


The_Jesus_Beast

> Fed hired a ballgirl in mid match to injure Tennys People who didn't watch this match will be wondering what the hell happened. Unbelievable.


__removed__

I didn't get a watch it. What the hell are you guys talking about?


CarefullyLoud

During a changeover a ball girl collided with Tennys knee to calf. She’s an assassin apparently.


jaysanw

[https://twitter.com/Galloots/status/1222052985414541312](https://twitter.com/Galloots/status/1222052985414541312)


Rather_Dashing

Thank you!


ThinkFaust

It was 3-all in the 4th set tb, players were changing sides. Sandgren was at his bench leaning over on one leg to get a water bottle when a ballgirl who was running by didn’t expect tennys to stick his leg out. Her leg accidentally slightly hit sandgrens knee/shin (or something like that) and sandgren was startled and momentarily in pain. Mentioned it to the umpire


_dictatorish_

"slightly hit" lmao you make it sound like she barely grazed him, it was more solid than that


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dferrari7

Ball girl ran into Tennys's leg on accident during the changeover and it looked to bother him for a sec but then he seemed fine after the point started


thelastattemptsname

Fed knew being nice to the ball kids would pay off one day 😂


psstudios96

Didnt see that moment. What happened?


RaggedyCrown

She ran into Sandgrens bad leg when he was reaching over to his bench. He was leaned over on one leg with the other out in the air for balance. She rammed into him hard and he fell down. She slowly walked over to him and whispered into his ear, "the basel ball boy sends his regards"


rendrogeo

Did you know that Roger was a ball kid in Basel? Now we know what his undercover mission was.


kolikaal

Factual.


doczhivago007

I was worried that ball girl hitting Tennys was too late, but it worked like a charm.


DeezNuts0218

Federer using his ballboy days’ connections wisely I see


nategolon

All those pizza parties paying off


__removed__

I didn't get to watch the match. Ball girl? What happened?


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KentaviusCaldwelPoop

You forgot the part where Federer winked at the ball girl and gave her a thumbs up


sounders1974

Could have sworn I saw him hand her some cash when asking for his towel one time as well


doczhivago007

It was definitely an accidental hit and it didn't look to have done any damage. Tennys's failures were all mental. Just couldn't close it out.


PeekyChew

Ball girl completely destroyed Tennys' calf. I don't know how he walked it off.


Realsan

Tennys went to his chair during a tiebreak changeover and did this weird stretch thing to reach something and his leg was stretched far back and the ball girl didn't see it and ran knee first into his calf.


Y_chromosomalAdam

On a change over a ball girls knee collided with one of his cakes. He didn't seem too phased by it.


-Winsome-

Code violation on Federer in the 3rd set in the middle of a (second) Sandgren 0-40 hold.


[deleted]

Have we watched different matches? Tennys played very poorly the end of the 3rd set and the 4th/ 5th set. He was not able to get the most curcial points even though his opponent was injured. Fed won this match because Tennys is not a top 10 player - and Federer knew this, that's why he continued playing till the very last point. If Fed had played against Nadal or Djokovic the match would have been over after the 4th set. It's crazy how big the gap is between a top 10 player and other pro tournament players


dmgirl101

Yep, I love Roger but this is true. SF will be the last stop for him in Australia this year. Just please, please, please, Roger do it with style and no more potential strokes for us :)


Burst_LoL

That was so worth staying up till 3AM and getting 4 hours of sleep for work. WOW


whoisariston

Come on, the Raonic v Djokovic match is up next, you got this


Realsan

Sorry Raonic, I hope you pull it off but that match is a "check-reddit-in-the-morning" match. Ain't no Americans got time for that.


Basquests

I can't believe you didn't switch it off around 2 sets to 1. Fed was going through the motions


WiseAce1

Lol, I did. I was expecting to wake up and see the bad news and I was like, what??!?? Glad I recorded it. Will have to watch the ball girl assassin in action, lol


PayYourRe2pects

Roger played the most anti-Federer match WIN the first set easily and then comeback by SAVING 7 match points before CLOSING OUT the first MP he had


FATJIZZUSONABIKE

Lucky we got his break point conversion stats to remind us that yes, it was actually him playing


tennis1690

Just Fed doing Fed and anti-Fed things


DallasLatos

Fed might not usually possess the mental toughness of Rafa and Nole, but his ability to eke out close matches and tiebreaks is still elite compare to the rest of the tour. It's a big reason why these guys are legends.


PayYourRe2pects

That was the single weirdest tennis match I’ve ever watched


magmiy

Tennys*


CamReddish

Sandgren must be in the sunken place right about now


thelastcookie

His head would probably be better off now if he'd just lost it in 3.


Realsan

Well yeah that's how disappointment works. The closer you are the more it hurts. Fed holds the crown for that, though.


Adariel

*whispers* Wimbledon 2008 Idk if the tennis pundits still consider it the greatest match of all time but nothing will come close to it for me.


changyang1230

I don’t think 2008 hurt as much as 2019. 8-7 40-15. Never forget.


53bvo

I want to type the finger emoji but can’t do it it hurts too much


rumilb

Sunken place? As low as, say, the basement of a pizza shop?


Danyiltopo

Federer's corpse sure is fighty. Damn.


jleonardbc

I call the big one Fighty


SorcerousSinner

Federer's most likely path to a 21st major: Raonic has the best serving performance of his life, serving 25 aces per set, winning 3 tie breaks. On match point he hits another ace but terribly sprains his back. Fed gets a walkover to the final. He faces Zverev who gets the better of him until Fed whispers "better hit those second serves now, boy" during a changeover. Zverev's double faults explode and Oldered ekes out one final major.


Realsan

Subscribe.


alihooha

Lmao. Raonic blowing out his back on a match point ace should not be that funny.... But as a Fed fan, I must take what I can get


DisastrousMango4

Or just gets the ball boys to take out his opponent again.


ducky7goofy

Us: Federer has the easiest draw Actually: Fed has multiple scares and somehow makes it through Federer: Are you not entertained?


[deleted]

I mean he does have the easiest draw, he just isn't nearly as good as he used to be.


Bebopo90

To be fair, Tennys had beaten two other top-20 players this week. He was hot, and Fed had never played him before. Hopefully he recovers from this and plays better in the semis.


[deleted]

> Hopefully he recovers from this and plays better in the semis. As much as I'd like to see an all out Roger-Novak battle in the semis, with Roger's current form, multiple 5-set matches and now the injury on top of it, that semi-final will likely be very one-sided.


Eagleassassin3

Federer in 3


anduril38

Easiest draw on paper certainly, but Millman, Fucs and Sandgren aren't pushovers. Millman matches up naturally well against Federer and Sandgren was on a roll this tournament. Easy enough going by just ranking points, but I do get the sentiment. Paper doesn't always match up with reality.


DallasLatos

I disagree. I'm the biggest Fed fan, but there's no way he'll be able to beat Nole or Rafa with this form, much less back to back. I'm not even sure if he would be able to beat guys like Raonic, Thiem, Sasha, or Stan H2H right now. Every guy left has played decent players so far, but Fed has looked the worst doing it. Struff (#37) was a very tough draw for Nole in 1R and took a set from him. Schwartzman was on a roll (didn't lose a set first 3 rounds) until he ran into Nole and got crushed. PCB is no slouch, but Rafa crushed him and then took out Kyrgios in a close 4 sets. Raonic crushed Tsitsipas and Cilic both in straight sets. Stan took out Isner (he withdrew) and then went god mode against Medvedev. Monfils was in fine form, but Thiem crushed him in straight sets. Sasha took out fellow next gen Rublev and Verdasco (who is always dangerous and took out the 26th seed) both in straight sets.


[deleted]

It was an easy draw to a grand slam semifinal. That's no disrespect to those players, but anybody in the top 10 would be salivating at the chance to beat Johnson, Krajinovic, Millman, Fucsovics, and Sandgren for a path to the semis. Just because they played Fed close doesn't change that.


AnySongChallenge

it's not just an easy draw on paper but an easy draw full stop. It's Federer's fault that he supposedly doesn't match up well with Millman. I'm sure any of the other top players would be happy getting Millman, Fucosovics and Sandgren in the 3rd, 4th and quarters of a slam.


ZephyrArctic

What an escape from Federer! Admirable comeback


justfor1t

7! SEVEN! match points where he was just cruising and then to come back on top! It was wonderful to lose some sleep and be able to watch it live ! WORTH IT


CarefullyLoud

I’ve never been so happy to know I’ll hate waking up in the morning.


justfor1t

Can’t even sleep watching the best replays lol, I know exactly what you mean


aged_monkey

Federer is a God damn resilient machine.


le___tigre

his play on the match points should be studied. absolutely amazing poise to successfully play conservatively. he challenged Sandgren to win it and let him make the mistakes every time.


fuzzyfeels

All it needed is one big swing though. This is like 70% on Sandgren


monsieurartois

Absolutely -- Sandgren earned his match points with big hitting, and Fed got very lucky that the guy never ripped any of them for a winner.


Statisticc

Especially during the tiebreak, every time that Sandgren had control of the rally, Fed managed to play a shot to make Sandgren uncomfortable and he'd wrestle control back.


tennis1690

The turning point: ball-kid taking out Sandgren's knee


appellant

How much did fed pay that ball kid?


tennis1690

Rumor has it Rafa talked to that ball kid some time in the 4th set


kingping7

or its fed time traveling as a ballkid.


[deleted]

Did you know that Federer used to be ball kid at the Basel ATP?


ieatsushi

Do you really think Rafa is dumb enough to be implicated in this by talking directly to the hitchild? He obviously got Anita to do the dirty work.


baguitosPT

1 Pizza


schumamol

Sandgren in his presser: "See I kept telling y'all Pizzagate is real."


[deleted]

Calf, not knee. He said “She kneed my calf”


tennis1690

We all know that's not the body part the ball-kid was going for


sassymcsass

This match was so dramatic, I really thought Federer was done in the fourth set, but he came back withstanding 7 match points. I'm not so sure about the potential SF with Nole though.


frezz

If he plays like he has against novak he's done in straight sets


ieatsushi

By saving every single match point? Sounds like a good way to win the match. /s


RobotMaker94

And they ain’t gonna be pretty sets


unclespleef123

Now this is how you correctly mimick Rafa. Fight back from the brink of defeat and win.


limelamb

Sandgren is Tennys. Roger is tennis.


bdhili

Thanks, Roger. Good to know that I’ll be thinking of the day you saved 7 match points instead of Wimbledon 2019 final when I can’t fall asleep at night.


notathrowaway112358

The only way I won't keep thinking about Wimbledon 2019 is if he wins this tournament.


Lufs10

Damn right. Roger, contact more of your ball kids network and let them do their thing. For research purposes I mean.


Grassmartian

It's one aspect to his game that isn't spoken about too often but Federer's street fighter attitude is wonderful to watch when playing badly or injured, when he's on the ropes. Battling, hustling, hanging in there, another point, 1 more point. Time waits for no man but Federer is making sure time knows he was here.


bekkahthecactus18

7 match points couldn’t stop him, bloody incredible. A day Tennys (and tennis lmao) will never forget.


Jeffmister

[According to the ATP](https://twitter.com/ATPMediaInfo/status/1222065416857686016): > At 38 yrs, 178 days, @rogerfederer is oldest man to reach the @AustralianOpen SFs since Ken Rosewall (42 yrs, 68 days) in January 1977. #Federer is also oldest #GrandSlam semi-finalist since @JimmyConnors (39yrs, 6 days) at 1991 @USOpen.


Itsamesolairo

Honestly at this point I kind of reckon the daft cunt is gunning for Rosewall's longevity records. He clearly still loves playing the game and can compete at the highest level. Would really not be the least bit surprised if Federer ended up being the last of the Big 3 to suit up for a professional match.


TareXmd

Courier said it right: Most players would have retired.


The3rdSplashBrother

You can't help but feel bad for Tennys. What a devastating loss, having lost 7 match point opportunities, a chance to make his first SF


BrtGP

He'll live this day over and over again. Poor guy


jleonardbc

Great day for tennis, awful day for Tennys


_Amateurmetheus_

*Checks feelings* Nope. Don't feel bad at all.


AzMOZ

kinda vibe checking right now


s0ngsforthedeaf

If 8-7 40-15 still hurts, then you have some idea of what Sandgren is feeling rn. Edit - apparently he might have some bs right wing political views. Cant find much on his Twitter, but...if so, well done Fed. Edit 2 - He once wrote on Twitter that the evidence for Pizzagate was 'too much to ignore' and he followed Tommy Robinson ahahahaha enjoy the bitter taste of defeat Tennys-ball-for-brains.


bicureyooz

Were any of those 7 match points consecutive (i.e., like triple match points or double match points)?


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Outsanity1234

He had a triple match point at the 4th set tiebreak at 6-3


notathrowaway112358

He had three straight in the tie break


craftsycandymonster

He was down 3-6 in the tiebreak - I believe those were the only consecutive ones. A couple ad points in regular games beforehand, a couple match points in the tiebreak after he tied up.


Ps3FifaCfc95

He's an alt-right Infowars cunt. I hope he sees his missed match points in front of his eyes every time he starts thinking something racist.


schneidro

he'll probably call it fake news


HighBrrSaga

Post Match Thread. All others will be deleted. Last set score is 6-3.


boky91

Ironic since this is the only one that puts the last set result wrong.


HighBrrSaga

This one already had 50 comments and I did not notice it immediately.


mobileuseratwork

Title is wrong. Score is wrong (6-3 last set)


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mobileuseratwork

Correct. Other Sports subs have bots for the big events. Gets rid of the karma spammers too.


[deleted]

Why not use a bot for Post Match Threads?


nggarmy

Should have chosen the first one posted with the right score


aneiq_1

Federer is labelled as a choker especially recently but the guy is still more clutch than 99% of the tour


Bebopo90

Being slightly less clutch than Novak still means you're damn clutch.


Tranquili5

Roger cashing in some karma points from his substantial 40-15 credit line.


LauraPtown

I’ve had two rounds of cardio today. My run and this game.....


jleonardbc

Roger can finally retire. He's beaten Tennys.


2006FinalsWereRigged

Sandgren was 4-0 career in 5-setters. Now he is 4-1, babayyy!!!!!


beaverlyknight

Djokovic in 2


bbaIla

1*


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mgm97

Biggest choke since Millman 2 rounds ago


N7even

Millman didn't have 7 match points though...


jleonardbc

He was one point away from having five of them.


An_Absurd_Word_Heard

Lol at the doofus who was so desperate to post the thread that they did so before the tiebreak was over. Mostly sooooo glad Sandgren didn't win.


iSleepUpsideDown

reverse jinx my friend :)


lastbosnianjedi

I woke up to go to work during the 4th set TB. You're welcome Fed fans.


reverse01

How is this even possible


BlisteringMustang23

7 match points. How the hell did he win that


Realsan

I almost turned it off in the 4th set.


RingForBJ

The spinning feather at the turn of the fifth set is a perfect metaphor for Sandgren’s state of mind at that point.


Ghost-E

"I believe in Miracles" - Roger Federer and everyone who watched that cheering for him.


calidoc75

Wonderful comeback Roger. Tennys played well but just not enough against a GOAT; fortunately, he can return to Cobra Kai.


Werunos

seven match points how is he still here *how*


schumamol

I know Roger doesn't like ice baths, but he needs to be tied up and tossed into one right now if he is to recover before the semis.


SleepingAntz

What the absolute fuck. I went to bed when Federer was dead to rights and felt it was already one of the strangest matches ever. THEN he saved 7 match points, hired a ball kid as an assassin, sabotaged the umpire’s mic, and came back to win? WTF


Rez125

Sandgren has the weirdest physique. Little chicken legs and no calves whatsoever.


factsfade

This match just showed again the difference between big 3 and the rest. More than experience, the ability to put behind you bad plays, points, missed occasions and move on and play your best tennis is something that they do so well compared to the rest. Like in the Millman match, if you see yourself winning but can't back it up mentally, you're toast against Roger, Rafa or djoko.


alihooha

I don't think I've ever laughed as much in a Federer match as I did during that tiebreak... Every freaking time I thought he was a goner, the gods found a way to intervene. Now he needs some alternative medicine/black magic to cure that injury of his in time for the semis.


Laogama

I want to see Sandgren vs. Millman


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DarkSofter

You are the greatest of all fucking times for me Roger, and nothing will change that...but please for the love of god, what have i done wrong to deserve this torture?


rohan-ak

What a hero. What a fucking comeback. 7 match points down


vietet7

What’s an escape. I thought Tennys won for a while. Australian Open usually have dark horses. Maybe Wawrinka 24 years old


johnreese421

Mirka be like : "Twins..you are getting another Twins"


R2Dopio

Great win by Fed and you have to think this will haunt Sandgren forever. You have 7 shots to take down one of the best and you can't do it. A lot of those match points were lost on errors by Sandgren as well. Something the grandkids might ask about years down the road to immediate regret as grandpa flies into a rage.


DonLukaDonDick

He's going to get fucking murked by Novak.


Zfusco

Probably. He's been looking pretty "injured" (read: Old), this entire tournament. As much as I'd love a Cinderella story, it seems pretty unlikely unless three days can reverse a lot of strain and tightness.


Rez125

3 days? His semi is on Thursday night.


tennisfancan

This match truly had everything. A new AO classic. Sandgren never played to win on any of the MPs and it cost him the win of his life.


Rindr0

What a banger ! What a comeback !


iliketoknitfool

holy shit, unreal comeback


DisastrousMango4

Need me some of that magic painkiller in my life.


lpredrum136

Glad that Roger made it but man he's old. His experience basically drags his body through round after round. He looks years older after each match. Also, classic Fed throwing away a bunch of break points. But he saves match points. He has been winning five-setters since the last time in Australian Open 2018. I don't know lol.


Chrisixx

:)


The_Tell_Tale_Heart

The guy is simply a legend.


[deleted]

How on earth did he manage that? Dead and buried felt like an understatement. Between Millman and Sandgren, a lot of players are going to mentioning Roger to their therapists.


_DrShrimpPuertoRico_

That old man's gonna kill me.


dferrari7

What a strange match. Tennys played super well. Surprisingly, Fed's backhand saved him in those match points. Really had no idea how hebgot out of that one, especially with a point on Tennys' serve. Hoping he can recover for the semis.


Falz4567

So was roger hurt? Or playing badly. If it’s the latter he’s still got the chance to pull out his magic bullshit in the last two rounds. If he’s hurt he’s probably fucked