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By Mike Dickson in New York
Magical: Roger Federer reproduced his stunning 'through-the-legs' winner in his first round win at Flushing MeadowsRoger Federer brought Flushing Meadows to its feet on the US Open's first night with a repeat of his 'Don't try this at home' miracle winner hit through the legs.
The world No 2 pulled off a similar trick in the semi-final against Novak Djokovic last year (pictured below), but this time his extraordinary recovery when retrieving a lob from first-round opponent Brian Dabul was even better.
Administering a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 thrashing, Federer was within a few feet of the back fence when, having sprinted from the net, he whipped back the shot known as a 'Tweener' while facing the wrong way.
It completely wrong-footed the Argentinian, who responded with a helpless shrug as the ball, struck at 80mph, flew past him for a clean winner.
Federer said: 'I've only hit a few of those in my life and to do two on Centre Court in night sessions is amazing.
See Federer's amazing shot below....
Routine: Federer romped to victory in little over an hour and a half'Maybe in terms of difficulty this one was harder than last year because I had to run a longer distance and was further back. 'I had to give it a really big push at the end, I didn't have time to set the shot up. So I felt like this one was incredible again.
'When I turned round I couldn't believe that it had landed in the corner. You could see from my reaction I couldn't believe it.
'Last year's was probably a little bit more important just because I think it was 0-30 to go 0-40, two points away from the match, and it was a semi-final.'
Federer does not explicitly practise the shot and said: 'It's not like I ask to be fed them, it just happens or not. I might hit just one in a session.'
See Federer's amazing shot here....
source: dailymail
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