5 best tweeners in tennis

Fabrice Santoro against Roger Federer, US Open 2005

For once, Roger Federer was on the receiving end of a tweener – and a brilliant one at that, at the 2005 US Open. Faced with French ace Fabrice Santoro on the opposite side of the net, the Swiss had held an early service game, with Santoro beginning his own.

Locked in a regulation rally, the two volleyed back and forth as Santoro reached high for some big forehands, with Federer returning in a quick rally that did not give.

Sending a big backhand across the court, Federer may have hoped for quick points – which unfortunately was not the case. Running down the court, Santoro sent a clinical tweener, and almost exactly precisely down the line at Federer, who did little else but marvel at the shot.

For all we know, this might have been the shot that ignited Federer’s own subsequent penchant for the shot – but the precision of this particular one was a marvel.