What’s a game without humour? No matter how serious a sport is, we always need a fair share of laughter to lighten up the day and in tennis, the biggest dose of humor probably comes from players mimicking other players’ grunts, distinct movements, shots, serves, etc.Over the years, there have been numerous humorous incidents when many of the top players in the sport were imitated and here are five such instances.
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#5. Roger Federer imitating Rafael Nadal, 2010
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are two of the greatest players to have ever played tennis and from having a fierce rivalry on court to being friends off court and having great respect for one another, the pair are the epitome of rivalry, sportsmanship, and friendship.The two have had many fierce battles over the years but they have always given the crowd some very light moments to laugh at, both on and off the court.One such instance came in 2010 just a day before the start of the Australian Open. Federer and Nadal along with other top players including Serena Williams, Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic, Kim Clijsters, Lleyton Hewitt, and Samantha Stosur had taken part in a fund raising event for the victims of the Haiti earthquake which occurred a few days back.Federer, Williams, Hewitt, and Stosur were in the Red Team and Nadal, Djokovic, Roddick, and Clijsters were in the Blue Team. During the doubles match between Federer-Stosur and Nadal-Djokovic, a very hilarious incident occurred during the 10th game of the first set with the Red Team leading 5-4 and serving to stay in the game.During the game, Nadal was serving and Federer imitated him every time he returned the shot and soon the rally was just between Federer and Nadal as Stosur and Djokovic just looked on with the latter sitting down. However, the point was eventually won by Federer’s team. The charity event went on to raise a total of AUD200,000.
#4. Novak Djokovic and Grigor Dimitrov imitating Maria Sharapova, 2013
Another very hilarious instance of tennis mimicry was Novak Djokovic and Grigor Dimitrov imitating Maria Sharapova (who was dating Dimitrov then) during the Boodles tennis exhibition in London. Djokovic who is known to have impersonated Sharapova a number of times was asked by a reporter that both Dimitrov and himself impersonate Sharapova. Both players agreed to do so with Dimitrov agreeing to mimic Sharapova’s walking while Djokovic would imitate her serve.Dimitrov began by doing a hilarious Sharapova’s walk to the court before the commencement of a game and once he reached the end of the court, Djokovic began his impression of Sharapova’s serve and waves of laughter were coming in from the crowd as Djokovic imitated Sharapova running towards the end of the court, setting her hair before serving, and the serve with a very shrill grunt.
#3. Caroline Wozniacki imitating Rafael Nadal’s press conference cramp, 2011
Besides being a fine tennis player, Caroline Wozniacki is known for her great sense of humor at press conferences which include bringing a kangaroo in the press room and interviewing it herself, asking Novak Djokovic questions as a journalist at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and many more.One such hilarious moment from the humorous former World No.1 came at a press conference was during the 2011 US Open after her grueling three-set, fourth-round encounter against Svetlana Kuznetsova.
During that press conference, Wozniacki hilariously mimicked the leg cramp Nadal suffered during his press conference following his third round victory over David Nalbandian. Wozniacki’s mimicry became a huge hit on social media at the time, but she went on to state that she had not made the impression to make fun of the Spaniard.
#2. Andy Roddick imitates Rafael Nadal, 2012
When it comes to mimicry of tennis players, Rafael Nadal is one player you would always expect to be on the receiving end as his grunts and forehand action have always been sort of a comic relief for fans and colleagues alike.
His rivals, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have imitated him but perhaps one of the funniest instances was by former World No.1 Andy Roddick in 2012.That happened at the BNP Paribas Showdown exhibition event which was held at the Madison Square Garden, with Roddick up against his arch-rival Roger Federer.
Federer was up 2-1 in the opening set, with Roddick serving at advantage to level the set when somebody from the crowd shouted out “Go Rafa”.
Roddick, ever the funnyman, made sure that despite the absence of the Spaniard, the audience – and the shouter – saw a little bit of Rafa as made quite an uncanny impression of Nadal, doing the sleeve pull-up, the Nadal bounce, and Nadal’s buggy-whip while hitting the forehand; not to forget Nadal’s trademark grunt.To make things even funnier, Roddick continued with the traditional Nadal celebration, pumping his fists after winning the point.
The American eventually went on to win the match 6-3, 7-6. Nonetheless, Roddick’s impression of Nadal is undeniably, one of the most hilarious and uncanny impressions of the Spaniard.
#1. Andy Roddick imitating Serena Williams
In addition to being known for his powerful serve and on-court outbursts, Andy Roddick is also known for his uncanny impressions of other players. He has already imitated the likes of John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal; just to name a few.
However, perhaps his most hilarious rendition would be that of his childhood friend, Serena Williams, during an exhibition match against Mardy Fish at Oklahoma City in 2011.During that match, Roddick had already made an impression – and decided to follow it up by imitating Serena Williams. Roddick began his mimicry by stuffing his shorts with towels, and then imitated Serena Williams’ outburst at a lineswoman during her 2009 US Open semi-final against Kim Clijsters.
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