"One of my favorite eras of Roger Federer" - Tennis fans look back on Swiss maestro's iconic 'SABR' tactics 8 years after it took ATP tour by storm

Several tennis fans were left feeling ecstatic after a video of Roger Federer using his famed SABR tactic resurfaced on social media earlier on Tuesday (August 15).

In a video posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) by a tennis media account named 'Olly Tennis', the Swiss maestro can be seen dissecting his opponents with his signature move at the 2015 Cincinnati Masters.

"8 years ago, in Cincinnati, Roger Federer unveiled the SABR (sneak attack by Roger)!" the caption of the post read.

The video took several fans back to the good old days, going by their reactions. One of them proclaimed the Swiss' 2015 season as "one of their favorite Federer eras".

"This was one of my favoriteeeeeeee eras of Federer," they wrote, followed by five crying emojis.

Another fan named 'Rush' claimed that she had dearly missed the SABR tactic in the 20-time Major winner's subsequent years on the tour.

"I was gutted when he stopped doing this tbh it was so fun," she wrote.

One X-user named 'Ekow' alluded to the Swiss' performance against Novak Djokovic in the 2015 Cincinnati title clash while insisting that the pair's meetings had "more bite" than any other rivalry.

"Don't care what anyone says. There's more bite in the Federer Djokovic rivalry than any other," they wrote.

Another fan rued the absence of SABR on the tour nowadays.

"Why does no one do this now," they lamented.

Another account recalled how spotlessly clean was the Swiss maestro's hitting, adding that they missed him.

"the way he was out here casually half volleying a first serve and made it look THIS clean. miss him 😭😭😭😭😭😭," read the comment.

Another account couldn't believe that eight years have passed by since the 2015 Cincinnati tournament.

"8 years ago. F off. I'm so old," was the tweet.

Another fan appreciated the legend's immaculate footwork.

"His footwork is second to none. It’s so incredible to watch him strategically move on the court," read the tweet.

The X handle of Tennis TV, ATP's prime media streaming service, later paid a tribute to the Swiss maestro's SABR by posting a compilation of different male players who had tried to imitate him.

The players in the clip included Nick Kyrgios, Casper Ruud, Alexander Bublik, among other top players.

"The SABR was born 8 years ago in Cincinnati - but who can copy Federer’s signature move the best? (no voting for Roger)," TennisTV posted, followed by a winking emoji.

Roger Federer's SABR tactic didn't help him win the 2015 US Open against Djokovic despite his Cincinnati success

The-then 17-time Major winner enjoyed an emphatic campaign that week, beating the likes of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray without facing a single break point on his serve to win a record-breaking seventh Cincinnati title.

The Fed Express did not drop a single set during his Cincinnati campaign. He only faced three break points in his service games over the course of five matches, with Feliciano Lopez being the only one who held break points against the Swiss maestro in their quarterfinal.

While there were plenty of fans who raved about the SABR, there was one detractor who didn't find the tactic to be as potent. Obviously, it was a Djokovic fan.

They inferred that the Serb neutralized the very same tactic a few weeks later in the 2015 US Open final, before calling their idol "the greatest problem solver tennis has ever seen".

"And then Novak Djokovic destroyed the SABR multiple times weeks later at the USO final. Greatest problem solver tennis has ever seen," they wrote.

Federer would try the SABR a fair few times during the final match, but was denied in the majority of those points by the Serbinator. Djokovic would eventually beat the Swiss maestro 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to win his third Major title of 2015.