Only this time it was a little more special than the many Federer has shown fans so far.
The crowd erupted as Federer fired away the 10,000th ace of his career. The ball boy caught hold of that ‘magic’ ball, at the time unaware of its significance.
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Following the match, the ball boy was interviewed outside the courts. The gushing kid told the interviewer how he did not know about the record that was created on the court. He only realised when he saw videos uploaded of the feat. Recognising the ball from the video, he realised he was the one to catch it.
Surprised immediately by the entry of the Swiss ace, the boy proudly held up the ball and told him it was the ball the Swiss Maestro hit his 10,000th ace with . Federer, the charming person he is, asks ‘Can I have it, maybe? ‘10,000 aces is a great number, I think’, is what the legend said before suggesting the ball be put up for auction, with the proceeds going to charity.
The 35 year old has been known to contribute to a lot of charities by playing exhibition matches and through his charitable organisation, called the Roger Federer Foundation. The interviwer asked the young boy, Haris, what he thought was so special about Federer. With gushing smiles and awe in his voice the little boy told how it’s always surreal to watch the legend play as he hits the one-handed backhand and the cherry on the top moment is when it lands right down the line stealing into a classy winner. Federer conversed some more before leaving the kid, still flushed from his meet with the tennis great.
As ball boy he gets to watch big-shot players on-court but to converse with them one on one is rare, especially when someone like Federer walks up from behind and startles the ball kid delighted to have grabbed the 10,000th ace ‘magic’ ball.
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