Watch: Federer Joins Vittoria and Carola for Rooftop Rally and Pasta in Liguria

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Watch: Federer Joins Vittoria and Carola for Rooftop Rally and Pasta in Liguria

In April a video of two Italian girls playing tennis across rooftops in southern Italy warmed the hearts of many and instantly went viral on social. I admit that at first, I glanced over it – so many videos of tennis players doing the craziest things during quarantine were surfacing, and I hadn’t taken a moment to understand the miraculous nature of this rooftop rally. It wasn’t until my cousin, whom I rarely if ever talk tennis with, DM’d me the video that I knew this one had done something to reach outside of tennis and into the hearts and minds of people.

Now, it has done it again.

In July, thanks to a brilliant idea from somebody (Barilla? Federer himself? I guess we'll find out one day - stay tuned), Roger Federer travelled to Liguria to surprise the videos' bubbly protagonists as they were filming a video about their exploits.

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Simple gestures can turn into something special. Like an improvised rooftop tennis match that went viral all around the world during the lockdown and that deserves a unique celebration: a surprising rematch with @rogerfederer. Because pasta, just like sport, brings people together 🍝

A post shared by barilla (@barilla) on
Jul 31, 2020 at 6:00am PDT

I don’t need to tell you guys much else from here. In the video you can see Roger lingering backstage, unbeknownst to Vittoria and Carola, as he prepares to surprise them and try his hand at the art of rooftop rallying.

It’s a genuine moment of warmth and camaraderie, three tennis players (one with a few more major titles than the other two) are there to celebrate their unconditional love for the game as a form of therapy and a passion of a lifetime.

The tagline is “Pasta brings people together” and you’ll get no argument from me on that point - it has been a theme at my house during quarantine! But in reality we know the real underlying theme here is that “tennis brings people together,” and it was extra special to see Federer, and pasta, playing a role.

But as it happened in April, Vittoria and Carola were the true heroes. That fact remains today…

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