Grigor Dimitrov defeated Roger Federer in a spirited exhibition at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Tuesday night, and the pair of tricksters nearly brought the house down when they exchanged tweeners in this jaw-dropping rally.
Dimitrov rallied from a break down in the third set to win, 6-2, 1-6, 7-5, but the true winners were those who came out to downtown Manhattan to see two of tennis’ boldest shotmakers (think Harlem Globetrotters with Wilson sticks) tapping into their creative genius.
Dimitrov and Federer will jump on planes to head to southern California and take part in this week’s BNP Paribas Open. Federer and Dimitrov both have first-round byes at the event. Federer will face either Jerzy Janowicz or Diego Schwartzman in the first round, while Dimitrov will face either Nick Kyrgios or Denis Kudla.
Earlier in the evening, Gabriela Sabatini defeated Monica Seles in a pro-set, 8-5. The pair of WTA legends were commemorating the 25th anniversary of their classic five-set 1990 WTA Finals match at the Madison Square Garden, won by Seles.
As far as the New York fans on World Tennis Day go, it’s safe to say they had a good time: