WATCH: Absolutely smashing! Check out the five best tennis shots of 2018

How the f*ck did they do that?

By / Tennis / 6 years ago

It was a nightmare to whittle this down to five, but I think the below set of clips will entertain you during lunch, travelling to work or when you mute THAT WhatsApp group for some peace.

Here are my five best shots of the 2018 tennis season.

Pablo Carreno Busta

vs Gilles Simon (Australian Open 2nd round)

This is obscene for a number of reasons. First, Busta was quick enough to catch Simon’s lob before it bounced on the Melbourne sign.

Then, with his back to the court, the Spaniard had the skill to reply to Simon’s lob with one of his own. The Spaniard had enough feel to beat the Frenchman at the net and land the ball just inside the baseline.

And finally, it was a point to clinch the opening set in a grand slam! An unbelievable moment of genius.

Ons Jabeur

vs Daria Kasatkina (Kremlin Cup final)

Next up, a piece of instinctive brilliance from the Tunisian.

After hitting a less than perfect approach shot, Jabeur is caught in no woman’s land as Kasatkina delivers a tricky low passing shot. Cue a ridiculous half volley that creeps over the net and dies before the speedy Russian can reach it.

Extra marks awarded for Jabeur’s FIGJAM look afterwards.

Roger Federer

vs Nick Kyrgios (US Open 3rd round)

Everyone loves a round-the-netpost shot right? Throughout this clip, just remember that Federer is 37 rather than 27 or 17. The chase and execution of the shot are so remarkable that even Kyrgios is in disbelief.

The slow-mo never gets dull.

Hsieh Su-wei

vs Wang Qiang (Japan Open semi-final)

Nobody else plays like Hsieh (usually pronounced ‘Shay’ by commentators).

The 32-year-old uses two hands on both sides, bamboozles opponents with unusual spins and is an artist when it comes to dropshots.

“Nobody in the arena saw anything like that happening!” says the commentator after this shot.

Yeah, pretty much.

Kevin Anderson

vs John Isner (Wimbledon semi-final)

I was a bit harsh on this marathon semi-final in my review of the 2018 season, describing it as a “Match Only Fr. Stone Could Love”.

However, it did have this strange moment. In this rally, a guy that’s 6’ 8” fell to the ground, got back to his feet, played a shot with his weak hand and still won the point. Amazing.

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What do you think?