(Image via theguardian.com)
Leander Bhupathi, an upcoming Indian tennis star, smacked himself in the nether regions during a practice game while attempting the between the legs “tweener” lob shot that his idol Roger Federer played in his second round match with American Sam Querrey.
A passerby who had stopped to watch the game spoke to The UnReal Times about the incident: “I think it was in the 5th or 6th game in the 1st set. They had this longish rally, when suddenly out of the blue he spread his legs wide and thwacked the ball from between the legs. There was this ‘Thokkk’ sound and I thought he had really nailed the shot. But when he went ‘Nggggg’ and collapsed to the ground, I realized he’d lobbed the wrong ball.”
Bhupathi’s coach isn’t very pleased with his ward. “What he was thinking!? What was the need for that lob shot? His opponent wasn’t even at the net!” he said. “I should have guessed he’d try that shot today. He was raving about it all day yesterday. I told him it was a gimmick, but he just wouldn’t listen. Well now he knows better.”
The video of Bhupathi’s version of the Tweener lob shot has already gone viral on Whatsapp. Roger Federer grimaced when he came across the video. “Jeez, that looks painful. Can happen to anyone. I think I’ll stick to the standard lob shot from now on,” the legend said.
Bhupathi is currently being kept under observation at Bengaluru’s Apollo Hospital. “He’s out of danger. Everything’s tip-top. You have nothing to worry about,” said Dr. Sharma to Bhupathi’s worried girlfriend.