Video: Federer Pulls a Pair of Magnificent Backhands

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Video: Federer Pulls a Pair of Magnificent Backhands

Stan Wawrinka gets a lot of love for his one-handed backhand—and deservedly so—of late, but let us not forget about the gorgeous, stylish and versatile backhand of Roger Federer.

More: Federer Eases Past Raonic to Set Djokovic Clash at Indian Wells

The Swiss maestro’s one-hander was flying its flag on Saturday during the second set of his encounter with Milos Raonic. Federer shows the versatility of his backhand on these back-to-back points, using the flick to curl a winner around a net-rushing Raonic to earn a break point, then using the tactical slice on the next point to pull Raonic off the court before blasting the down-the-line winner for the critical break.

On successive points, and at a crucial juncture of the match, this is about as close to pure gold on the backhand side as one can get. Raonic, who said he tried to attack Federer’s backhand as part of his gameplan, was quick to admit the same.

“Today I thought he was very clean with it, very methodical, and he used that to his advantage, sort of knowing that's where I would go on the important moments,” Raonic said. “That's the side I tried to sort of get through him on.”

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