SABR | The Sneak Attack that SAVED Roger Federer's Career 

Second Serve | Exposing the Tennis Trick Shot that Broke the Internet: nebula.tv/videos/culttennis-exposing-the-tennis-trick-shot-that-broke-the-internet

2017 Federer during his AO title and Sunshine double wins has to be one of the best displays of attacking tennis in the modern era. His backhand looked unstoppable, he was consistently taking the ball so early and immediately put his opponent on the backfoot and the SABR was the perfect shot that exemplified all of that.

Finally, HES BACK!

I never heard Roger claiming to invent the shot, therefore why does it matter? It rejuvenated his backhand, and his career. End of story, Nothing Becker said matters here.

Roger is just the beauty of tennis. I watched not because of wins, but because the magic he produced on set.

Great example of some brilliant coaching. Interestingly, that 2015 Cincy match against Djokovic is the 4th lowest return points won % in Djokovic's career. Of the 3 other matches, one was in 2007 and the other two were just before his elbow surgery in 2017. What this means is that Federer's clinical serving was significant in how Federer won that match and tournament. Djokovic and Murray definitely sussed out the SABR quicker than others, and I think Murray should also get credit for stepping in significantly on the second serve before Federer dubbed it the SABR

The reason Becker hated the SABR was because it was first implemented on a match against him by Mansour Bahrami on clay in Hamburg 1988 . So the inventor question is finished .

Missed your videos so much my man! Fascinating stuff as always and welcome back! ❤️

I went to the 2015 Western & Southern Open with my dad and watched the final of Federer vs. Djokovic. I firmly remember looking at my dad after I saw the SABR and saying “is that allowed?”

Love to see you back! I was just rewatching vids this week.

Brilliant. The quality of these video essay edits is out of this world. Great to see a new one - amazing as ever all round.

Can you talk about why the Wimbledon courts were slowed down so significantly? Would be an interesting video

Thank you for your content! Top notch as always! ❤❤❤

I'm always in awe at the quality of these videos.

Wow, your videos are absolutely amazing! I can't get enough of them! Keep up the fantastic work!

Still the GOAT of tennis storytelling! We’ve missed you

SABR really is the serve and volley of returning.

Bro your editing skills have gotten so good the visuals on this were so cool 🙌

Unreal production quality. Nice work.

Its a good day when cult tennis upload

Wonderful video - thanks for the effort put into this!

The Fed bh in 2017 was one of the deadliest shots ever.

I'm shocked that you completely ignore the change that REALLY revitalized his career -- his larger racket. Throughout the 2012-2016 period, he could regularly get into quarters and semis in the slams because his overall game was so great, but once he came up against the true greats, he would repeatedly get overpowered in rallies, as Rafa, Novak, Delpo, Wawrinks, and a few others, would hit powerful, screaming groundstrokes, while his returns would be popups, allowing them plenty of time to get in good position and overpower him with the following shot. He could get by with his forehand because of the incredible quickness of his wrist swing created extra speed on the shot, but his one-handed backhand simply could not even come close to those of his top opponents. Because the heavier racket did not noticeably slow down his swing, the speed and power of his backhand increased by leaps and bounds. In the AO final. That is why he went from losing most of his matches to the more powerful Rafa, to winning 6 matches in a row against him. I remain convinced to this day that he even might have had a shot against Rafa in the RG 2019 SF were it not for the insane 40 mph wind gusts, because Rafa just tore it thru the wind with brute force, whereas Roger's second serves were coming in at 80 mph. And yes, I am aware that he made the switch already in 2014, but he himself admitted that it took him several years to become fully comfortable with it and have full control (he also missed serious time due to injuries), A 10-second Google search yielded this article from March 2017: www.tennis.com/news/articles/roger-federer-credits-switch-to-bigger-racquet-for-improved-backhand

6:15 having 33% points won is actually pretty good since it's on the return

Didn’t know you were on nebula! I’ll check it out now:)

I remember doing this sort of thing in highschool a lot! I was on doubles and my return of serves were not working for me at all that season (hitting a lot of weak shots or them going out) so I just decided to be really aggressive and just get the ball in. This really helped out a lot and as a doubles team we got pretty far into the state championship!

I would love more of these kinds of videos in addition to your usual stuff.

I literally only got nebula for this channel. Post more tho we love the content bro. I’m these take time but I’m sure you can dish out even 1 a month. Keep up the work .

Love the content. Is it possible for you to eventually do a video on Jack Sock's career?

👏Soooooo well put together!🤙

your editing remains top tier!

Your editing work is sick.

There's a video on youtube of a match between Laver and Borg in the 1970s in which Laver pulled a SABR (sneak attack by Rod) on Borg. The announcer, Pancho Gonzalez, even called it a "sneak attack," implying that it was a known tactic, perhaps as early as the 1950s.

Incredible video

I fell in love with this sport because of Federer, watching his comeback was so inspiring.

Great vid. But seems like a lot speculation. The Sabr maybe helped Fed win 2015 Cincy, though I think he still wins without it but not the 2015 USO. 33% is bad, though maybe it induced more errors from his opps on other points. But he’s only doing it on 2nd serves and maybe half a dozen times at most. But, he didn’t win another GS until 2017 AO. I think his more carefree attitude coming back from his first big injury was the biggest reason he won the 2017 AO.

If there was one player who could pull off the SABR, it was Federer, who was already known for his great hands and feel at the net which was why he was so adept at picking up half volleys like a true old-school player. I also always keep in mind that if the tour hadn’t made the decision to slow down the hard courts halfway through his career, which counteracted his playing style, he would’ve won more matches against Rafa, Nole, and other greats at the time.

Nah fam this is incorrect. Thar was a shot that even Roger himself is on record saying it was more fun that useful. He actually stopped doing it after a while.

I love the high risk high reward gameplay of running to the net immediately. I'll do it in my own games if the opponent's second serve is weak. It is really high risk as if your return isn't good enough, the opponent can easily lob it over you or hit a passing shot into one of the corners. Heck, just getting the return is tough and risky as the opponent could easily go for another 1st serve and get an ace on you.

Great vidéo, tnkx

I'm sure that his larger racket and improved backhand had little to do with his late career resurgence compared to a shot he'd pull off two or three times in a tournament.

Love your videos

awesome video!

Yo i just gotta say this u have the besttt tennis videos

He changed his backhand to take the ball earlier and in the uprise, just like Guga used to do, making his backhand devastating. He even commented that with Guga in a meeting they had at that time.

Top tier comment as Always bro, you keep inspiring us with cool stories♥️. Thanks

I may no longer play tennis due to other interests taking over for sports, but I always have time for Cult Tennis. ESPECIALlY when it comes to the rise of a staple technique becoming popularized.

Early! Thank you for the hard work as usual!

These videos are insane

what a edition!

Great video, is it possible to see a video about 2016 Andy Murray's great season?

Great video

😉 It's called a return-volley. Pretty classic, nothing to do with roger federer. Watch any match of Rod Laver or McEnroe. You can even watch footage pre-50's, it's as old as tennis.

Convincing recount of Federer and the SABR! Proof positive is how few players even attempt this (even if tons of pro tennis players in the top 200 or so could do this). This video shows perfectly how players adapted, so the real story is how the strategy worked until his best competitors adjusted. It means other players can employ it as needed.

The return of the king

Welcome back. You were missed.

Your graphics are insane! How long do these transitions take you!?

His Backhand improvement was about the bigger headsize not because roger hit 3 chip and charches per match

Great video! Roger = GOAT!

He’s back!!!!!

A video about the chilean / massu achievement in the 2004 olympics would be fun. What they did is unrepeatable

God how much I miss watching him play. The most beautiful and enjoyable tennis ever

What app did you use for this video? Thank you This is a very nice video

best video in the open era

Yeajjjj 🎉 LOVE U man!!

Prime Rodger and i'm talking pre back injuries wipes the floor with anyone from any era the GOAT

In the two backhand videos from 2011 and 2019 that you show, the latter has actually a longer loop :-)

Mom wake up cult tennis uploaded

Although the SABR didn't seem to work on Nole at the USO '15 finals, I really think Roger should've stick to it more in that match. Yes, he was lobbed a few times, and I remember a return game on which Federer went to the net two times in a row with a really great position only to be miraculously passed by Nole. And that's the key word, miraculously. Even Nole can't keep producing passing shot after passing shot from compromising positions against a fit Roger. Roger got scared and doubted himself and his super aggressive return game after that, and regressed to a more conservative approach on the big points against Nole in that match. The SABR wasn't just effective on its own, it was great because it was created tons of doubt against the server, even on the likes of Nole or Murray who could rely on amazing passing shots if needed (much more than others, at least). It also means that the were less likely to risk a lot on the first serve, because they know their second serve is vulnerable to that play by Roger. It was a really good trick to have under his sleeve, specially on crucial points. USO '15 was a tournament in which Roger played better than the rest of the class through the tournament, except on the big points in the final against Nole (much like Wimbledon '19), off course, that speaks more about Nole's mental fortitude than against Roger's, but still. He was flying against everybody and had he stick to his guns on the final, specially on big points, it could've helped him a lot and maybe created some doubt on Nole's mind on the big points, which is almost impossible on regular circumstances.

Best vid ever

He was spotted at the US Open qualifiers!

Make sure to remember your password this time

What is arguably as crazy as the effectiveness of the SABR is how Novak saw how hood it could be at Cincinnati and then learned to counter it wonderfully at the 2015 US Open. Shows how smart of a player Djokovic is and how he learns from his mistakes

Doing that helps me a lot against good servers, obviously I'm talking about amateur level here. I faced a lot of opponent with good service, and I realized that most of them, have a great 1st server and the 2nd is not the big deal, so doing the SABR, helps a lot to put preassure on the opponent's 1st serve. But here is the thing, I'm not Roger Federer, so I did some adaptation doing the sabr at 1step away from the service line and return the ball the closest to my opponent feets.

0:26 probably meant "longevity"

Please do a video on David nalbandian

Surprised you didn't throw in that it's essentially an exaggerated Agassi-inspired return. The addition, an added approach to the net, is because Federer is so good at ending points there. But that aggressive-styled return was why Agassi was so good at breaking serve. It would throw players off.

good video

🔥🔥🔥

SABRRRR like a light saber 😘😘

I didn't totally agree with how you judged it's success rate, given that he is returning, you wouldn't expect him to win the majority of the points. We need a comparison with how 33 percent sabr compared with his normal return point win percentage

Cult Tennis is the goat of Tennis RU-vidrs 🐐

Every video you produce is simply perfection (also first)

I miss Roger so much

When I see Cult Tennis, I click.

So Benoit Paire helped Federer develop the SABR from the beginning. A true GOAT!!

Personally, I think Fed's backhand was much better at in the early part of his career. Say, 2004, before Rafa rocked his confidence. It was a nicer, looser looking shot and he used to both really get through it nicely and get over it. In the middle part of his career, the drive backhand looked really brittle. It got a bit better again towards the end with the new larger frame etc, but it still wasn't as loose and positive looking at it had been during his very early tenure at the top of the game.

Champion of week era

Instead of focusing only on a 33% success with SABR, compare that to stats for win % of normal serve returns. Given the win % of pro service games, I’d have to think that return % isn’t much better than 33% without SABR. An additional advantage of SABR is the great footwork that results from the attacking return - moving forward, not getting stuck by a ball that’s playing you rather than the opposite.

what ive seen is pretty simple, yet one of a kind the further away from his physical prime he went, the more and more complex end efective did his techniques get, to a point where he was able to beat opponents that were physically in way better shape, but just didnt have access to the techniques, as he "invented" some of them himself

Let us appreciate how well produced this video was. Congrats for the owner of the channel for such a great quality job!

8:02 that backhand on the left is from either 2012 or 2013, not 2011.

Longetivity?! 😅 Longevity, I think you meant!

Babe wake up! Cult tennis posted a new video.

Murray used to do it on 2nd serves

I always thought it was Edberg who told Roger to try the SABR

wasn't it Andre that first showed you could win wimbelton from the baseline? or was there someone prior?

In conclusion : I hate the slower courts.

Good video, terrible plug-in ad.

First time I come across one of your videos. I watched it hesitantly despite being put off by the title. Great stuff! Still, “saved his career” is a ridiculous claim.