You might remember underarm serves from PE lessons in primary school, but Jared Donaldson broke out the basic move on the biggest stage.
The 21-year-old, from the US, was engaged in a titanic fifth set against fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov in the second round at the French Open, when cramp set in.
In an effort to combat the effects of what became a four-hour match, Donaldson called on an alternative tactic.
Jared Donaldson plays an underarm serve after suffering from cramp ?#RG18 pic.twitter.com/ziU8HrznQt
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) May 30, 2018
Furthermore, it worked. Dimitrov’s return was long and Donaldson held serve to go 7-6 in front in the final set.
With Dimitrov way behind the baseline, Jared Donaldson mischievously throws in an underhand serve and wins the point to hold for 7-6 in the fifth. #RG18
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) May 30, 2018
Jared Donaldson serves underarm at 6-6 in the fifth set of a Grand Slam. I’ve seen it all now. https://t.co/77YX9LSCLH
— James Gray ??? (@jamestingray) May 30, 2018
Dimitrov eventually prevailed 10-8 in the decider, however, with the match ending after 259 minutes.
Battle-Tested
No.4 seed @GrigorDimitrov holds strong, topping Jared Donaldson 6-7(2) 6-4 4-6 6-4 10-8 after 4 hours, 19 minutes.#RG18 pic.twitter.com/slz9z8mhUm
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 30, 2018
Will Wimbledon-goers witness the energy-saving tactic at SW19 next month?
