Kolkata: The Indian Wells tennis fans denied a chance to see Rogere Federer in action on Friday after the Australian Nick Kyrgios pulled out of his quarter-final were treated instead to the Swiss great’s talents in the music department.
Nearly two months after the reigning Australian Open champion, Federer and his tennis friends Grigor Dimitrov and Tommy Haas stunned the world with their impromptu collaboration with music composer David Foster, they’re at it again. This time, though, as seen in this video posted on Federer’s Twitter account on Friday, the newly christened “Backhand Boys” made sure they came up with a winner. Federer released the world debut of Grigor Dimitrov, Tommy Haas and himself, taking a second crack at singing, Hard To Say I’m Sorry, the classic ‘80s song from American rock group Chicago, during an on-court interview at the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday.
He then posted the video on his Twitter account shortly after. The new release is a follow-up on their initial attempt at the track in January. Haas’ father-in-law, world-renowned record producer and musician David Foster, once again accompanied them on piano. The new release also involves a cameo appearance from Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic.
The “Djoker” as he was once dubbed sings a single line while the word “Videobomb” flashes across the screen. “I actually didn’t know the lyrics very well, so we were reading on the iPhone. And next thing you know, it’s like, this is too funny not to put it on social media,” said Federer about the video. “So we put it out there. People had a blast over it, laughed at us, and I thought it was great,” he added.
However, Federer acknowledged the One-handed Backhand Boys probably still shouldn’t give up their day jobs. “So bad, yet so good,” was his assessment, and when asked if the Backhand Boys themselves might one day feature at the Grammys, he replied, “I don’t think so.”
(With inputs from Hindustan Times)