Tennis

WATCH: Mannarino tweener stuns US Open crowd during comeback win over Maroszan

August 31, 2023 2:59 pm

During the exciting duel between Adrian Mannarino and Fabian Maroszan in the second round of US Open we saw a great comeback by the Frenchmen, but also one of the best shots of the tournament so far as Mannarino hit an amazing tweener to stay in the point, which he later won.

Adrian Mannarino US Open
Photo by Icon sport

Mannarino vs Maroszan match summary

Heading into the match, the Frenchmen was the favourite to get the win given that he’s 35th in the ATP rankings, compared to Fabian Maroszan who is 92th in the world at the moment. The experience was also on the side of the 35-year-old Mannarino against the 23-year-old Hungarian and we saw that experience on full display in this match.

After all, the youngster started this duel in better rhythm and took a 1-0 lead in sets after winning the first one 6-3. However, Mannarino quickly took over the control of the match and managed to overturn the Hungarian’s lead by winning the next two sets 6-3, 6-4.

At that point, it already seemed that Mannarino is going to win the match, but Maroszan was hanging in, not letting the Frenchmen dominate him. Then we saw the best point of the match and probably the entire US Open so far, a point that most likely put the exclamation point on Mannarino’s comeback win over the Hungarian.

Mannarino tweener: Point of the tournament decided already?

Mannarino had a 2-1 lead in the fourth set and already had an advantage of a break over Maroszan, but in the fourth game, the Hungarian pushed to get the break back. As Mannarino served to win the game with advantage on his side, Maroszan put him in a tough position and it seemed like the game is headed for a deuce again, but just as the point seemed lost, Mannarino pulled off one of the best shots of the tournament.

The point started with Mannarino serving and it wasn’t a bad serve at all, but Maroszan hit a fantastic backhand parallel that sent Mannarino running for the ball. The Frenchman barely caught and returned the ball, which fell close to the net and right on Maroszan’s volley, which the Hungarian sent to the other side of the court.

In most cases, that would be the end of the point, but not today. Mannarino sprinted towards the ball and hit an unbelievable between-the-legs shot, also known as a tweener, as shot that usually ends up being too short or too long. However, Mannarino’s tweener was just right and completely took Maroszan by surprise.

Even though Maroszan caught the ball as it was passing by and send it back to Mannarino’s side of the court, the Frenchmen now was already on the move towards the net and the ball and hit a relatively easy backhand passing shot to win the point.

“Totally sick”, “A sneaky showman”: Fans react to Mannarino tweener on social media

In addition to live audience who watch the match being stunned and amazed, we saw many people on social media declare this not just the best point of the tournament, but one of the best shots ever. Some fans described the shot as “totally sick”.

Other fans wondered where did the inspiration from the shot come from and called Mannarino a “sneaky showman”.

Finally, even the official US Open Twitter couldn’t stay silent and immune to the what we just witnessed as they exclaimed their disbelief at the tweener.

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