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6 Years After Launching a Boy Band, Enticing Detail Reveals 41-Year-Old Roger Federer’s Impending Return to Singing With David Foster

Published 05/16/2023, 6:00 AM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

In 2017, a trio of men’s tennis aces got together and embarked on a brief musical adventure. The trio consisted of German Tommy Haas, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, and Swiss maestro Roger Federer. The union happened during the Indian Wells Masters, and it featured David Foster, the famed record producer, and Haas’ father-in-law, as well. The group performed the song Hard to Say I’m Sorry, originally written by the band Chicago back in the 1980s. Eventually, the video went viral and the trio got the name The One-Handed Backhand Boys.

It’s 2023 now, but it seems like Tommy Haas still has fond memories of the performance. The German, who recently featured on the Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis podcast, was heard rooting for a reunion.

Tommy Haas can’t ‘sing those words’ without Grigor Dimitrov and Roger Federer

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There are no doubts about the tennis playing abilities of Haas, Dimitrov, and Federer. However, their singing is definitely suspect-ful. Surprisingly though, their rendition of the Chicago song was quite good to listen to. Of course, they had David Foster’s help. But all in all, the performance was more or less on point.

During the podcast, Haas was poked about singing the song on his own. In response, Haas said, “I’m not allowed. It’s not in the contract. I can only sing those words with Grigor and Roger.” The German added, “And we’re trying to extend The One-Handed Backhand Boys, there are still a few around. So, we are working on that.”

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Haas went on to say, “It’s actually funny because the next Laver Cup is in Vancouver, Canada, and my father-in-law David Foster is actually in charge of the music and they’re doing like a charity event before it starts”. The German confirmed his presence at the event and also said that Federer would be present as well. Meanwhile, Grigor Dimitrov’s appearance in Vancouver remains a possibility. Haas also said, “Maybe another one-handed backhand player like the name of Tsitsipas who might join us.”

Read More: Dominic Thiem Wants To Join Roger Federer In The “One Handed Backhand Boys”

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Stefanos Tsitsipas would be a good addition

As Haas rightly pointed out, Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas would be a perfect fit for The One-Handed Backhand Boys owing to, obviously, his one-handed backhand. However, Tsitsipas also possesses the confidence to belt out some songs.

via Imago

For instance, in 2020, Tsitsipas was one of the stars to feature in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown, an exhibition event founded by iconic tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou. There, he performed the song Apologize originally written by the band OneRepublic. However, Tsitsipas made one major error. Before starting his performance, he claimed that he would be singing a Justin Timberlake song.

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Written by:

Sudipto Pati

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Sudipto is a Tennis writer at EssentiallySports. He completed his graduation in Journalism and Mass Communication in 2012. His passion for writing became a full-time profession in 2019 after working as a musician and travelling educator.
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Edited by:

Jahnabi Choudhury