Tennis ace Roger Federer has won the hearts of netizens by fulfilling a promise he had made to a young fan in 2017. Izyan Ahmad, who goes by the nickname "Zizou," requested the Swiss tennis legend to "continue to play for eight, nine years so that he could play him when he became a pro" at the 2017 US Open press conference.
After he gave an affirmative response, Zizou asked again "Is that a promise?" The eight-time Wimbledon champion responded, "pinky promise." Little would have Zizou thought that Roger Federer would honour his promise five years later.
Now a teenage tennis player, Zizou was able to meet up with Roger Federer, thanks to the assistance of his sponsor Barilla.
The entire conversation was captured on camera and made available on Barilla's YouTube channel.
"A surprising story about a fan, one question, and one of the greatest tennis players of all time. It’s been FIVE years since Izyan Ahmad, known to most as Zizou, challenged Federer to a match during the U.S. Open press conference. Together with Barilla, Roger Federer decides to surprise his fan by flying him to Zurich and fulfilling his promise. It’s time for Zizou to play against Federer, who has 20 Grand Slam titles to his name,” states the caption of Barilla’s promotional video.
Zizou was flown to Zurich for what he believed to be a training session, but before he could begin, a club employee asked him if he would like a selfie with the manager.
A delighted Roger Federer was seeing his responses behind the scenes as all of this was going on.
The big surprise occurred when Roger Federer walked out to the court, and Zizou's pursed his face in shock before he could say, "Hi, Mr. Federer."
The 20-time Grand Slam champion said as they shook hands: “Nice to see you. Roger! We made a promise, right? We’re going to play. Are you ready?” For the teenager, it was an experience he will cherish for the rest of his life.
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