If you have ever played or watched racquet sports, this clip is worth 30 seconds of your time, even if it comes from the obscure sport of squash which, unlike wildly popular rhythmic gymnastics, is not in the Olympics. I include it on this blog only because I saw it with my own eyes from about ten feet away.
The sports “Amazing Meter” is constantly being adjusted of course. We have seen so many between-the-legs shots, one-handed catches in the end zone, flip-over-the-tackler runs, and 360-degree-spin dunks that all the superlatives have become cliches. This one probably didn’t even make ESPN’s Plays of the Day.
For context, the shooter, James Willstrop, is the number-four player in the world and the guy who gets faked out, Rami Ashour, is the number-one player in the world. This is the semifinals of the Davenport North American Open last weekend in Richmond, Virginia, not an exhibition. I was sitting in the front row with three friends from Rhodes College, and none of us could quite believe it. And Willstrop lost the match 3-1. Amazing.