As if to prove that Roger Federer isn’t the only 35-year-old holding onto his gifts, French veteran Nicolas Mahut is still looking spry on the doubles court, doing the incredible.
In Saturday’s Davis Cup match against Great Britain, the world’s fifth-ranked doubles player scraped up three difficult gets: off a hard serve down the T, then off an overhead while careening into the stands, and then—somehow—off another overhead while standing solidly in the seats.
Mahut’s outrageous get was finally put to rest by yet another overhead, but he and Julien Benneteau went on to defeat Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot, 7-6(7), 5-7, 7-5, 7-5. Despite the absence of its three best and most experienced players—Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Richard Gasquet—France rolled past Great Britain and advanced to the semifinal against Serbia.