TODAY co-host Savannah Guthrie gets tennis lesson during downtime for charity doubles against Roger Federer
‘TODAY’ show co-host to face top-ranked player
GANGNEUNG, South Korea – At an undisclosed location not far from Olympic Park, on a dirt tennis court more makeshift than country club, Savannah Guthrie is preparing for a showdown with a man she adores but has never met — Roger Federer, the No. 1-ranked tennis player in the world.
It’s all in good fun and for a charitable cause, but that doesn’t mean Guthrie isn’t taking it seriously. With the help of local tennis instructor Park Man Kyung, the TODAY show co-host is using her scant downtime at the Winter Games to take a few lessons.
Guthrie will take the court for Match for Africa 5, to be held March 5 at SAP Center in San Jose. Federer will play Jack Sock, the top-ranked American, in a best-of-three sets exhibition match. As an opening act, Guthrie will team with Sock to take on Federer and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who is making a return appearance, for a one-set celebrity/pro doubles match. Tickets start at $30 and are on sale.
“I’ve never played tennis in front of 17 people, let alone 17,000, but I couldn’t say no because it’s a great cause. The Federer Foundation raises millions of dollars, and the Match For Africa is a huge event for the foundation,” Guthrie told USA TODAY after a one-hour session with Park on Tuesday. “And not as important, but up there, is the fact that I am a completely obsessed Roger Federer fan. I admire him in every way — his tennis, his philanthropy — and I was so excited to have the chance to meet him.
“The fact that I am meeting him on a tennis court is a little intimidating.”
Indeed. Guthrie and Federer have engaged in some friendly sparring on social media to help promote the fundraiser.
“His agent keeps sending me all the press. … Roger returning to No. 1, Roger winning the Australian Open since I said yes to this,” she said. “He’s hitting his stride and I’m not.
“Maybe that’s what wakes him up. … The thought of a 20-mile an hour backhand terrifies him. Could be it — I’ll take credit.”
Guthrie’s self-deprecating commentary conceals a pretty solid tennis stroke. While she says her experience is limited to three years of tennis camp a long time ago, Park credited her with making strides in her two lessons. She is an athlete to be sure and was ripping a number of shots back at her Korean instructor, who liked what he saw, coaching her through an interpreter to slow down and control her breathing.
“Roger’s team helped me find this place and these pros, and we’re having a great time,” Guthrie said. “They are really good teachers, really fun, and have been warm and welcoming.
“(Park) gave me some good tips. … He taught me a couple of things about my forehand and I think I’m working it out. ... My three years of tennis camp in the summer might not be enough to face Federer and Gates.”
Yes, there are those 19 Grand Slam tournament titles held by Federer, who at 36 remains at the top of his game. His foundation has given $36 million to sup- port children’s education in six African nations and his native Switzerland.
Once Guthrie accepted Federer’s challenge, she started thinking about what she had signed up for.
“I’m really not very good at tennis,” Guthrie said. “And you’re not supposed to be very good, but you have to get the ball over the net. The thing that I worry about is double-faulting on all my serves and not being able to get the ball over the net, that’s the thing that wakes me up in the middle of the night.”
As for Gates, she had a message meant to get him thinking.
“Shift F7,” she said. “Tell him my secret play is Shift F7.”