Genius is not replicable. Inspiration, though, is contagious, and multiform — and even just to see, close up, power and aggression made vulnerable to beauty is to feel inspired and (in a fleeting, mortal way) reconciled.
–David Foster Wallace, “Roger Federer as Religious Experience,” 2006
The few seconds I’ll remember came when John Isner lobbed a shot over Roger Federer’s head into the ad corner. You could see what was coming before it happened: In the way Federer gave chase and positioned his body, how he ran past the ball, let it pass between his legs and come oh-so-close to striking the ground before flicking his wrist and blindly scooping the little yellow sphere off the floor — his back still to the net — to send a through-the-wickets rocket across toward Isner. A bit of casual genius.