Media Monster

Roger Federer’s Mic Cut Off In Postmatch Interview, A Nation Wonders What He Said (Video) – Update

by Glenn Davis | 9:00 am, September 9th, 2010

Roger Federer played brilliant tennis last night in dispatching of Robin Soderling at the U.S. Open, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. But some of the greatest intrigue for observers came after the match, when during an interview with ESPN’s Pam Shriver, Federer’s microphone suddenly cut off at one point.

UPDATE: Via SI’s Richard Deitsch, a statement from ESPN:

“The sound went dead for a few seconds, causing instant panic in the truck until the sound came back. The interruption was due to RF (radio frequency) interference. It makes more for good internet fodder but Roger was live.”

So that should settle once and for all that ESPN did not pull the sound; rather, the microphone cutting out was a technical glitch. This certainly lends credence to the theory that Fed didn’t say anything scandalous; my money’s still on the “twins are always sleeping when I get home” lip-reading guess.

And re: good internet fodder…what can I say? It sure did.

The rest of the original post is below.

Whatever shocking remark he might have made (or didn’t!) was prefaced by an awfully innocent-seeming question – and, for a while, an innocent-seeming response. Shriver asked Federer about his twin daughters, born last year, and the latest things they’ve learned to do. Federer said, “They’ve started giving me kisses now, I love it, it’s so cute,” drawing an audible “Awwwwwwwwwww” from the crowd.

But then, he said…something else. And the crowd gasped. But what? Chris Chase at Busted Racquet guesses that “he may have said something about getting back in bed with his wife again,” but one commenter on his story said, “The crowd groaned because we couldnt hear it either.” Another read Federer’s lips and thought he said something about how the twins are always sleeping when he gets back home. Looking at the clip again, that appears to be right.

But it’s way more fun to imagine that Federer said something crazy. Watch the clip below and decide for yourself.