Gael Monfils is one of those players you either love or hate, but even if you hate the Frenchman you can't help but love his hustle when he's really trying his hardest.

In the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in the Netherlands, Monfils was up against Juan Martin del Potro and while del Potro won the match 6-3, 6-4 it was Monfils who pulled off the shot of the match.

The camere angle is a little strange, but just look at the speed of Monfils to get this ball and hit a winner out of it. Seriously, just look at the contortion of his body when he gets to that ball. Monfils definitely will see your tweener and raise you a level of difficulty.

h/t Beyond the Baseline

The interesting thing about the men's tennis these days is that while we have plenty of characters, not a lot actually have Grand Slam potential. Every big event seems like it comes down to the same Novaks or Andys or Rogers and while that isn't great for the rest of the guys out there, it's always impressive tennis at the back-end of events.

And then there is Rafael Nadal. Only 26, Nadal has been sidelined for the last seven months with a knee injury that forced him to miss the 2012 U.S. Open and last month's Australian Open and while each final without him has been dramatic, there is still a feeling that something is missing.

Nadal returned to the court this week and won his first singles match in what seemed like ages, taking down Argentina’s Frederico Delbonis 6-3, 6-2 at the VTR Open in Chile. It was a solid win for a guy that has been away from the game so long, and while it's just one step in the right direction he moved on the clay surface like the guy we've seen in the past.

The beauty of the between-the-legs shot is that while it is incredible to watch, it rarely produces anything positive. It's a fun shot to try and hit when the match isn't in the last points of being over, but everyone enjoys a good attempt.

Lukas Rosol did that one better in his Davis Cup match against Stanislas Wawrinka. Going back and forth in an incredible point, Wawrinka hit a lob over Rosol's head, and as he ran back you could feel the tweener coming. It did, and the cross-court winner was good enough to make just about every highlight reel.

Sadly Wawrinka was able to hold off Rosol but that doesn't change the fact that this shot was pretty darn incredible.

h/t Beyond the Baseline

The great folks at Trans World Sport have been rolling out videos from the past of superstars that were filmed when they were kids. Tiger Woods was one of the first they pushed, and now we have Serena and Venus Williams as 11 and 12-year-olds.

It's a great look at the sisters at a young age, and at one point you learn that at the time of the interview Venus had won 63 of 63 junior tournaments and Serena was 50-for-52.

Watch it, enjoy it, and hey, you'll get to hear a ton of Richard Williams.

The five set semifinal match between Roger Federer and Andy Murray produced some incredible shots by two of the best in the game, but none were more precise, and as lucky, as this lob that Murray hit in the fourth set.

Federer seemed to have Murray on the ropes, but the eventual winner flipped the ball over Federer's head, who couldn't even go between the legs to get this one back.

The shot had the crowd on their feet, and was one of the cooler shots we've seen this tournament.

The 2013 Australian Open is coming to a close, but we here at the Busted Racquet wouldn't be doing justice to our namesake, and forefathers (I see you, Chris Chase!) if we didn't give you this compilation of the best racket smashes of the tournament.

You obviously have the Serena Williams meltdown in her loss against Sloane Stephens, but there are some pretty big names letting go of their favorite tennis tools.

A piece of advice to those that feel the need to throw a racket -- always helicopter it; a lot less chance of it breaking, and it's just fun to do!

h/t Beyond the Baseline

Roger Federer, Andy Murray — Getty Images

There are hurdles in professional sports that few will ever get to jump. Win a championship, beat your childhood idol, or finally take down the guy that seemed to always have your number in the big events.

That's what happened on Friday at the Australian Open, when Andy Murray was finally able to beat Roger Federer in a Grand Slam in a five set match that most won't soon forget. Murray won 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, with the last set being a bit of a letdown after the comeback that Federer mounted in a fourth set that seemed all but over for the four-time Australian Open champion.

Federer was in command of the fourth set, serving at 4-2 after a break of Murray and it seemed a fifth set was inevitable, but at 0-30 Murray fought back and broke Roger. He broke him again at 6-5 to serve for the match, but Federer, back to the wall, with what seemed like nothing left to throw at Murray, broke back to head to a tiebreaker and force the fifth set (the momentum change happened when

Lost in all the excitement of this year's Australian Open seems to be the two-time defending champion. If you toss out his five set win over Stanislas Wawrinka, not a ton of press has been thrown Novak's way with all the other story lines that have popped up in Melbourne.

But just a reminder, Novak is still pretty nasty at tennis. On Thursday he dismantled David Ferrer 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 to advance to his third straight Australian Open finals, and he did it with shots like the one you see above.

There are plenty of thinks Djokovic does better than almost anyone in the game, but his ability to not only run down balls but hit winners like this might be the most impressive. Not only did Ferrer not see that coming, but I don't think I did even the second and third time I watched it.

Djokovic will play the winner of the Andy Murray-Roger Federer match that takes place Friday.