The DevOps Adoption Playbook

CHAPTER 5DevOps Plays for Driving Innovation

FEDERER’S NEW SABR MOVE

Turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks.

This summer, tennis fans were treated to a new maneuver by the 34-year-old tennis legend Roger Federer. It’s called the SABR and features Federer moving way up on an opponent’s second serve to hit a half-volley in an attempt to dictate pace and frustrate opponents. Whenever anyone hears about it, the first question is: What does SABR mean?

It’s an acronym:

• Sneak
• Attack
• By
• Roger

Federer used it in his dominating win in Cincinnati and utilized it during his other U.S. Open matches, with the exception of his fourth-round win over the mega-serving John Isner. The move helps him position himself after he hits a deep, chipped return and puts his opponents, like Richard Gasquet, off balance.

—Chase, 2015

The sport of cricket has evolved and innovated more than probably any other sport that exists. While other sports have evolved by changing rules or equipment, or introducing new, innovative plays like Federer’s SABR move, none has created completely new formats for the game. Cricket in its original form was called a test match and is (still) played with each match lasting five days! Both teams bat for two innings each, and the game seems to go on forever. With time, however, radical innovations were brought to the game to capture an audience that did not have time or patience to watch a game for five days at a time. This resulted in the creation of the one-day ...