Video: Federer gets Sharapovian with French Open fans

Roger Federer is a man who loves decorum. That's why it's odd to see him step out of his gentlemanly composure, as he did—fleetingly—against Juan Martin del Potro in their five-set French Open quarterfinal. Watch Federer briefly berate a section of fans after one yelps "Out!" about a down-the-line forehand he hits:

Indeed, "shut up!" One has to believe that Federer was feeling the heat just before going down two sets to none in the contest, and that to the man who beat him in the 2009 U.S. Open final. Of course, the tradition-loving ultra-sportsman Federer has played librarian like this before, and that directed toward Novak Djokovic's camp in 2008:

Still, it's a bark toward the crowd that Maria Sharapova did much better in 2008 against Dinara Safina (who had quite the wimpy grunt then). Check out the 4:44 mark here for a remarkable point and a fascinating punctuation after the fact:

(Bonus: Mary Carillo at the video's 7:02 mark saying, "It's big babes on bricks!")

Ah, jocks. Let us not forget, these solitary warriors who are tennis stars are, like other athletes, still that: jocks.

—Jonathan Scott (Talk to me on Twitter @jonscott9.)