Time Frame: On top of the world

• 

• 

  Photo by David Cannon for Dubai Duty Free via Getty Images

As tennis fans around the globe prepare to spend the next fortnight parked in front of their TVs watching Wimbledon, Time Frame journeys back to February 2005 when Andre Agassi and Roger Federer (in the blue shirt) knocked a few balls around the helipad of the Burj Al Arab for a memorable stunt to promote the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

As the reigning Wimbledon and US Open champion, Federer was close to the peak of his powers at the time. He would go on to triumph in the Dubai tournament a few days after this picture was taken, beating Agassi in the semis and Ivan Ljubicic in the final. Last year wasn’t so bad for the former Swiss number one either, who will return to Wimbledon this year as defending champion, having beaten home favourite Andy Murray in the final.

There is no official score from the helipad contest. Video clips show both players serving at a leisurely pace and Federer uncharacteristically knocking an easy forehand into the net. Hardly surprising, given the court’s baselines were situated perilously close to the edge of the high-level helipad and the prevailing conditions of the day were blowy.

The Burj’s helipad, which hangs more than 200m above the Arabian Gulf, has also been used as a golf driving range by both Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods and, earlier this year, by the car maker Aston Martin, which parked one of its sports cars on the deck.

It is, however, the “match” between Agassi and Federer that will live longest in the memory.

* Nick March