Federer watches Shiffrin in Switzerland, congratules her on result

After a very shaky outing at the Beijing Olympics, Mikaela Shiffrin returned to form in Switzerland and she had a fan in the stands.

Exchanging China for Switzerland paid off for the American as Shiffrin took a clear lead in the World Cup overall standings by placing second in a tricky super-G won by the unheralded Romane Miradoli.

“After the last couple of weeks I really appreciate this,” said Shiffrin, who was congratulated course-side by tennis great Roger Federer, who has a home close to the Lenzerheide course.

It was an impressive return to form on a steep, twisting course for the American star in her first race after poor results at the Winter Olympics, taking home no medals from six events. Shiffrin said the racers only knew from watching television near the start hut that Federer was at the bottom of the hill waiting for them.

“Everybody was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we have to ski really fast!. It’s pretty surreal to see that he’s here watching a ski race and quite exciting for us.”