Crossword Genius

Hurried Federer finally hit an unreturnable serve (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

raced

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'hurried' is the definition.
('race' can be a synonym of 'hurry')

'federer finally hit an unreturnable serve' is the wordplay.
'finally' says to take the final letters.
'hit' becomes 'ace' (acing is a kind of hitting).
'an unreturnable serve' becomes 'd' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
The last letter of 'federer' is 'r'.
'r'+'ace'+'d'='RACED'

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(Other definitions for raced that I've seen before include "Rushed" , "Ran fast" , "Cedar (anag)" , "Competed" , "Hurried" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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