Australian Open 2018: Rohan Bopanna and Roger Federer practice together; watch video
What's the story?
The Indian tennis fans will be delighted to see Rohan Bopanna in action at the mixed doubles final of the Australian Open on Sunday. On the other hand in the men's singles final, Swiss ace Roger Federer will be looking to win his sixth Australian Open crown against Croatian Marin Cilic. But before the real action begins, Federer and Bopanna decided to practice together on a Saturday morning.
Bopanna posted a footage of the session with the legend himself, and we can't get enough of it. Here is a clip from Bopanna's Twitter account.
In case you didn't know...
This will be Bopanna's first chance of winning the Australian Open mixed doubles title less than a year after he lifted the French Open crown with Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada. Federer, on the other hand, is the defending champion at Melbourne Park and will be gunning to retain the trophy this time around.
The heart of the matter
Joining Bopanna and Federer in the light training session was former tennis star and current coach of Federer, Ivan Ljubicic. Bopanna stood at the net returning Federer's forehands and backhands while Ljubicic stood beyond the baseline keeping a close tab on the proceedings.
While both the tennis players helped each other out in the casual practice session, one can't rule out the possibility of Federer passing on some tips for the final to his former Indian Aces' teammate.
What's next?
Bopanna and Timea Babos will try to clinch the Australian Open title by defeating Gabriela Dabrowski and Mate Pavic on Sunday.
Author's take
It is every tennis player's dream to share the court with Federer, be it in practice or during a real game. While it must be noted that Bopanna has had that opportunity before also but one can be sure that the Indian won't forget this practice session anytime soon.