"I hope you guys are giving tickets, come on" - Gael Monfils and Holger Rune delight in meeting Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo at Miami Open
Soccer icon Ronaldo Nazario graced the Miami Open yesterday, with tennis stars Gael Monfils and Holger Rune making the most of the opportunity to share a few moments with the legend.
Monfils and Rune are currently in Florida and are set to take part in the Miami Open, the calendar's second ATP 1000 event. The French veteran will kick off his campaign on Thursday, March 21, against Dusan Lajovic in the first round.
Rune, seeded sixth in the draw, awaits the winner between Aleksandar Kovacevic and Fabian Marozsan in the second round after receiving a bye in the first.
On his last day off, Monfils was spotted alongside Brazilian soccer great Ronaldo in the players' locker room in a star-studded meet-up.
"Mama Mia," Ronaldo exclaimed upon meeting Monfils.
The pair were then seen engaging in a lovely chat. Gael Mondals asked Ronaldo when he landed in Miami, to which the Brazilian replied yesterday, after which he revealed that he plans to be in town for four days.
Ronaldo then asked Monfils about his schedule of play, to which the French veteran replied saying that he was in action "tomorrow night".
"When do you play?" Ronaldo asked Monfils.
"Tomorrow night, I hope you can come," Monfils replied.
Ronaldo then jokingly suggested that he hoped Monfils could organize it, to which the latter suggested to producers and tournament staff behind the camera that they have to give him tickets.
"I hope you guys are giving tickets, come on," Monfils exclaimed to people behind the camera.
Monfils described the Brazilian star as a "legend" and expressed his delight at being able to catch-up.
"He's such a legend. He is someone that when I was young, of course I was looking at him. He is a legend of the sport,” Monfils was quoted as saying.
World No. 7 Rune also met up with Ronaldo. The Danish youngster took to social media to share a glimpse of their catch-up.
"Hello @Ronaldo," Rune wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Holger Rune's projected path to Miami Open final
Holger Rune heads into Miami looking to clinch his first title of the season and the second Masters 1000 event of his career.
He will begin his campaign against either Aleksandar Kovacevic or Fabian Marozsan in the second round. 26th Jiri Leheka will likely await him in the third round, posing the Dane his first real threat in the tournament.
Ninth seed and Mexico Open champion Alex de Minaur could very well be his opponent in the fourth round, with fourth seed Alexander Zverev his likely quarterfinal opponent.
He could set up a blockbuster semi-final clash against top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the last four should they both proceed safely through. An upset against the Spaniard could land him in a final against the likes of Jannik Sinner, and Daniil Medvedev, among others.