Roger Federer returned to the Australian Open for the first time since 2022, when he retired from the sport.
Federer played a practise session with Casper Ruud, as well as an exhibition match alongside Pat Rafter, Andre Agassi, and Lleyton Hewitt.
Federer and Ruud played out a tie-break on the Rod Laver Arena, which surprisingly went the way of the retired star.
Ruud, who lost 7-2 to Federer, has reacted to his practise tie-break loss to the 20-time Grand Slam champion.
Casper Ruud says he took it ‘fairly easy’ against Roger Federer
Many were shocked by 44-year-old Federer defeating Ruud so easily, but he is not looking too much into it ahead of the Australian Open.
Speaking to Flashscore, the Norwegian said: “It was really fun. I was lucky to play against him once in my life at Roland-Garros.”
The Norwegian lost in straight sets to Federer at Roland Garros in 2019 during the Swiss star’s run to the semi-final.
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“I haven’t hit with him since then and that was in 2019, so it’s been almost seven years already. It was just fun. He looks as smooth as ever and he’s an icon on and off the court,” he added.
“It was fun to play a few points with him and he hit some good shots. We both took it fairly easy but it was fun for me and the crowd.”
Ruud is currently the world number 13 and could crack the top 10 with a good performance at the Australian Open.
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Ruud will begin his campaign against Italian Mattia Bellucci in the first round of the Melbourne event in a first-time-ever match-up.
The Norwegian has been drawn in a section that also features three seeds in Denis Shapovalov, Valentin Vacherot, and Ben Shelton.
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Ruud has also been unfortunate to be drawn alongside some of the stronger unseeded players in the tournament, including Gael Monfils and Marin Cilic.
If Ruud can find a way past Bellucci in the first round, he will likely face a tough test against Jaume Munar in round two.
Munar has made giant strides in the rankings in the past year, and he currently sits at World No. 39, although he has only beaten Ruud in one of their seven matches.
