Pat Rafter and Henri Leconte wooed a large crowd at Grand Slam Oval on Friday. The tennis greats from Australia and France put on a jovial show as they prepared for the Australian Open 2010 legends tournament with a game of Wii tennis, which Rafter won in straight sets.
The pair announced on Friday that they would play doubles together in the legends tournament, which kicks off tomorrow. A host of former champions will join Rafter and Leconte in the event, including Rafter’s 2001 Wimbledon final conqueror Goran Ivanisevic, Pat Cash, Mats Wilander, Guy Forget, Mansour Bahrami, and the ‘Woodies’, Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde.
“We will play together in the Legends; we have decided just now. I was so good at the Wii so he decided to play with me,” Leconte joked.
“They have no chance, him the serve and volley, me with the kick serve is coming, and then crosscourt. It is easy.”
When asked who would win in a Leconte-Rafter on-court battle, the Frenchman replied: “Who knows, he is 10 years younger – it doesn’t look like that, but you know - he just play too good.”
A Rafter/Leconte doubles pairing promises to be as entertaining with humour as it will be with tennis. Rafter’s popularity hasn’t waned since his retirement, with a large queue of autograph hunters and admirers tracking his every move on Friday. As Rafter was escorted from the Wii tennis display by venue security, Leconte pondered who was the more popular of the two in Australia.
“He is the rock star, I’m not,” Leconte laughed.
Matches in the legends event are expected to take place at Margaret Court Arena and Show Courts 2 and 3 from 10am each day from Saturday 23 January.
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