'Roger and I used to play cricket,' Rohan Bopanna revisits core Roger Federer memories and the Swiss charm that changed tennis on and off the court

In a recent interview on The Other Side, the Indian gave reasons as to what makes Federer the G.O.A.T. He pointed out that Federer communicated well with all the players and understood them, making him the amazing player that he is. Federer and Bopanna were rivals only for one professional match back in 2006, where the Swiss won over the Indian.

I think how he changed the sport, not only on the court but off the court as well. He was somebody who communicated with all the players and understood them. Even though he was such a great champion, no matter where he met some players, he was always amazing. Rohan Bopanna via The Other Side

Other than this one encounter, both the players have usually met in the locker room and Bopanna even told a few locker room secrets. 

Rohan Bopanna claims he is a better cricketer than Federer as she shares a few locker room secrets

Not many people have known this before, but Federer also played a little bit of cricket, courtesy of Rohan Bopanna. 

In a recent interview on The Other Side, the Indian spoke highly of his friend, Roger Federer, and even revealed a few well-spent moments that remain as a core memory. With Bopanna, always playing the doubles and Federer leading the singles, they would often find themselves stuck in the same locker room due to timings on the same court. With Federer’s interest in cricket acquired from his mom’s countryside in South Africa and Bopanna’s inheritance of the sport, they played some cricket in the warm-up area.

Using the tennis racquet handle as a bat and bowling underarm off-spin and leg-spin, both the tennis professionals spent their time together playing cricket in the warm-up area. In addition to this, Bopanna also revealed who was better. Without any hesitation, the Indian said that he was better than the Swiss. After all, it would be unfair if Federer was the greatest in all the sports.