Footballers, tennis players current and upcoming, along with a musician and an oversized tennis ball mascot got together today at the third annual Brisbane International Family Day to raise funds for the Starlight Children’s Foundation.
Tennis stars Andy Roddick, Jelena Dokic, Radek Stepanek and Andrea Petkovic along with Darren Middleton (Powderfinger), Nick Kenny (Brisbane Broncos), Zane Holmes (Ironman), Shane Tronc (Brisbane Broncos), Simon Black (Brisbane Lions), Matt Poole (Ironman) and rising tennis stars Sophie Letcher and Ebony Panaho showed off their skills in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Pat Rafter Arena.
“We had great fun with a lot of guys on the court before the tournament. [It’s good to be] taking it easy before the tournament and have some fun on the court during the practice is always nice,” said 2010 finalist and 2009 men’s singles winner Stepanek.
Photo gallery: Brisbane International Family Day exhibition match
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Brisbane Lions star midfielder Simon Black showed that his skills aren’t just limited to the football field as he matched it with Roddick and Dokic. Not content to play with one hand, the Brownlow medallist showed he can play left or right by serving with his right hand and hitting ground strokes with his left.
“It just sort of feels right that way,” Black explained. “I’d never be that good because when I get a good serve in the ball comes back pretty quickly and I can’t change hands in time.
“It was good fun, I didn’t really get too many hits back though unfortunately but it was a lot of fun. Us footballers brought the level of play down a fair bit,” the three-time premiership player laughed.
But the highlight was when ATP/WTA players Stepanek and Petkovic took on Roddick and Dokic. The four put on a worthy exhibition that had the crowd looking forward to the main draw action.
The exhibition match was eventually won by former pro Scott Draper’s team of Dokic, Roddick, Middleton, Kenny, Holmes and Panaho 21-14.
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Earlier, the on-court action kicked off in blistering pace with defending champion Andy Roddick and 2009 winner Radek Stepanek putting on an entertaining training display.
The last time these two met on court was in the Brisbane International 2010 final where Roddick edged out the then depending champion, a result that Stepanek would like to reverse this year.
“Playing with Andy [we] always have tough matches and big fights going to tiebreakers – one [or] two points here and there. [Our matches are] always big battles,” he said.
The wily Stepanek even had Roddick hitting slices rather than his usual double-handed backhand as the two prepared for the main draw, which begins on Sunday.
“It feels great to be back in Brisbane. My match record here is so far pretty good, just losing in the finals the previous year. I am always looking forward to coming here, it’s a great place to start the year,” said Stepanek.
“It’s such a nice facility they have built here … winning the opening tournament here was something special.”
Tickets are still available for Brisbane International 2011 from Ticketek.
