ROGER FEDERER showed tennis fans he still has all his old magic by beating Casper Ruud in a tie-break during a practice session.
The six-time Australian Open champion, 44, played for half an hour in front of a packed crowd at Rod Laver Arena.
Federer was tuning up for the opening ceremony, where he plays doubles with fellow legends Andre Agassi, Pat Rafter and Leyton Hewitt.
And the Swiss beat Norway’s world No 13 Ruud 7-2 during a tie-break.
Federer gave fans a thrill by smashing an ace and clean winner with a trademark backhand.
Before his exhibition with 27-year-old Ruud, the 20-time Grand Slam winner admitted he was excited at the prospect of dusting off his racquets in Melbourne.
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He said: “I feel good to rip the plaster off and show up on a big court like the Rod Laver Arena.
“I get out there as it’s too easy and too convenient just to stay home and say I don’t need to do it.
“I’m happy there’s a moment for the crowd — for me.
“But then also just being on the court with Lleyton, Pat and Andre.”
Despite seeing Federer play again, some fans were left wondering what it says about the state of the game.
One user wrote on X: “The level of atp currently is beyond cooked barring the top 2 guys and a 40 years old Novak.”
Another added: “Roger could come out of retirement and make the Quarter finals easily I think”.
Someone else said: “Only [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz would have a chance if Roger decided to come back…”
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