You stay classy, Roger: Federer gets the Ron Burgundy treatment from Will Ferrell at Australian Open
Anchorman star grills defending champion on court after his first-round win, as Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic also progress
Roger Federer has been met on court after wins at the Australian Open previously by tennis greats Rod Laver, John McEnroe and Jim Courier. On Tuesday night, he got something different.
Comedian Will Ferrell stepped out of the crowd and, slipping into character as Ron Burgundy from the film Anchorman, conducted the post-match interview.
As usual, the 19-time major winner stayed classy.
@rogerfederer being interviewed by Will Ferrell after his R1 win (@7tennis) #AusOpen #7Tennis #Federer #RogerFederer pic.twitter.com/hVov02yNBK— Sam Begg - Tennis (@hitwithme) January 16, 2018
The 36-year-old defending champion picked up where he left off in Melbourne, beating Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in a night match, his first on Rod Laver Arena since clinching a career-reviving title here last year.
Six-time champion Novak Djokovic and 2014 Australian Open winner Stan Wawrinka earlier made successful returns from injury lay-offs with victories in their first matches since Wimbledon.
Maria Sharapova barely missed a beat in her first match in Melbourne since a failed doping test here in 2016 resulted in a 15-month ban from tennis.
The five-time major winner recovered from an early break in the second set and closed out her 6-1, 6-4 victory over Tatjana Maria with an ace.