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Melbourne - Roger Federer will be closely following this year's Rugby World Cup - just don't ask him to support the All Blacks.
The Swiss tennis great, now at the Australian Open halfway towards his 17th Grand Slam, On Tuesday revealed he is a keen rugby fan - but backs the Springboks.
He was aware of the tournament set to kick off in October, but told the NZ Herald website he would not be backing the men in black.
"(I'll support) the Swiss," he joked. "I think they are starting to get into it a bit."
Indeed Switzerland, who have about 2 000 registered players, have made progress in recent years but are still ranked 63rd in the world.
"(No) I'll probably support the South Africans," admitted Federer, "because my mum is from South Africa. So I always support them."
Though rugby is irrelevant to most Swiss, the 29-year-old immediately recalled the 2007 World Cup and how he had enjoyed watching the Springboks triumph in France.
The Swiss tennis great, now at the Australian Open halfway towards his 17th Grand Slam, On Tuesday revealed he is a keen rugby fan - but backs the Springboks.
He was aware of the tournament set to kick off in October, but told the NZ Herald website he would not be backing the men in black.
"(I'll support) the Swiss," he joked. "I think they are starting to get into it a bit."
Indeed Switzerland, who have about 2 000 registered players, have made progress in recent years but are still ranked 63rd in the world.
"(No) I'll probably support the South Africans," admitted Federer, "because my mum is from South Africa. So I always support them."
Though rugby is irrelevant to most Swiss, the 29-year-old immediately recalled the 2007 World Cup and how he had enjoyed watching the Springboks triumph in France.
