Sidney Crosby meets Roger Federer

According to TSN and CBCSidney Crosby met tennis superstar Roger Federer for the first time on Sunday at the Rogers Cup. They were going to hit balls together on a practice court, but rain canceled their plans. So Crosby and Federer got a chance to talk before holding a photo op at the Rexall Centre. Federer oozed confidence and comfort as he walked into the media interview room with the collar raised on the jacket of his all-white warmup suit. He was followed by a smiling Crosby, who was wearing tennis gear and a baseball hat.

Both Federer and Crosby celebrated birthdays on the weekend and tournament director Karl Hale brought out a cake to celebrate. "But I'm older, you can tell,right?" Federer asked as a throng of photographers snapped pictures. Federer, who's won the Grand Slam 16 times, turned 29 on Sunday, while Crosby turned 23 on Saturday.

"He mentioned that he watched the Olympics," Crosby said."I mentioned that I'd seen him play in the U.S. Open and things like that. It was pretty general talk but I think it's pretty neat when you have that opportunity, being athletes and being able to relate to certain things."

"It's always fun to understand and learn what he may go through so that makes it a lot of fun."

Crosby has won a World Junior silver medal, a World Junior gold medal, a Stanley Cup, and an Olympic gold medal. He was the overtime hero for Canada in the Olympic gold medal game against the U.S. Federer is considered one of the best tennis players ever. Federer is no longer on top of the tennis world, but he is ranked no.3 at the Rogers Cup.

Crosby, who's from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, said he's a big tennis fan, who enjoys getting on the court in the off-season."I was actually at the U.S. Open (in 2008) and saw Roger play in the final," Crosby said. "I follow it pretty closely and this is a pretty neat experience for me."


Crosby said that there are many NHL players who enjoy playing tennis in the summer, but no one is better than anyone else. "Maybe Jay McKee, the way he talks," Crosby said, laughing."He's pretty good. Usually you have a few guys who can play and it's not unusual to have a few guys one every time who like to play regularly."

Crosby said he "took it easy" Saturday night and enjoyed some time at home with his family. "Nothing too big," he said. "I've had a nice string of birthdays there with my 21st and then having the Cup on my 22nd."So this one was a bit slower pace than those ones."