or someone whose footwork is admired by his fans, film star Ram Charan showed that he was fairly good even on a tennis court when he played a ‘friendly’ match against Sania Mirza on Sunday morning.
Visiting the Sania Mirza Tennis Academy at Murtuzaguda near here along with his wife Upasana, Ram Charan confessed he was holding a tennis racket for the first time in his life and that he felt really good.
“I love sports. I really like the way this academy has come up,” he said.
Trooping into the venue on an unscheduled visit even as some of the regular trainees were trying to hone their skills under the new Serbian coach Tibor Penzes (he had beaten former Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic in the under-18 category a few years ago in Serbia), Ram Charan was in his elements, often cracking jokes. He first started with a few friendly volleys with Upasana who looked more adept in holding the racket as she dabbled in the racket sports before giving it up.
“It’s nice of them to have come here and interact with the youngsters here. I am sure they would like to come again,” said Sania, who is a close friend of Upasana. Ram Charan and Upasana also signed autographs and posed for photographs with the ground staff.
Sania’s father Imran Mirza took the couple around the academy, where about 50 trainees are fine-tuning their skills. The academy is now fully operational.