It’s not very often you get to hit the court with a current top ten world tennis player and a former world number one, but Harry Wilson and Corey Toole did today.
Swapping rugby balls for tennis racquets, the two Wallabies had a hit with world number eight Alex de Minaur and former champion Lleyton Hewitt as the Australian Tennis team prepare to face Belgium in the Davis Cup at the same time the men in gold play Argentina.
Watch the Wallabies tackle Los Pumas at Allianz Stadium live and on-demand via Stan Sport.
“It's quite fun tennis, but I don’t think I'm up to the standard, maybe Wilson might be,” Toole joked with reporters following the hit out.
“[De Minaur’s serve is] pretty fast. I don't think I got one back. Got close, but I'm glad I'm not out there against him on Saturday.
“I played a little bit of tennis growing up, probably my main sport until I was about 14. I always love putting the racquet back in the hand and having a hit.
“[Lleyton is] idol of mine and a lot of other young Australians, so you have to take the chance to be able to have a hit with him. Yeah, it's quite special for both me and Harry.”
De Minaur praised the Wallaby captain for his bold approach and mental resilience to go for the win in Townsville on Saturday, with Wilson making comparisons on the mental toughness of playing professional tennis.
De Minaur's connections with rugby goes deeper, having invited Wilson and Max Jorgensen into his player's box during the Australian Open earlier in the year.
"That was amazing, to have the guts to go for it in that position," de Minaur said to AAP when asked about Wallabies' win over Argentina.
"Fortune favours the brave, and it just shows the type of attitude that we want all Australian athletes to have.
"Just be fearless, go after it, and have that never-say-die attitude.
"It was one of those goosebump moments.
"It was really cool to meet them in Melbourne at the start of the year, and just pick each other's brains a little bit."
“The mental resilience that you have to have as a tennis player is pretty unbelievable,” Wilson reciprocated.
“The way he [De Minaur] always digs deep, just by himself and I don't know anyone else around him, he's pretty special. Watching wherever the ball was, he found a way to get it back and he definitely has that never-say-die attitude.
“If we can take from it, probably our team, we've been behind it half-time a few games and we've found a way to get back into it and that's just been trying to stack as many moments as we could. I'm sure that's what they've got to do as a tennis player.
“It's not about trying to win the game in two sets down, it's about winning the next game, the next point, the next set and then you can win the match from there and that's pretty much sort of the same way we try and do it.”
Wilson’s decision making has been the talk of the town as the Wallabies get ready to face a resurgent Pumas in a Saturday sell-out in Sydney.
However, Wilson was quick to brush off personal acclaim, singling out a strong support unit in the form of coaches and the Wallaby leadership group as a major factor in his growing confidence as captain.
“That is really cool to hear,” Wilson says when asked about the reaction.
“All the support we've gotten this week has been pretty special. I think most Australians probably would have done the same thing.
“I think that's who we are as a people, we want to back ourselves. It's probably no different to the way they fight back in the tennis world, [you’re] trying to win.
“Every week you definitely grow in confidence in the role. I feel really comfortable because I've got such a good support network.
“I enjoy more confidence. The more you do a role, the more confidence you get in it and it's always nice when the team's winning too.”
