Federer watches Tiger practice

Tennis' No. 1 player traveled to Doral, Florida to join the crowd watching golf's No. 1 player practice. At first poor Federer wasn't able to enjoy himself because fans who recognized him began asking him for autographs. But luckily Tiger, who was delighted to see his good friend there, decided to defy rules and graciously invite Federer in:

It's great to have [Federer] out here. I think he's a wonderful supporter of golf, and I think it's pretty neat when you have probably the most dominant athlete on the planet out there in your gallery.

They don't want to have people inside the ropes. . . . I'm sure I'll get fined for it. I don't mind paying, because he was starting to get hassled pretty good and I didn't think that's why he came out here. He came out here to enjoy himself and watch me slap it around a little bit.

Tiger even acknowledged that Federer was the more dominant of the two in his sports considering the latter's achievements in the past three years. For his part, Federer was as thrilled to be there:

I had never really seen live golf from professionals up until the last year. It's different from sitting in a stadium watching soccer or a tennis match. You've got to know where to stand to see the ball. For me, it was hard to follow the ball. I lost it just because he hits it so hard and so far... .

Such is the exclusive mutual admiration society of Tiger and Federer. And don't we too just love these two great athletes?