Put a basketball in their hands and Brisbane Bullets NBL stars Adam Gibson and Stephen Holt are in their element.
But what if they switch to a tennis court to hit with Brisbane International quarterfinalist Aliaksandra Sasnovich and top-50 men’s player, Steve, Johnson?
Albeit taking the easy route armed with kids racquets, Holt paired with American Johnson, while Gibson paired with one of the breakout success stories of the tournament, Belarusian Sasnovich, to learn a few tips.
“We’ve played a little bit here and there, but as you can see by our form, it wasn’t the best,” said Gibson, who plays guard for the Bullets.
“I’m going to hit Steve up over the next month or so to come out for a hit though, for sure.”
The tables turned when the tennis stars stepped off the court to shoot a few hoops.
Sasnovich, who came through qualifying and beat No.6 seed Kristina Mladenovic and Anett Kontaveit in the main draw, didn’t fare so well in a free-throw shootout.
Despite a basketball playing mother, she struggled to stick a shot.
Johnson, on the other hand, was a little more fortunate as he drew on his American heritage to go shot for shot with the Bullets duo.
“I think Steve’s an undercover player,” Gibson joked. “He hit some shots, and he’s played a little in the past, so he’s got some natural skill.”
Johnson lost his doubles with Gilles Muller to Wesley Koolhof and Artem Sitak 7-6(6), 7-5 earlier on Wednesday, and was eliminated from the singles on Monday night by local hope Alex De Minaur.
Sasnovich is taking on last year’s runner-up Alize Cornet in the first match on Pat Rafter Arena on Thursday.