Aamir Khan would love to make a film on tennis; calls Roger Federer as his all-time favourite: “What I love about him is that it's like there's some ballet happening”

Aamir Khan, known for his dedication to portraying characters with depth, recently spoke to Star Sports about his love for the sport. In a wide-ranging interview, Khan discussed his dream of making a tennis film, his favourite players of all time, and his thoughts on the growth of tennis in India.Aamir Khan, on making a film on tennis, said, “Well, I hope so. If some nice story comes along, then I'd love to do a film on tennis as well. But for me, for a film, it's really the story and the characters that make a film for me. And you know, I have to confess that my first instinct was not to promote cricket when I was doing Lagaan or to promote wrestling when I was doing Dangal. I was really reacting to those stories as a human being, as a creative person. And the fact that they had, that sports was such an important part of it, just made it better. But if a story on tennis comes along with tennis as a backdrop, I'd love to, I'd love to make that film.”He added, “I'm such a supporter of sports. I really believe that a ball can change the world. I believe that all of us, you know, irrespective of your age, if all of us just spend two hours or even three hours a week playing some sport of our choice, it will change our lives. It changes the way we are physically. It changes the way we are mentally, emotionally. It really alters, and especially for children, because I think sports gets you ready for life. It teaches you how to work hard. It teaches you to be passionate about something. It teaches you team spirit if you're playing a team sport. It teaches you how to take defeat. Yes. It teaches you to plan. It teaches you how to take success as well. You know, it really gets you ready for life, I feel.”Aamir Khan spoke about his all-time favourite men’s tennis player, and said, ”I have to say that I've always been a huge fan of Vijay. And I had always been rooting for him. I remember the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. I watched the whole match, you know, really rooting for you. And when I was playing tennis, it was Borg for me. And he was the only player I had a, you know, a poster in my bedroom that was beyond Borg. And then there was Pete Sampras. And from now, it's been Federer. Federer is someone I really love because, I mean, he's a great player. And what I love about him is that it's like there's some ballet happening. He's so stylish. He's so amazing. And he hits some of the most incredible shots. So, I would say at this point, let's say Federer. Though I know he's retired, but he's still my favorite.”Aamir Khan also spoke about his experience on watching Wimbledon live, and added, “Well, to be honest, I've been here only once to actually watch it live which was last year. I came with my kids and it was a wonderful experience, really wonderful experience and as I was saying earlier, up until now, I've watched it on television through Star Sports. And but when you watch it live, you realize just how fast the game is and how amazing the players are and the whole atmosphere, the excitement of watching it live is something else.”Talkin about growth and awareness of tennis as a sport in India, Aamir said, “You know, when I used to play tennis, there used to be a lot of tournaments happening. And I feel that today there are fewer tournaments are happening, on a local level, on a city level, on a state level or even at the nationals. I remember when we used to play circuit, there were so many, games going on. So, I'd like to see more of that happen. And I think that will throw up a lot of players and another thing is that we have to realize that kids here start at a very early age. And they focus only on that one thing, tennis. And unfortunately, in India, a lot of parents don't want to do that. They don't want to encourage a child who is showing potential in a sport because we are little insecure about the future of the child. So, that kind of holds us back. There is a lot of talent in India and I think if we had more facilities, if we had more opportunities and if we had more support, then we'd have a lot more tennis champions that India throws up.”ALSO READ: When Aamir Khan and family visited Maharaj sets to support Junaid Khan for his debut with Siddharth P Malhotra