Watch: Roger Federer practices with Carlos Alcaraz after declining earlier invite

Better late than never.

In 2019, Roger Federer declined Carlos Alcaraz's invitation to a practice session, something he revealed during last month's Laver Cup. At the Team Europe versus Team World event, Federer said he planned to apologize to Alcaraz for refusing the Spaniard's invite five years ago.

It turns out Federer came through with his apology in a big way.

On Thursday, the ATP released unseen footage of Fedrerer and Alcaraz practicing together at last week's Shanghai Masters.

Federer and Alcaraz also sat together during the finals in Shanghai between Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic.

Despite being labeled Rafael Nadal's protege due to the Spanish connection, Alcaraz grew up modeling his game after Federer. And the 21-year-old may have very well succeeded. Many analysts, including Boris Becker, believe his skillset resembles Federer's more than any of today's players, especially his scorching forehand and ability to mix up his rallies on grass courts. There's a reason Alcaraz has already won two titles at Wimbledon, the hallowed courts where Federer made his legend.

Sadly for tennis fans, the practice session in Shanghai is as close to a Federer versus Alcaraz match as they'll ever see. The two men never went head-to-head before Federer hung up the racket in 2022.

Alcaraz is currently in Saudi Arabia for the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament. The World No. 2 defeated Nadal in the semifinals on Thursday to set up a final showdown against World No. 1 Sinner. Nadal and Djokovic, the two losers of the semis, will face off in a third-place tie on Saturday, the same day of the men's final.