Intro:

Tennis star Rafael Nadal beat former Brazilian international footballer Ronaldo in a charity poker match in London on Tuesday.

Script:

Not content with firing down aces on the tennis court, Rafael Nadal looks for them round the poker table. He faced former Brazil striker Ronaldo in London on Tuesday in a charity match, He's sat down, not grunting and there is much less sweat but Nadal can find some similarities between tennis and this.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Rafael Nadal (on what lessons learnt from tennis can be applied to poker):

"I think in poker you have to be passionate, you need to control your emotions all the time. I thikn in the world of sport it's the same, you need to have the right self control, you need to analyze the opponents, you need to understand how (it) develops every game and understand when is the right moment to go for it, when is the right moment to wait for it, so the strategy is.... always should be an important part of sport, no, and it's not an exception of.... no exception in poker."

Nadal certainly had a good stratagy here as he beat Ronaldo, good planning will also be needed if he is to return from appendix surgery in time for the Australian Open, he told reporters in Spanish that he expects to start training in 12 days and that there has been no complications with his surgery.

Ronaldo also spoke to the media after his defeat and he's not disheartened, he now wants a match against current Brazil striker Neymar.