Nottingham's Robin Hood with Aegon Open second seed Varvara Lepchenko (left) and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.
Excitement is building for the Aegon Open Nottingham. And not just among those set to take part.
Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Boroni was like a 'little child' as she took to Centre Court at the Nottingham Tennis Centre, putting in some practice before the WTA event starts this weekend.
But while delighted to play her first few shots on grass, she was almost as happy to meet an icon of the city.
Robin Hood held court as Lucic-Boroni and Varvara Lepchenko picked up their rackets, and the former took the opportunity to take some photos and record a video to send back to her niece, Martina Radaelli, in Italy.
"She told me if I came here to say hi to Robin Hood, so now she's going to have a video and a picture of him. She'll be very excited," said the 33-year-old.
"She's five years old and she loves Robin Hood, so she'll be very happy.
"Her dad told her that I am coming to play in Robin Hood's town and to see Robin Hood.
"I can't wait to show her the video."
Lucic-Boroni meanwhile, cannot wait to get going on grass.
This year sees a new three-week window between the clay of the French Open and Wimbledon, with the change welcomed by the players.
"I think it's huge for us," said the world No.70. "It's really great for Wimbledon to have a chance to play another big tournament.
"I think that's the key to playing well at Wimbledon – having as many matches as possible and getting used to the grass because it is so different.
"We play so little on this surface, so one extra week and a few matches definitely helps a lot.
"I love England in general and I love this place. I love grass, so coming here is really beautiful.
"It's small, quiet and a very nice atmosphere to start the grass court season on.
"I just love it (grass). I feel like it suits my game.
"Tennis has slowed down a lot with the surfaces. Even on hard courts, it's a lot slower than it was before.
"Finally something which suits my game!
"I really like it a lot.
"I'm like a little child, really excited to go on court.
"I was really excited to have my first practice.
"I feel really genuinely excited to be on court, which is a really nice feeling after you've done the sport for a very, very long time.
"I'm happy that I have those feelings still."
Reprinted courtesy of Nottingham Post