A lucky winner of a contest got to fulfil his dream.

24-year-old Dunstan Lee was chosen among 500 Singaporeans to meet the world's top tennis player, Roger Federer, in Melbourne after winning the Gillette "Challenge the Champions" contest.

Lee was joined by other contest winners from Malaysia, Thailand and India as well as 20 from Australia.

And for them, meeting the world's top tennis player is a dream come true.

Lee said: "A lot of my friends couldn't believe it at first and even my parents also did not think it was a real prize until they saw my name in the papers and I was the winner."

And there was more in store for the winners.

Besides their session with the tennis ace, they also got personalised autograph posters of the star.

Jerry Chieng, Malaysian Contest Winner, said: "I think I will frame it and then probably put it in the living room to show it to everyone so that everyone would be jealous."

And ever the perfect gentleman both on and off the court, Federer also posed with members of the visiting media.

The number one player is gearing up for his first major event for the year - the Australian Open.

Federer got off to a bad start as he had to pull out from the Kooyong Classic.

He cited a stomach ailment and skipped the traditional warm-up event, ahead of the first Grand Slam for 2008.

The contest winners were supposed to catch the Swiss Master in action at Kooyong but that did not happen.

But the planned trip around the Australian city more than made up for it.

The Federer fans are also praying that it will be smooth sailing for their idol when the Australian Open starts on 14 January. - CNA/ch