Roger Federer, Nadal charity match draws over 50k spectators in South Africa

Cape Town: Tennis greats Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played a charity exhibition in front of 51,954 spectators at Cape Town Stadium in South Africa, in what organizers said was the largest-ever crowd for a tennis match.

Dubbed “The Match in Africa,” the exhibition was organized on Friday by the Roger Federer Foundation with the goal of raising more than $1 million for its educational projects in southern Africa. That objective was easily reached with the event raising around $3.5 million.

Prior to the match, 38-year-old Federer told Efe news that is was a “magical” experience to take on his long time rival before a packed audience in his mother’s native country.

The evening included a doubles exhibition in which Federer teamed with Bill Gates, the multi-billionaire co-founder of Microsoft whose charitable efforts also have focused on education, and Nadal was partnered with South African comedian and television host Trevor Noah.

Federer’s mother, Lynette, an Afrikaner from a city near Johannesburg, flipped the coin to determine which team served first in that match, in which amid the good humor both Noah and Gates surprised the crowd with their tennis skills.

Federer and Gates ended up coming out on top 6-3.

Adding some local flavor to the event was the Ndlovu Youth Choir, which wowed the capacity crowd during the changeovers with their African-flavoured renditions of various global hits. IANS

Also Read: No plans to retire: Roger Federer intends to soldier on

Also Watch: Kokrajhar District BJP workers carried out cleanliness drive