Roger Federer took on Rafael Nadal at #MatchForAfrica in Cape Town on Friday but the highlight of the night came when Trevor Noah and Bill Gates joined the tennis giants in a doubles exhibition match.
The matchup between long time rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal was organized by the Roger Federer Foundation with the expectation of drawing 50 000 people.
Might this be the greatest rally of all time? 😅#MatchInAfrica pic.twitter.com/0LEPBLlWm2
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 7, 2020
The aim was to beat the record 42 517 fans that came to the Foundations event last year when Federer played Alexander Zverev in Mexico City in November.
The Roger Federer Foundation was hoping to raise at least $1 million to help educate children in Southern Africa and Switzerland.
Roger Federer has a personal relationship with South Africa seeing as his mother Lyenette was born there.
Reminiscing about his childhood days in South Africa, Federer went onto say:
“The time spent here as a kid was amazing,”.
“You would go on the road and you never come back for some reason because you’ve gotta chase that little tennis ball and you’ve gotta chase your dreams.”
Rugby World Cup-winning captain of the Springboks Siya Kolisi got the crowd jumping to their feet as he emerged from the tunnel for the official coin toss between the two tennis greats.
Siya Kolisi presents Roger Federer with his very own @Springboks jersey! 🇿🇦#MatchInAfrica pic.twitter.com/rp4teA2GBQ
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 7, 2020
Trevor Noah and Rafael Nadal teamed up against Roger Feder and Bill Gates during an exhibition match in which billionaire Bill Gates and Roger Federer won 6-3.
The foundation went on to supersede their original expectations raising a whopping $3.5 million and setting a new world record with 51,954 fans in attendance.
Federer went on to win the main event against rival Rafael Nadal 6-4 3-6 6-3. #MatchForAfrica was truly a great success and congratulations and thank you to all those that supported the event.
Victory for @rogerfederer in Cape Town! 🇿🇦
He defeats Nadal 6-4 3-6 6-3 to win the #MatchInAfrica pic.twitter.com/DOJdttv1wv
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 7, 2020
