Roger Federer worked for three years to create this sixth event in the Match for Africa series. It was the first of the series to actually be played in Africa.
This event raised USD$3.5 million for the Roger Federer Foundation, to be used for child education in Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Cape Town.
Held in a converted football stadium, the other aim of the event was to break the previous record for the highest attendance at a tennis match; 42,217 when Federer played Alexander Zverev in an exhibition match in Mexico last year. The record was easily broken by the Cape Town attendance of 51,954.
The day began with singing and dancing from the Ndlovu Youth Choir and routines from Zip Zap Circus on the clay-coloured hard court, which Federer joked was designed to make his opponent Rafael Nadal feel at home.
Federer noted that it had been 20 years since he visited Cape Town. He reminisced about childhood holidays in South Africa, the home country of his mother Lynette who grew up in Joburg.
“I feel incredibly excited, so happy,” he said.
The doubles continued the entertainment as businessman Bill Gates paired with Federer in matching green and white outfits, while the opposition team of Nadal and comedian Trevor Noah wore hot pink and white gear.
Federer commented that he’d never seen Noah play tennis before. The half Swiss-half South African Noah joked, “I’m in his head”. After a kiss for his mum, Federer joined Gates to take the good-humoured one-set match 6-3.
Ahead of the singles, Nadal talked about his involvement with the Match in Africa.
“Thanks to Roger for thinking that I am the right one to be part of this unforgettable event. I’ll try to have fun and create the show that everyone expects.
“Playing together for these good causes we can achieve big things. Super happy to share this great moment with him.”
Before the warm up, Springboks captain Siya Kolisi presented Federer with a number 8 jersey and the crowd chanted “Ole”.
Like the doubles, the singles was played without lines people. Instead, Hawk-Eye Live communicated to the umpire within .3 of a second whether a ball was out.
Nadal served first in the very windy conditions. Both players showed great touch, including high backhand volleys in pirouettes, but Federer broke for 3-2 and took the set 6-4.
While Federer produced a behind-the-back volley and extreme winding sliced groundstrokes, Nadal brought his best shot from Melbourne, the 180 degree spinning forehand sliced slow smash reply to Federer’s lobs in both the first and second sets.
Nadal went up 4-1 up in second set and took it 6-3. Federer broke in the third set to lead 2-0 and eventually won the match in a happy ending for the “local”.
Title photo by the Roger Federer Federation