Why Federer is so happy about playing with Nadal the Match for Africa in Cape Town

Roger Federer expressed excitement over the prospect of facing Rafael Nadal in South Africa this week. The two players will be flying to Cape Town for the Match for Africa 6 charity exhibition game to raise funds for Federer’s charity organization.

Federer said that he is excited to play against Nadal in the game. He said that the event will be special for him because he aims to make it a fun evening for everyone involved. He just felt sorry that it took so long for him to organize the huge event.

Back when the event was announced, the Swiss Maestro said it was a “dream come true” for him to battle with his friend and rival Rafa in his mother’s home country. According to Federer, he pursued Nadal for two years before the Spanish tennis icon agreed to participate.

Apart from the singles faceoff, there will also be a doubles match. Federer will partner with American billionaire Bill Gates against Nadal and South African host Trevor Noah. Match for Africa 6 will be on Friday, February 7 in Cape Town Stadium. Credit Suisse and Rolex will help present the event.

This is not the first time that Federer and Nadal teamed up for a Match for Africa event. The event’s first edition got started in 2010 with two events in Zurich, Switzerland and Madrid, Spain. For the 2010 events, proceeds went to the Roger Federer Foundation and the Fundación Rafa Nadal.

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Expectations for Match for Africa 6

There is pressure for the event to sell a lot of tickets. The event’s venue has a 55,000 capacity, which can easily be filled due to the star power involved.

If-Match for Africa 6 will be able to fill Cape Town Stadium, the Federer-Nadal matchup will easily break the world record Federer set for the world’s highest attendance to a tennis game. The world No.3 achieved it in November during an exhibition game with German star Alexander Zverev in Mexico City’s Plaza del Toros. A total of 42,000 people watched the match.

Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer in 2020 Australian Open

In related news, the Swiss and Rafa both lost their bids to win the 2020 Australian Open. Federer had to bow down to fellow tennis icon Novak Djokovic 7-6 6-4 6-3 in the semifinals. Because of the loss, the Swiss Maestro lost another chance to snag a record-extending 21^st Grand Slam trophy.

Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, had to exit in the quarterfinals after succumbing to Austrian player Dominic Thiem 7-6 7-6 4-6 7-6 (8-6). Thiem eventually advanced to the final rounds against Djokovic.

Roger Federer’s ranking and performance in 2020

Now the world no.3, Roger played his last match on the 30^th of January when he lost to Novak Djokovic 7-6¹ 6-4 6-3 in the semifinal in Australian Open.

Roger Federer’s most significant result of this year was reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open.

Rafael Nadal’s ranking and performance in 2020

Now the world no.1, Nadal played his last match on the 29^th of January when he had to surrender to Dominic Thiem 7-6³ 7-6⁴ 4-6 7-6⁶ in the quarter in Australian Open.

Rafael Nadal’s most significant achievement of the present year was reaching the final in in ATP Cup.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played each other 40 times. The head to head is 24-16 for Nadal.

The last time that they competed against each other, Roger Federer won 7-6³ 1-6 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal in London (Wimbledon) in July 2019.

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