Bill Gates is exhilarated about the idea of teaming up with Roger Federer for their Match for Africa 6 exhibition game. The duo will face off against world no. 1 Rafael Nadal and South African talk show host Trevor Noah.
This week, the American billionaire tweeted that he is excited to participate in the charity event. According to him, the thought of playing with the Swiss Maestro is “a thrill” for him. He also said that he is already looking forward to taking part in the game against Nadal and Noah. Earlier, Noah teased Gates and Federer on Twitter. According to him, he has the home-court advantage as a South African.
I’m excited to team up with @rogerfederer again for the Match in Africa Friday in Cape Town. Playing alongside Roger is always a thrill, and I can’t wait to face off against @RafaelNadal and @Trevornoah. pic.twitter.com/WMlbBtZwVC
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) February 4, 2020
Match for Africa 6 will be held in South Africa’s Cape Town Stadium. With an audience capacity of 50,000 people, there is a good chance that the massive event will break the world record for the highest attendance for a tennis match.
The current holders of the said record are Federer and German player Alexander Zverev. They achieved it in November during their five-city Latin American exhibition series. A total of 42,000 people watched the game in Mexico City’s Plaza de Toros. Match for Africa 6 will be the first in the series to be held in Africa. Previous editions of the event were done in the United States, Spain, and Switzerland.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal sets epic singles clash
Apart from the doubles match, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will also have a singles match during the Match for Africa 6 event.
The singles match will be the first time that Nadal and Federer will go up against each other since last July’s Wimbledon semifinals. Federer memorably prevailed against the Spaniard 7-6 1-6 6-3 6-4.
Federer also shared his excitement about playing in South Africa. It is his first time playing in the country. This is surprising considering that it is where his mother was born. He has also done considerable charity work there over the years.
Bill Gates’ previous charity efforts with Federer
This is not the first time that Roger Federer and Bill Gates partnered together for a charity event. Bill Gates already previously participated in the past two editions of Match for Africa. He teamed up with Federer for both times.
For Match for Africa 4 in Seattle, they went against top American John Isner and Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready. For Match for Africa 5 in San Jose, they faced 2014 Wimbledon champ Jack Sock and American broadcast journalist Savannah Guthrie. The San Jose match was able to raise around $2.5 million for the Roger Federer Foundation.
Rafael Nadal’s ranking and performance in 2020
Ranked world no.2, Nadal played his last match on the 29th of January when he was overcome by Dominic Thiem 7-63 7-64 4-6 7-66 in the quarter of the Australian Open.
Rafael Nadal’s most significant performance of the year was reaching the final in in ATP Cup.
Roger Federer’s ranking and performance in 2020
Currently the world no.3, Federer played his last match on the 30th of January when he had to bow to Novak Djokovic 7-61 6-4 6-3 in the semifinal of the Australian Open.
Roger Federer’s best accomplishment of the current season was getting to the semi-finals at the Australian Open.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer played each other 40 times. The head to head is 24-16 for Nadal.
The last time that they squared off, Roger Federer won 7-63 1-6 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal in London (Wimbledon) in July 2019.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer |
| Embed from Getty Images |
