Federer beats Nadal to also make history with crowd attendance. VIDEO

Over 50,000 fans attended the exhibition match between the two held at the Cape Town stadium.

Federer Nadal

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal made history on Friday when they played in Africa for the first time in their careers. The two held an exhibition match to raise money for the Roger Federer Foundation. It ended up being a historic event with a record crowd turning out to watch the match.

A new crowd attendance record set in Cape Town

The official attendance figure for the match in Cape Town stood at 51,954 fans. The figure beat the 41,517 fans who attended Federer’s exhibition match with Alexander Zverev in Mexico City last year. The between Federer and Nadal featured a festive crowd with some holding up signs written: “Welcome home Roger.” The Swiss player’s mother, Lynette, was born in South Africa. Before the match, South African’s Rugby captain, Siya Kolisi, presented the 20-time Grand Slam champion with the team’s jersey which had Federer’s name on the back. The South African team won the Rugby World Cup last year.

Federer defeats Nadal in a three-set friendly match

When the match got underway, Nadal and Federer were competitive but still shared some light moments on the court. Federer won the first set 6-4 before Nadal fought back to tie the match, winning the second set 6-3. However, Federer refused to lose on his return to his mother’s country of birth and won the final set 6-3. After the match, the former world number one said he had enjoyed the experience. “It was a magical evening.” When asked about Nadal’s threat of tying and possibly breaking his Grand Slam record, Federer said he was not worried. “In my dreams, I never dreamed this far. I hoped to win just one Wimbledon. If he catches me, it’s ok.”

Before the exhibition match, Federer and Nadal took part in a one-set doubles match. Federer paired with Bill Gates to beat Nadal and Trevor Noah 6-3 in the doubles exhibition. South African comedian, Trevor, also shares the same heritage as Federer. He has a South African mother and a Swiss father. Before the match, he joked that he could tell what the 20-time Grand Slam champion was thinking since they shared the same heritage. “Roger’s at a disadvantage. We’re both half-Swiss, half-South African, so I’m in his head. I know what he’s going to do.” Unfortunately, he ended up on the losing side of the exhibition match. On his part, Nadal was grateful for taking part in the exhibition match saying that they tried their best. According to Fox Sports, the exhibition charity event raised around $3.5 million dollars.

Roger Federer’s ranking and performance in 2020

Roger Federer Stats info

At the moment ranked no.3, Federer played his last match on the 30th of January when he was defeated by Novak Djokovic 7-61 6-4 6-3 in the semifinal of the Australian Open.

Roger Federer’s best achievement of the current season was getting to the semi-finals at the Australian Open.

Rafael Nadal’s ranking and performance in 2020

Rafael Nadal Stats info

Currently ranked no.2, the Spaniard played his last match on the 29th of January when he lost to 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 current season 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 6-4 6-3 in the final in Shanghai (Shanghai Rolex Masters) in October 2017.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Embed from Getty Images