During the month of February this year, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal created another record in tennis in Cape Town, South Africa. A record-breaking audience of 51,954 people turned up for their exhibition match, and the audience number remarked a new world record for a tennis match. It entered the Guinness record in terms of the tennis spectators for a match.
Recently, Roger’s mother Lynette Federer was in conversation with BLICK, and she shared how special the exhibition match was for her entire family and for Roger.
“Naturally. I am extremely happy that it worked. It will be a very special moment for the whole family. Many relatives and friends also come. And I hope that the spark jumps to the audience,” she said.
Simultaneously, alongside the tennis gods, Bill Gates and Trevor Noah raised US $3.5 million for The Roger Federer Foundation. That day, the event was more than a tennis match in South Africa, as it created a festivity-kind of ambiance.
The tickets of Federer-Nadal showdown match were sold under 10-minutes. Later the organizing committee had to add extra seats in the stadium as the request for tickets was brimming from the entire nation.
“The game in Cape Town was sold out within a few minutes. But we also get a lot of letters and reactions. You can feel that the South Africans are proud of Roger and accompany him intensely in his career. It is also a major topic in the South African media,” Lynette continued.
“That’s why it’s great that this “Match in Africa” came about. I know that it means a lot to Roger being an ambassador for a good cause.”
The Roger Federer Foundation
His foundation is majorly based in the African continent. It has impacted the lives of more than one million children. For his is philanthropic gestures and kind-heartedness the Swiss maestro is widely loved in South Africa. And Roger Federer considers it to be the greatest achievement from his prolific career.
Recently, amid the coronavirus pandemic, Federer’s foundation donated one million Euros to feed the people of Africa.
