Tennis Update: Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to play for charity
A Grand Slam final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal was something fans waited for all year. However, the two have not played each other in a Grand Slam final since the Australian Open in 2009, when Spain’s Nadal beat his Swiss rival with a match score of 7–5, 3–6, 7–6, 3–6, 6–2.
For such a celebrated rivalry – probably the most famous rivalry in tennis history since that of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi – it came as a surprise, and a disappointment, to fans all over the world when the pair met only two times this year. Their last meeting on the court came in November after a long break, in the exhilarating Barclays ATP World Tour Finals’ final match. Federer defeated Nadal to win his fifth season finale event title.
With so little Nadal versus Federer action this year, it is welcome news for fans that the two best tennis players in the world will be pitted against each other in one more match before the year draws to a close.
Come Christmas, tennis-lovers will be getting an early present: Federer and Nadal announced today that they will be playing back-to-back exhibition matches for charity. According to Nadal, the pair “wanted to take advantage of our head-to-head rivalry over recent years ... and help people who need it."
The two will meet first for an exhibition match on December 21st at the multipurpose Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland. This will be a charity match for Africa, with all proceeds going to the Roger Federer Foundation, an initiative that supports projects in underdeveloped African countries, particularly for children.
Another exhibition match, organized by the Rafa Nadal Foundation, is planned for December 22nd in Madrid, Spain, to raise money for handicapped and underprivileged children. Earlier in the year, the Rafa Nadal Foundation opened a tennis school in India to help hone the talents of underprivileged Indian children. Nadal announced a personal donation of $100,000 a year to the project.
This is not the first time the pair will be coming together to raise funds for charity. Earlier this year, Federer and Nadal joined forces with six other top players - Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur – to meet in an exhibition match, called “Hit for Haiti”, at the Rod Lever Arena. The stars raised over $159,000 dollars in ticket sales and donations. Representing the Haitian colours, Team Red of Federer, Williams and Stosur won against Team Blue of Nadal, Djokovic and Clijsters. The players also donated autographed rackets which were auctioned off for charity too.
The pair again came together to raise money for the Haiti victims when they played a doubles exhibition match in March. Federer paired with Sampras to meet Agassi and Nadal in Melbourne Park for what clearly was a once-in-a-lifetime match.
In another act of charity, Nadal and Federer, along with the rest of the Elite Eight at the season finale event in London, created self-portraits by serving paintballs onto a white surface. These self-portraits, called “tennis art”, were auctioned off to raise money for charity.
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