Page 88 - Forbes - Africa (March 2020)

FORBES AFRICA
SPORT • TENNIS

Rafa,” Federer had said.
Thiswasthesixtheditionofthematch,butthefirsttobeplayedon
Africansoil.
Thepreviousday,FedererhadtakentoInstagram,postingavideo
saying“helloeverybody,I’minCapeTown,Ijustgottothetenniscourt
orfootballstadium,havealook,it’samazing,”ashepannedthecamera
forafullviewofthestadium.“Andwehavegottheorangecolorfor
Rafasohefeelslikehe’sonclaybutit’shardcourt.”
FedererwasreferringtoNadalbeingdubbedthe‘kingofclay’for
winning12ofhis19GrandSlamtitlesontheorangeclaycourtsof
RolandGarros(FrenchOpen)inParis.
Themediastoodonthecourtsideasthechampionsdisplayedsome
oftheirfamousmoves.Federer’sdad,Robert,wasalsopresent.
Themoodinthestadiumwasbeginningtogetecstatic.

The‘SwissMaestro’and‘SpanishBull’areundoubtedlythebiggest
rivalsthesporthaseverseen.
Yet,despitetheirfierceon-courtrivalry,thetwohavemanagedto
formaclosefriendshipoff-court.
Moreimportantly,theyhavemanagedto inspire fans from all walks
oflifeindifferentpartsoftheworld.
AndSouthAfricawasnoexception.
Intheaudience,amiddle-agedwomannamedSylna,dressedlike
Federer,gushed:“Themomentisjusttoobigbecauseyoudon’tknow
whattoexpectandyouhavealltheseimagesthat[FedererandNadal]
aregoingtoshakeyourhandsandyou’regoingtopassout.”
Theresa, another woman dressed as Nadal, sporting the
player’s signature pink headband, enthused: “It’s actually long
overdue that we’ve had some nice international tennis players in
South Africa and it’s for a good cause as well.”
Jim, a 63-year-old tennis fanatic from Stellenbosch, originally
from Zimbabwe, said he paid a fortune to witness this moment.
“The fact that [Federer and Nadal] have been able to maintain
their stature, physicality and competitiveness is absolutely
amazing. You can have a good day but they have had a good 20
years of playing tennis. It’s just their spirit… Tonight is a good
night to forget about all the bad things and concentrate on the
good things because there’s a lot of good things in South Africa.”
One of the most rapturous moments on that packed night was
when the ‘Mexican Wave’ was achieved in a metachronal rhythm

by fans, and captured by thousands on their phones. Above: Trevor Noah and Rafael Nadal
And then the world’s second richest man staged an entry. Below: Bill Gates and Roger Federer
Bill Gates appeared from the players’ tunnel with his doubles
partner Federer, in matching outfits. Federer now swapped his
Uniqlo black shirt and shorts for a white shirt and green shorts. “Ifeelincrediblyexcited.Sohappy!Ispentalotofmychildhood
He also decided to exchange the white headband for a green one. here.It’sbeen20yearssincemylasttimetoCapeTown.Itwasworth
Gates opted not to wear the headband but had his glasses on. thewait.Ididn’texpectthiskindofawelcome,”saidFedererto
Shortly afterwards, Nadal and South Africa’s very own Trevor SuperSportevenasfansheldupsignsthatsaid‘welcomehomeRoger’.
Noah too appeared from the players’ tunnel in matching outfits Hesaidsomeofthebestthingsheexperiencedcomingbackto
to screaming fans and a thunderous applause. They wore pink SouthAfricawerethefoodandlifestyle.“It’sabeautifulcountry.It’sso
Nike jackets featuring Nadal’s bull logo, pink shirts, pink and scenic.Thesafaris,andyounameit.Thepeopleattheendoftheday
white shoes, and white shorts. Noah walked on to the court with havethewarmesthearts.It’sawonderfulplace.”
the confidence of a multiple Grand Slam winner. On playing Noah for the first time, he said: “I have never seen

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