18-time grand slam champion Roger Federer will play a doubles match alongside Microsoft founder Bill Gates for the fourth Match For Africa exhibition.
The upcoming tennis extravaganza will occur on April 29th at KeyArena in Seattle, USA. Federer and Gates are set to play a match against John Isner and a yet to be confirmed ‘special guest.’ The upcoming exhibition will be the fourth instalment of the Match For Africa, a charity event which raises money for the Roger Federer foundation. The foundation supports children’s education in Africa.
“I believe in the power of people. We know that a good education is a decisive factor to empower children by allowing them to take their future into their own hands,” said Federer. “With my foundation, we want to provide one million children with the opportunity for a quality education by the end of 2018. The Match for Africa 4 in Seattle will help us reach our ambitious goals. I am very grateful for this opportunity to collaborate with Bill Gates, who in my opinion is the world’s leading philanthropist.”
Federer, who recently won his third title of the year at the Miami Open, will play both singles and doubles at KeyArena. His doubles match with Bill Gates will be a one-set match. He will then go head-to-head against Isner in a best-of-three match. Federer has a 5-2 head-to-head lead over the American.
Some fans have no respect… pic.twitter.com/FQkSIr3xnh
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) 4 April 2017
The Roger Federer Foundation has raised $29 million to support children’s education in six African countries and Federer’s native Switzerland. The charity has set out a goal of supporting one million children by 2018. It is estimated that 650,000 children across 16 programs have so far benefitted from the foundation’s giving.
‘I’m a huge fan of Roger’s work on and off the court. We share a love of tennis (although he might be a little better than I am) and a belief that all children deserve a world-class education.” Microsoft inventor Gates said.
‘Roger’s foundation does great work to support education in Africa, so it will be a lot of fun to play alongside him for such an important cause.’
Prior to the Seattle showdown, Federer will play Andy Murray in the ‘Match For Africa 3’ on April 10th. The clash will occur in Switzerland at the Zurich Hallenstadion. It is believed that Murray will still play in the event, despite recently withdrawing from Miami due to an elbow injury.
