Nadal and Federer Split their Competition, But Their Charities Won
Nadal and Federer Split their Competition, But Their Charities Won | 
Many were skeptical when Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer agreed to give up a couple of days of their valuable off season before Christmas to play exhibition matches in Zurich and Madrid but the causes were good ones and so far almost $US 4 million has been raised.
First Federer hosted Nadal in Zurich’s Hallenstadion Arena in a confrontation billed as “The Match for Africa.” The Swiss won 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 on home ground but more importantly a sell-out crowd raised $2.6 million for the Roger Federer Foundation which supports various projects in third world Africa.
“There was quite a pressure going into a match like this, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t so important who won the match,” said Federer. “It was a match for Africa and this money is going to go to a good cause: my foundation for kids in Africa. I’m so proud and so happy that we all made it work, so thanks again to everybody.”
The following day the pair flew to Madrid for the follow up in the Caja Magica, scene of the city’s ATP Tour Masters 1000 event played in May that this year saw Nadal beat Federer in straight sets to win the title. This time the theme was “Joining Forces For the Benefit Of Children” – to raise money for the Rafa Nadal Foundation.
Things were a little closer and members of the Spanish royal family were present to watch Nadal win 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-1. But again it was the cause that was all important and the initial sum raised was $1.32 million with the figure set to rise once pieces of the court have been auctioned off for charity. One small portion of the surface on which the match was played is being offered for sale, packaged in a clear plastic box signed by Nadal.
“We are friends and we are both very committed to solidarity,” said Nadal. ““I just can say thank you very much to Roger to come to Madrid and support my Foundation.
“Both of us are very happy that we finally had these events that raised a lot of money for these kids. It will be a help and if everybody is convinced that everybody can help, it’s going to be important to improve a little bit this world.”
The Zurich match was supported by Federer’s major sponsors Credit Suisse, Rolex, Nationale Suisse and Lindt and Sprüngli he added: “This was something special for me that I’ll always look back on. I thought obviously of doing a match like this for a long time, but I felt comfortable doing it this year and Rafa was so supportive.”
In the United States, ESPN2 screened both matches live with Chris Fowler and Patrick McEnroe in the commentary booth.
Topics: 6 Million, Atp Tour, Charities, Confrontation, Couple Of Days, Crowd, Exhibition, Hallenstadion, Initial Sum, Rafa Nadal, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Small Portion, Solidarity, Spanish Royal Family, Straight Sets, Third World, Win 7, World Africa, Zurich
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