BILL GATES MATCH FOR AFRICA 4 RAISES MORE THAN $2 MILLION FOR THE ROGER FEDERER FOUNDATION

Written by: Staff on 1st May 2017

BILL GATES MATCH FOR AFRICA 4 RAISES MORE THAN $2 MILLION FOR THE ROGER FEDERER FOUNDATION |

Photo by Andrew Krasny via Facebook

By Ricky Dimon

Photo by Joe Hunt

The Match for Africa 4 took place at Key Arena in Seattle, Wash. this past weekend. It featured 18-time major champion Roger Federer, fellow pro John Isner, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready. Federer and Gates faced Isner and McCready in a one-set doubles match before Federer and Isner squared off in singles.

More than $2 million was raised for the Roger Federer foundation, which benefits underprivileged children in Africa.

‘”All of a sudden you get in this position where you feel like you really lucky to be playing on the pro tour and maybe you can actually do more and give back,” Federer commented, referring to how his foundation began. “And i thankfully have some great people in sports or in the world–like, for instance, the likes of Bill Gates and Andre Agassi–who have done so well in philanthropy.”

Photo by Joe Hunt

Gates did well on the tennis court, too. Of course, he had a pretty darn good partner with whom to play. Federer and Gates used one break of serve–against McCready at 4-3–to eventually take the doubles match 6-4.

That set the stage for a light-heated and entertaining singles showdown between Federer and Isner. The 35-year-old Swiss went up by two breaks in the opening set, gave one back, and managed to serve it out at 5-4. The second progressed to a tiebreaker, during which Federer trailed 5-2 before winning seven of the last nine points en route to a 6-4, 7-6(7) victory.

“You gotta be kidding me” and “welcome to the magic show” were Mark Knowles’ comments.

Mary Carillo asked: “Is it okay for a shot of the year/point of the year to come from a charity match?”

Losing in both singles and doubles hardly mattered to Isner.

‘I can’t thank you enough Roger for inviting me out here,” the 6’10” American said during an on-court interview. “I had so much fun. This was an absolute blast. The crowd was amazing–everyone. I felt if I would help in just a small way to raise the money for Roger’s foundation, for his charity…it’s been a huge honor for me. Again, I can’t thank you enough Roger. I appreciate it.”