Cape Town (AFP)

New record ! About 48,000 people attended Friday evening in Cape Town, South Africa, the gala match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the biggest crowd in history for a tennis match.

The previous record had been set in November 2019 in Mexico, with 42,517 people gathered in the arenas of Mexico to see the Swiss confront the German Alexander Zverev.

This passage through the "plaza de toros" of Mexico was part of a lucrative tour for players in Latin America with matches in Chile, Argentina and Ecuador.

For this meeting of excess, in the Cape stadium, the profits will this time be donated to the Foundation that Federer set up 16 years ago to support the education of children from six African countries: South Africa , Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

This is the 6th "match for Africa" ​​for the benefit of the Foundation, but it is the first time that it has been organized on the African continent. The previous ones, the first 10 years ago, had been organized in Europe or the United States.

"We hope to raise at least a million dollars. I think it will be more than that," Federer said when he arrived in Cape Town on Wednesday through "ticket sales, sponsors and a Foundation dinner where Bill Gates is attending. also".

A double match with the billionaire American philanthropist and the South African-born American television host Trevor Noah opened the evening.

"This match will remain in my memory," said before the meeting Federer, whose mother, Lynette, is South African. It had taken place in the filled stands of Cape Town Stadium, where "Welcome to Roger House" signs were visible.

Earlier in the afternoon, Federer and Nadal played tennis with children from the townships of Hout Bay, near Cape Town.

During his stay in South Africa, Federer also met the captain of the Springboks world rugby champions in Japan, Siya Kolisi. "His story is so powerful. He has an incredible opportunity to make a difference," said the Swiss.

Kolisi was also a guest at the gala evening and was acclaimed when he entered the tennis court. He offered Federer a Springbok jersey with which the Swiss warmed up.

Before Mexico City, the previous large influx dated July 8, 2010 during an exhibition between the Belgian Kim Clijsters and the American Serena Williams who had gathered 35,681 spectators at the Roi-Baudoin stadium in Brussels.

© 2020 AFP