Trevor Noah is a funny man who has wowed TV audiences on the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, but he was getting down to serious business on Wednesday ahead of the biggest tennis match in Africa.
Noah will partner Rafael Nadal in a celebrity doubles encounter against Roger Federer and Bill Gates at the Cape Town Stadium next Friday, February 7 in the curtain-raiser to the Match In Africa, which will feature Federer against Nadal.
A 48 000-capacity crowd will watch tennis legends Federer and Nadal – who have won 39 Grand Slam singles titles between them so far – go head-to-head, with tickets having been sold out within five minutes.
The match – the sixth such event and first in Africa – is in aid of children’s education on the continent, and is for the benefit of the Roger Federer Foundation.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/rogerfederer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RogerFederer, you & @billgates want to play doubles against me & @RafaelNadal!? Okay. We accept your challenge, but be prepared for the crowd in SA to be on our side! See you Feb 7 in Cape Town! Masihambe! #MatchInAfrica
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah)
The two giants of the sport will arrive in Cape Town next week Wednesday.
“Hey @RogerFederer, you & @billgates want to play doubles against me & @RafaelNadal!? Okay. We accept your challenge, but be prepared for the crowd in SA to be on our side! See you Feb 7 in Cape Town! Masihambe! #MatchInAfrica” Noah tweeted on Wednesday.
But the crowd are sure to cheer for Swiss star Federer as well, as his mother Lynette is South African.
Noah and Gates will take to the court at 7.30pm for the doubles match, with Federer and Nadal squaring off at 8.30pm.
World No 3 Federer has reached the semi-finals of the ongoing Australian Open in Melbourne, where he will take on Novak Djokovic on Thursday, while World No 1 Nadal lost 7-6 7-6 4-6 7-6 in Wednesday’s quarter-final to Dominic Thiem.
“This Match in Africa is a dream come true,” Federer said when announcing the match. “I will play in my mother’s home country against my toughest rival and friend Rafa Nadal. We share not only the love for tennis, but also for the good cause of giving children a better start in education and in life.
“I feel privileged to have other leading philanthropists on board to entertain millions of people in the stadium and on TV. It will be a once-in-a lifetime moment for my family and I.”
Nadal added: “Roger and I have shared so many magical moments on and off the court. Travelling with him to Cape Town and playing for the benefit of children is something I am very excited about. It will be my first time in the region with Roger as a tour guide – that will be fun.”