Roger Federer briefly served as ball boy in his charity match against Rafael Nadal after letting ... - 3 minutes read
In the middle of the charity match, Federer stopped to let a ball girl play, and became the game's ball boy for a couple of minutes.
Federer was a ball boy more than two decades ago when he was growing up and learning tennis in Switzerland.
He threw two balls onto the court for the ball girl, who appeared to play a double fault before winning a point.
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Roger Federer let a ball girl play for a point during his charity match against Rafael Nadal in South Africa on Friday.
Federer — a 20-time Grand Slam champion — beat his old rival, the 19-time major winner Nadal, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in a three-set match in front of a sell-out crowd of 51,954 in Cape Town. The event had a reported demand of 200,000 people wanting tickets, 7News.com.au reports.
But in the middle of the exhibition, Federer let a gobsmacked ball girl join the fun.
As she played, Federer also fulfilled the ball girl's responsibilities, becoming a ball boy and throwing two balls onto the court for her.
He clearly knew how to — he was a ball boy more than two decades ago when he was growing up and learning tennis in Switzerland.
She walked toward the baseline and bounced the ball on the floor. Though she served a double fault at first, she nailed her next first serve and went on to win a point, albeit having been assisted by the net.
Watch the point right here:
As for the match as a whole, Nadal said: "It's a lifetime experience playing in front of such an amazing crowd. It was a big pleasure to be part of it."
Nadal and Federer's singles match was not the only event which fans got to watch, though.
There was also a one-set doubles match as Nadal teamed up with "The Daily Show" host Trevor Noah — who, like Federer, is half-Swiss and half South African — while Federer teamed up with his old friend, the Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates.
The Federer and Gates team won 6-3, according to ESPN.
The event was designed to raise $1 million for the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports childhood learning in South Africa, but ended up raising closer to $3.5 million, 7News reported.
Federer appeared to enjoy the entire day and, at 38, still hopes to "play for a bit longer." He said: "We'll see how much more, but there's still lots to look forward to."
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Source: Business Insider
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