More money for Africa, more love for Federer

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 11

We’ve heard some sordid news from the big egos of Indian tennis over the last few days. The squabbles of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi took the sheen away from a great performance by India’s younger players in the Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan.

Now an example of tennis players rising above self-centeredness. In 2011, a study by the US-based Reputation Institute placed Roger Federer second on its list of the world’s most respected people — behind only Nelson Mandela. Why would a mere tennis player command such respect? He’s probably the greatest player of all time, but surely that can’t be the reason?

Good play

Federer beat world No. 1 Andy Murray in a charity exhibition match in Zurich last evening, winning 6-3 7-6.

The event, organised by the Roger Federer Foundation, was titled ‘Match for Africa 3’ — this is the third time Federer has played a tennis match specially to raise money for his philanthropic work in Africa. The first Match for Africa was played between Federer and Rafael Nadal in 2010, and the second between Federer and Stan Wawrinka in 2014.

One might wonder exactly what one single match could do? A lot, it’s obvious, when it’s Federer — last night’s match has already raised over 1.4 million Swiss francs (around $1.39 million), and donations are expected to continue for another week. Match for Africa 2 vs Wawrinka had raised roughly $1.06 million.

Good work

The most amazing part is that Federer set up his Roger Federer Foundation when he was only 22 — not an age when most youngsters turn their attention to philanthropy. One can’t,  for instance, imagine great tennis players from the past, such as John McEnroe or Boris Becker, focussing on philanthropy at age 22.

Federer has shown great commitment towards his philanthropic work over the years. The foundation’s website provides the number of children benefitting from Federer’s fundraising — 2,77,000 children, almost all of them in southern Africa.

The power of sport, and charisma of Federer, shines through his work — Federer has given joy to millions of tennis fans, and he’s worked hard to make a difference to the lives of thousands, even lakhs, of underprivileged children.

Model player

Match for Africa 4 will be played in Seattle later this month — in it, Bill Gates will join Federer on the court.

Federer does much more than just play occasional matches to raise money for his projects. He’s also worked to raise awareness and money for disasters that have struck different parts of the world.

In 2005, after winning the US Open, he auctioned his racquet to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The same year, he organised ‘Rally for Relief’, involving top players, to raise money for the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. In 2006, Federer visited places in Tamil Nadu that were affected by the tsunami.

In 2010, he organised ‘Hit for Haiti’ during the 2010 Australian Open, and the proceeds from the charity exhibition went to the victims of the Haiti earthquake. In January 2011, he raised money for the victims of the Queensland floods.

He’s done more, but you get the idea — the guy is a good player and a very good man. A model tennis player and, quite likely, a model human being.