Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer joined American tennis star Jack Sock, business mogul Bill Gates and NBC's "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie in San Jose Monday for an exhibition tennis event supporting children's education in Africa.
Net proceeds from the Match for Africa 5 Silicon Valley will benefit the Roger Federer Charitable Fund — an organization with the mission to give children in poverty access to high-quality early learning and education.
Federer and Gates were crowned two-time Match for Africa champs, but the best part, the match raised $2.5 million to help kids in Africa who are being supported by Federer's foundation.
[BAY JG] Roger Federer’s ‘Match for Africa’ Raises $2.5M for Children’s Education
“Roger might have a few more Grand Slam titles than I do, but we share a belief that all children deserve a world-class education," Gates said. "His Match for Africa events are a fun way to help make that happen.”
This is the fifth charity tennis event for the Roger Federer Foundation.
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"I believe in the power of people. We know that a good education is a decisive factor to empower children by allowing them to take their future into their own hands," Federer said in a statement. "We want to provide one million children with the opportunity for a quality education by the end of 2018. The Match for Africa 5 in San Jose will help us reach our ambitious goals. I am very grateful for this opportunity to collaborate with Bill Gates, who in my opinion is the world’s leading philanthropist."
Though the big match of the night featured Federer and Sock, Federer teamed up with Gates for a one-set doubles match against Sock and Guthrie.
.medium .leadMediaRegion.city_module iframe {height:421px;}Guthrie admitted Monday that she has "no athletic skills whatsoever" and is even a bit "uncoordinated" at times, but she said she has been putting in the work over the past several months to gear up for her moment under the lights.
"It's all relative, but I am playing the best I have ever played in my whole life," she said.
As for what she is most nervous about, Guthrie pointed to her serve.
"I'm nervous because it's hard to perform in front of all of these people and to do something athletic," she said.
Regardless of the result, Guthrie is more than happy to support such a "great cause."
"I think that's first and foremost," she said. "This is for the Federer Foundation which does this great work for kids in Africa."
