SAN JOSE — The big moment arrived at half past seven Monday night with the house lights dimmed and the spotlight shining brightly on the star of the evening.
Roger Federer, at last, made it to SAP Center.
The stands were packed, the roar was loud and the greatest tennis player of all time gave the fans what they paid to see.
Raising money for children’s education in Africa — $2.5 million, it was announced at the end of the night — Federer first put on a fun show during a one-set celebrity doubles match.
The man who is still going strong at age 36 partnered with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in a friendly competition against Jack Sock, the top-ranked American on tour, and Today show host Savannah Guthrie.
“I think I’m good at picking partners,” Gates said, drawing laughs from the crowd.
Gates and Federer won the doubles match 6-3
A singles exhibition between Federer and Sock followed and Federer won that one, too, 7-6 (9), 6-4.
The match was filled with plenty of entertainment — between the leg shots, Sock letting a ballgirl take his place for a point (she was pretty good) and lots of music and even some dancing.
In the doubles match, one of the highlights came when Federer dropped to his knees at the net and continued to fire back shots from Sock.
This obviously wasn’t a night for serious tennis or tuning up for Indian Wells, the next stop on the tour.
It was a night for laughs, cheers and raising money for a cause important to Federer and his foundation.
“I don’t use this as a preparation for the tournament,” Federer said. “I see it very isolated as just doing good. We just raised over $10 million, all the Matches for Africa that we did. That’s more than $2 million on average that we’ve done, which is phenomenal. That’s what I see. This is about lighting it up for the crowd and making them leave the arena really happy.”
He certainly achieved his mission Monday, both on the fundraising end and the smiles and cheers he drew from the crowd.
The buzz outside the arena hummed more than two hours before the 20-time Grand Slam champion stepped onto the court.
Fans circled the arena in anticipation of the icon’s Bay Area debut, as they do for big-name rock stars.
Inside the arena, the curtain used for the former men’s tournament here to hide sections of empty seats was gone.
With Federer the main attraction, the court was moved to the middle of the floor and all the tickets available were sold — 15,000 in advance.
“It was a good one,” Federer said. “I really enjoyed myself. The crowd’s great because you’re always a bit anxious to find out if they’re happy to see you. Are they excited about tennis? What is it going to be like? It’s not like Wimbledon where you know how the crowd is going to be. I felt they were wonderful. I had a great time.”
Federer brought the No. 1 world ranking and an undefeated record for the year to San Jose, which was never able to lure the Swiss star when the city annually hosted a men’s tournament.
Did Federer ever come close to playing the SAP Open, which left town after the 2013 tournament?
“Not really,” Federer said. “I don’t know why. I played a couple of tournaments in America early on in my career. I played in Washington. I played in Indianapolis, I remember. West Coast is tough for us.
“The thing is my first success on the tour came indoors. I always liked to play indoors when I could,” he added, noting that a tournament in Europe was much closer to his home in Switzerland. “You lose and you can go home. As a tennis player, every night you can sleep in your own bed, it’s a big thing.”
It certainly was a big thing for Federer to play on this stage Monday, especially given that he continues to excel.
“These are definitely special times in my life and my career,” Federer said. “The dream as a little boy was to make it one day to world No. 1, but not at 36 years old, I can tell you that. It was probably at some point at 25, maybe, if things went really well. I had a tough year in 2016 with my knee and stayed positive, was resilient and fought to come back and really believed I could actually win again.
“I didn’t think it was going to be at this level. It’s been an unbelievable journey the last 14 months and my team has been incredible. I’m loving every moment that I can still stay on tour because you never know when it’s going to end.”
Credit :
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/03/05/roger-federer-provides-thrills-in-san-jose-exhibition/ 
Roger Federer , Jack Sock , Bill Gates and Savannah Guthrie in "Match For Africa 5 Silicon Valley"
Roger Federer, at last, made it to SAP Center.
The stands were packed, the roar was loud and the greatest tennis player of all time gave the fans what they paid to see.
Raising money for children’s education in Africa — $2.5 million, it was announced at the end of the night — Federer first put on a fun show during a one-set celebrity doubles match.
The man who is still going strong at age 36 partnered with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in a friendly competition against Jack Sock, the top-ranked American on tour, and Today show host Savannah Guthrie.
“I think I’m good at picking partners,” Gates said, drawing laughs from the crowd.
Gates and Federer won the doubles match 6-3
A singles exhibition between Federer and Sock followed and Federer won that one, too, 7-6 (9), 6-4.
The match was filled with plenty of entertainment — between the leg shots, Sock letting a ballgirl take his place for a point (she was pretty good) and lots of music and even some dancing.
In the doubles match, one of the highlights came when Federer dropped to his knees at the net and continued to fire back shots from Sock.
This obviously wasn’t a night for serious tennis or tuning up for Indian Wells, the next stop on the tour.
It was a night for laughs, cheers and raising money for a cause important to Federer and his foundation.
“I don’t use this as a preparation for the tournament,” Federer said. “I see it very isolated as just doing good. We just raised over $10 million, all the Matches for Africa that we did. That’s more than $2 million on average that we’ve done, which is phenomenal. That’s what I see. This is about lighting it up for the crowd and making them leave the arena really happy.”
He certainly achieved his mission Monday, both on the fundraising end and the smiles and cheers he drew from the crowd.
The buzz outside the arena hummed more than two hours before the 20-time Grand Slam champion stepped onto the court.
Fans circled the arena in anticipation of the icon’s Bay Area debut, as they do for big-name rock stars.
Inside the arena, the curtain used for the former men’s tournament here to hide sections of empty seats was gone.
With Federer the main attraction, the court was moved to the middle of the floor and all the tickets available were sold — 15,000 in advance.
“It was a good one,” Federer said. “I really enjoyed myself. The crowd’s great because you’re always a bit anxious to find out if they’re happy to see you. Are they excited about tennis? What is it going to be like? It’s not like Wimbledon where you know how the crowd is going to be. I felt they were wonderful. I had a great time.”
Federer brought the No. 1 world ranking and an undefeated record for the year to San Jose, which was never able to lure the Swiss star when the city annually hosted a men’s tournament.
Did Federer ever come close to playing the SAP Open, which left town after the 2013 tournament?
“Not really,” Federer said. “I don’t know why. I played a couple of tournaments in America early on in my career. I played in Washington. I played in Indianapolis, I remember. West Coast is tough for us.
“The thing is my first success on the tour came indoors. I always liked to play indoors when I could,” he added, noting that a tournament in Europe was much closer to his home in Switzerland. “You lose and you can go home. As a tennis player, every night you can sleep in your own bed, it’s a big thing.”
It certainly was a big thing for Federer to play on this stage Monday, especially given that he continues to excel.
“These are definitely special times in my life and my career,” Federer said. “The dream as a little boy was to make it one day to world No. 1, but not at 36 years old, I can tell you that. It was probably at some point at 25, maybe, if things went really well. I had a tough year in 2016 with my knee and stayed positive, was resilient and fought to come back and really believed I could actually win again.
“I didn’t think it was going to be at this level. It’s been an unbelievable journey the last 14 months and my team has been incredible. I’m loving every moment that I can still stay on tour because you never know when it’s going to end.”
Credit : https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/03/05/roger-federer-provides-thrills-in-san-jose-exhibition/