Federer and Nadal go above and beyond at Aussie Open's Rally for Relief
The tennis world has dug deep to raise a staggering $4.8 million for bushfire victims in a night of thrilling entertainment at the Rally for Relief which took place at Rod Laver Arena.
The man behind the groundbreaking initiative was none other than Aussie’s own Nick Kyrgios, who was completely overcome with emotion after the total figure of $4,826,014 was revealed to him on court.
The crowd in Melbourne was thrilled as he went head-to-head with Roger Federer in a one-set finale that was the highlight on the night.
“I just got goosebumps when you said that number,” said Kyrgios.
“It’s been an emotional couple of weeks. I just wanted to send a message, I just had to do it so I wrote the Tweet.
“The whole Aussie team got behind it and I woke up the next day and it exploded, it was so emotional.
"It's been an emotional couple of weeks," says @NickKyrgios.#Rally4Relief
To contribute: https://t.co/a3qgsExZQj pic.twitter.com/RKvhFLyscU— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 15, 2020
“Back home at Canberra I couldn’t even go outside (due to the smoke), it was hard and I’m just so happy that we had Roger, Rafa, Novak – some of the greats – to get behind this.”
The one-off special event saw some of the biggest names in tennis taking part, including Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, who donated their time to encourage support for charities helping deal with the bushfire crisis.
The night was enjoyed by many, as the atmosphere was lighthearted with 12 players competing in a series of jovial matches and challenges to help raise money for the natural disaster.
Spanish favourite Nadal also made a major announcement, revealing that he and Federer had donated a cumulative $250,000 from their own pockets after chatting earlier in the day.
"Talking with Roger, we decided to give $250,000 together." 👏 👏 👏 👏#Rally4Relief
To contribute: https://t.co/9RPgZ7cBoB pic.twitter.com/ocdiw8D0if— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 15, 2020
“Talking with Roger a couple of hours ago we decided to give $250,000 Australian dollars to the bushfire relief together,” he said.
“Hopefully that can keep inspiring people to support this terrible disaster that we were going through and helps to recover all the things that we need (sic).”
Later in the night, a Victorian firefighter had her dreams come true after she was given the chance to play with Nadal himself for an epic doubles match.
Deb, a member of the Stuart Mill fire brigade, revealed on air that for the last few weeks she has been involved in battling fires in the crisis gripping the country.
She admitted that it had been a very difficult time, as she witnessed neighbourhoods and wildlife being destroyed due to the fires.
"We're there trying to make all the farmers feel safe while they go about their business."