Cape Town: Ahead of the exhibition match against Rafael Nadal, Swiss tennis maestro Roger Federer has said that playing a match in South Africa will be special for him as it is his first time playing in the country. The arch-rivals Federer and Nadal will take on each other on Friday and the match is the sixth instalment of exhibition games for Federer's foundation.

The 20-time Grand Slam champions' foundation has raised more than one million dollars in support of educational and athletics programmes for children in Africa. "I'm very happy to be back in South Africa. And I'm excited that this match is finally around the corner. I have family here and have been wanting to come back for years. This really connects all the dots - playing tennis, raising money and doing it in South Africa, which is very special to me. I'm very happy, it's here," sport24.co.za quoted Federer as saying.