Roger Federer has placed a pair of his custom-made Nike shoes into the charity auction pot in hopes of raising money for his foundation, which works with underprivileged children in South Africa .
The gesture came about after Nike rushed to market with a limited-edition Federer commemoration model after the Swiss reached his record-breaking 287th career week at the world No. 1 position last July.
But that anniversary is old news now, with the 31-year-old having just passed his 300th week at the top of the table over the course of eight years and doing it at the Shanghai Masters where he is even more of a tennis god to an adoring Asian public..
Pairs of standard Federer kicks have been listed for up to $4,000 on ebay. So the Swiss decided that with prices like that, raising money for a good cause would be preferable to lining some seller’s pocket.
The no. 1 has put up a special pair of his own custom-made RF Nike shoes – the ones he wore on the way to last summers’s 2012 Wimbledon title champion. Bids have reportedly been received in the region of 11,099 Swiss francs, well over $12,000.