Roger Federer has long been a man of style who is meticulous about the clothes he wears both on and off the court. He has already approved the Nike outfit he will wear at Wimbledon in the summer of 2014 and is giving serious consideration to becoming a complete traditionalist, wearing all white attire for an entire year.
Federer’s deal with Nike is worth a reported $13 million a year and is reputed to be the most lucrative in tennis. Although the company has a roster of younger players such as Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Juan Martin Del Potro and Li Na as well as Serena Williams, Federer’s manager Tony Godsick renegotiated a ten-year deal back in 2008.
The world no.2 has an input into design and insists giving approval to everything Nike produces in the RF line. “It’s almost a one and a half year in advance sort of planning, so it goes way, way forward,” he revealed. “We’ve already decided what I’m going to wear at Wimbledon next year and we’re talking US Open and fall already.
Federer admitted he was happy with the pink laced shoes he wore at the Australian Open and is still using during the Dubai Duty Free Championships. “I approved the design,” he said. “So in the end it’s my responsibility, isn’t it? I thought we’d do something fresh early on in the year. I haven’t heard too many bad things. I think people quite like it for some reason.”
The 31 year-old claimed he was not always happy with the clothing offered to him. “Sometimes I have pushed back on things,” he continued. “They give you initial ideas that you might not like; be it the cut or you might not like the collar, or the color itself.
“We talk a lot at meetings throughout the year, and then I try to have fun with it. We always try to come up with different ideas. It’s good to mix it up a bit, I think.”
However Federer revealed the traditionalist in him yearns to permanently adopt the Wimbledon predominantly white color scheme. “I read a piece about someone saying that it’s a pity that the players don’t play more in white,” he revealed. “It’s so true. It’s so pure if guys would all just walk out in white. I guess we can push the envelope a little bit in tennis.”
©Daily Tennis News Wire
Topics: Li Na, Maria Sharapova, NIKE tennis news, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Sports, Tennis News, Victoria Azarenka