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WIMBLEDON, England – Roger Federer won a record at Wimbledon eight times, which meant Monday, following the tradition, that he was playing for the eighth time the first match of the Center Court on the first day of the tournament.
Dusan Lajovic, ranked 58th, is the best player in the history of the first round, which did not prevent him from being a little scary, you know, in all honesty said Federer, 36 years old. said at a press conference Sunday. "It's a big problem, I mean, in addition to the story and the mythical place that's it, you can not practice it too." When you go out, there's a little Uncertainty for both players. "
On Monday, the march on the ground suggested a bit of uncertainty: who would carry Federer? His longtime sponsorship by Nike expired in March, just before he took a prolonged break from tennis during the clay court season.
In his absence, speculation abounded on his clothing contract, especially after a Swiss report in June. with Uniqlo, the Japanese clothing company. Neither Federer nor his side confirmed the report, and when he returned to the tour last month for two grass events in Germany, he played in a Nike kit.
But when he came out Monday at the Center Court, He wore Uniqlo
Federer wearing the red square logo Uniqlo could have been a jarring show, but his lawn tennis seemed very familiar, as he sent Lajovic, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4, in 1 hour 19 minutes
Uniqlo specializes in casual wear and is not a major player in the sportswear industry. His small team of athletes includes the best Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori and golfer Adam Scott. Novak Djokovic had been the biggest star of Uniqlo, but he moved to Lacoste last year.
Indeed, Uniqlo not manufacturing tennis shoes, Federer played Monday in Nike shoes, with its RF logo, the number 8 and the skyline of London. Golden.
Nike still holds the trademark of this RF logo, but Federer said it would eventually come back to him. "These are my initials," he says funny after his match.
"We also need to understand with Uniqlo when we can start selling clothes for the public," he added. "All this has just started, we hope that the beginning of next year, people will also be able to start buying my stuff.For the moment, as fast as it is in the retail trade, it needs to A little time. "
Nike has been Federer's clothing sponsor for his entire professional career and has created memorable looks, including at Wimbledon. who cemented her fashion plate status. There was the gold blazer in 2007, the cardigan in 2008 and the the vest and the military style jacket in 2009. There were tuxedo shorts at the United States Open, where Anna Wintour, editor Chief of Vogue, was regularly present. The contract with Uniqlo is worth 10 years and 300 million dollars and will extend well beyond the days of Federer's game, which could have been the choice of a designer of clothes and a retailer rather than a business of clothing and sports equipment.
"Uniqlo will help Mr. Federer pursue tennis in new places while exploring innovations in a number of areas, including technology and design," said Tadashi Yanai, founder and president of Uniqlo . It seemed obvious that Nike was not willing to match the duration or value of the Uniqlo offer, especially for a player near the end of his career who spends several months of the season at he in Switzerland rather than at Wimbledon is only the seventh Federer tournament this year, having played 12 last season while he is reducing his program to preserve his health.
He won his last Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open, for his 20th major title. He then won the title in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in February, to return to first place, which he has since been in connection with his longtime rival, Rafael Nadal. (Nadal is No. 1 now, but because Wimbledon uses a special formula for sowing, Federer is the No. 1 seed).
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