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For Federer, a new way to impress with white

WIMBLEDON, England — Roger Federer won Wimbledon for a record eighth time in 2017, which meant Monday, following tradition, he for the eighth time played the first match on Centre Court on the tournament’s first day.

“It remains a little bit nerve-racking, you know, in all honesty,” Federer, 36, said at a news conference Sunday. “It’s a big deal. I mean, besides the history and the mythical place that it is, you cannot also practice on it. When you come out, there’s a bit of uncertainty for both players.”

Monday’s walk on the court held an extra bit of uncertainty: who would Federer be wearing? His longtime Nike sponsorship expired in March, just before he took an extended break from tennis during the clay-court season.

In his absence, speculation about his clothing contract bubbled up, particularly after news media reports in June that he was considering signing with Uniqlo, the Japanese clothing company. Neither Federer nor his camp confirmed the reports, and when he returned to the tour last month for two grass-court events in Germany, he played in a Nike kit.

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But there is no grander place in tennis to debut a new look than Centre Court at Wimbledon, and when Federer walked out Monday, he was indeed wearing Uniqlo.

Federer sporting the square red logo was a jarring sight, but his grass-court tennis looked very familiar, as he dispatched Lajovic 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour, 19 minutes.

Even though the agreement had been hinted at, it was still a surprising development in sports business. The contract is reportedly worth $300 million over 10 years, one of the largest endorsement agreements ever — given to a man who is already among the world’s highest paid athletes. It dwarfs Federer’s career prize money of $116.6 million earned during the past 20 years. And the deal would extend well past his playing days.

The company was, until Monday, a very minor player in sports. Its small stable of sponsored athletes consisted of only the top Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori, the wheelchair tennis champions Shingo Kunieda and Gordon Reid, and the golfer Adam Scott. Novak Djokovic had been Uniqlo’s biggest star, but he moved to Lacoste last year.

Uniqlo is not even a sports apparel company, like Nike, or a high-end brand, like Lacoste. Rather, it is a casual wear company, roughly equivalent in Japan to the Gap. Though it has more than 2,000 stores worldwide and is expanding, Uniqlo is not the type of clothing brand that usually signs athletes, let alone those as high-profile and expensive as Federer, who has won a record 20 Grand Slam titles and this year returned to the No. 1 ranking.

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In fact, because Uniqlo does not make tennis shoes, Federer played Monday in Nikes featuring his RF logo, the No. 8 and the London skyline embossed in gold.

“For now, I will be wearing Nike,” Federer said. “They have shown interest to have a shoe deal with me, as well. Ties are not broken there. I have deep roots with Nike. I’ve had a great relationship over the last 20 years. But everything is open.”

Nike still owns the trademark to that RF logo, which also appears on countless hats and shirts on fans at Federer’s matches. But Federer said the trademark would eventually revert to him, adding drolly, “They are my initials.”

For all the attention Federer’s switch will generate, Uniqlo will not be able to immediately capitalize on it. Consumers might not be able to buy Federer’s new line until 2019.

“All this has just gotten underway,” Federer said. “We’re hopeful the beginning of next year people can also start buying my stuff. For the moment, as fast at retailing as they are, as great as they are, it just needs a bit of time.”

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Nike has been Federer’s clothing sponsor for his entire pro career and has created memorable looks, especially at Wimbledon, that have cemented his status as a fashion plate. There was the gold-accented blazer in 2007, the cardigan in 2008, and the vest and military-style jacket in 2009. There were the tuxedo shorts at the U.S. Open, where Vogue editor Anna Wintour was a regular presence at his matches.

It seems apparent that Nike was not willing to match the length or the value of Uniqlo’s offer, particularly for a player near the end of his career who now spends a handful of months every season at home in Switzerland rather than at tournaments.

But Federer still sees plenty of value in his brand, and, as Monday’s announcement showed, he’s open to suggestions.

“It’s very exciting also again to see what’s out there, who wants to do something with me,” he said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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Naila-Jean Meyers © 2018 The New York Times

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