The last shirt that Roger Federer wore in his last professional match was electric blue. He bathed her in sweat, with the tears that fell from her cheeks and, incidentally, with those that were splashed on her by his neighbor, his rival and friend.
At his side, his doubles partner in that match, Rafa Nadal, was also crying: an implacable opponent on the court. Witness the final goodbye of the Swiss. Two happily heartbroken children.
Federer will always be remembered for his mastery, for his spin shots without appearing to move from the center of the court, for his sang-froid and for his human category of height. It is, was and will be the elegance personified by his disposition, fair play and style of dress.
When he wore a white uniform at Wimbledon Central, where he won eight times, a record in the Open era. He was not the target of Agassi, a transgressor like no other, or of Serena Williams who measured exactly the percentage of color that the All England allows so that players do not incur a fine. Federer dressed like the greats of the forties and fifties of the last century. When the amateur era he was absolutely amateur.
Almost more famous than the white one he wore at SW19 in London (Wimbledon's zip code), the black Federer was all the rage in Queens, New York. In several editions of the US Open (5 titles of his 20 Grand Slams) and, when he was about to go out onto the center court, the chords of Darth Vader's Imperial March in Star Wars could be heard in the background. Not because he was undesirable, nor half a robot, but because the Swiss tennis player, in his humanity, possessed something supernatural... an indestructible naturalness.
Taking advantage of the fact that it is time for high-flying tennis in Barcelona, and a collaboration of the former player with the Oliver Peoples sunglasses brand, Federer answers Magazine's questions about what it is like to see his former rivals from the sofa, from his family, looking ahead and what he understands by elegance.
Right now his favorite model consists of a tuxedo, bow tie, and mischievous look, which imitates that of another myth. Speaking of glasses, one thinks of Marcello Mastroianni, James Dean, George Clooney going to his wedding in Venice and of course, Audrey Hepburn.
“For me,” Federer elaborates, “if I have to cite a style, James Bond is the definitive reference. He wears sunglasses with a special sophistication, style and precision. I am also inspired by the styles of old legendary tennis players, his look never goes out of style. We wanted the result to be cool, complementary to any activity and elegant.”
And there comes the word that has best defined the Swiss tennis player. “It was one of the things we were looking for with this collection.” And in his case? “In my case I believe that elegance comes with the passage of life and experience.” The job of 007 is vacant... what a Federer-style Bond would be like: implacable, pristine... but no. Roger is a good guy and the racket is a weapon of beauty, not mass destruction.
In a delightful book, Tennis as a Religious Experience (Random House), the late writer David Foster Wallace wrote that the Swiss, on the court, with his magic “infused Metallica with Mozart.” What does the former tennis player mix today? “The truth is that I am happy with my life and looking forward to seeing what the future holds for me. Sure, I know it's a new chapter, but it's great to spend more time with family, travel to other places and work on other exciting projects,” he explains.
And, really, what do you feel, being on the couch playing those who were your rivals? “I will always miss playing tennis,” she confesses, “but my career was over: I left and did it in a big way. I am very grateful for what sport has given me, but I look forward, for example with my foundation. Our vision is to support primary education programs in Africa and Switzerland. More than 2.5 million children have already benefited from the program, but we do not want to stop there.”
