There's an added pressure when pros lace up a pair of Air Jordan sneakers. Jordan Brand athlete or not, anytime you associate yourself with the G.O.A.T. and his legendary kicks, there's a certain level of performance you have to live up to.
That's exactly how Roger Federer felt when he took to the court (the other court) rocking his Air Jordan III-inspired Zoom Vapor "AJ3" sneakers. The Swiss superstar, arguably considered the greatest tennis player of all-time, wore the "White/Cement" colorway for the first-round of the US Open in August, with MJ himself looking on from the stands. Though people were focused on the shoe, Federer had other things on his mind.
"The day of the match, I was like, 'Just don't lose,'" Federer said in a recent Nike Tennis video. "Michael was sitting there and I was wearing the shoes... like, 'Serve now and don't double fault and don't lose the match.'"
And how exactly did Fed perform? He won the first-round match in straight sets, but eventually lost in the semis. It's worth noting he wasn't rocking the AJ3s when he was defeated. Just yesterday, Fed rocked the new "Black/Cement" colorway and won his first-round match at the ATP World Tour Finals.
Seems like he's doing just fine.
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[via Nike Tennis]
