Roger Federer is in a rare league of sportsmen. With 17 Grand Slam titles and more than 302 weeks at the summit of his sport's world rankings, the Swiss Superman is the finest tennis player of his – and arguably, any – generation. The Federer brand isn't out of place next to the likes of Tiger Woods, Cristiano Ronaldo or Michael Jordan and it's somewhat fitting that the latter has come together with RF to create a sneaker that's truly worthy of the hype generated by two men who are worthy of the label, 'icon'.
The first collaboration between Federer and His Airness more or less amounted to the rebirth of NikeCourt and one of the most successful tennis sneakers of all time. Federer chose London's ATP World Tour Finals to debut a new Zoom Vapor AJ3, knowing that a successful tournament could see him end the year as world number one yet again. We talked Grand Slams, sneaker culture and Air Jordan with the man who transcends tennis.
Interview: Corey Pellatt
You’re about to debut the new Zoom Vapor AJ3 in London at the ATP World Tour Finals, what about this event do you look forward to the most?
There’s loads to do in London and usually we stay out at Wimbledon but now that the World Tour Finals has come to the O2, I stay within the city and I get much better opportunities to get a feel for London. I think the fans here are very knowledgeable of tennis and the O2 is unbelievable, it’s a great arena with a totally different atmosphere to Wimbledon.
Obviously you’ve been drawn against Andy Murray again, which must add even more to the atmosphere?
Exactly, again! I think this is the third time we’ve been drawn in the same group at this tournament and of course we also had the Wimbledon final and the Olympic final, I’m glad to see him playing well again. It’s a tough group but he deserves to be at the World Tour Finals because he had a rough start to the season but he kept plugging away. He’s a contender, for sure.
When you’re playing a hometown hero does that give you a little bit of extra motivation? To spoil the party, almost?
Yeah but at the end of the day there’s already so much on the line in terms of points, prestige and wanting to win the event that you almost forget about who you’re actually playing. It’s already big deal and playing Murray, here in Britain, probably enhances that. We’ve both felt it – and it’s hard for both of us – but at the same time it’s very entertaining because there’s more to talk about than a regular match.
The original Zoom Vapor AJ3 was just about the most successful tennis sneaker of all time. Were you surprised by how quickly it caught fire?
Clearly, collaborating with Jordan and Tinker Hatfield – who did so many of Jordan’s shoes and my shoes – was a great feeling for me and then meeting Michael in the process was great for me, because he was a hero growing up. I feel very proud to wear the Jumpman on my shoe. I like it and I hope people like it too.
I feel very proud to wear the Jumpman on my shoe.
From a performance aspect, what makes this sneaker work so well for you?
This one has more of an emphasis on leather, where as I sometimes play with mesh…but during the clay court season I sometimes play with leather and the new shoe feels really good to me, I’m used to it. We worked very hard with Tinker in the past for the Vapor and I must say this is a very comfortable shoe. I remember back in the day I used to have to break my shoes in for like an hour, I don’t have to do that anymore. It’s custom made and the quality is so high, it’s not too slim or too wide. It’s important to feel right on the court. I need speed and agility and I think that’s why Michael was excited because he feels tennis is connected to basketball, especially when it comes to how we both move. That’s how I feel too and it’s a great collaboration and a cool shoe.
You’ve mentioned that Michael Jordan was a hero for you growing up – how much persuading did it take for Nike to give you your own pair of Air Jordans? They’re so iconic.
I was into sneakers when I was younger, but it wasn’t crazy. When I got my first Nike deal – I think I was 16 – I started to get into sneaker culture; tennis shoes and basketball shoes. Basketball sneakers were huge when I was growing up. The soccer thing didn’t really work for me…
Yeah, you can’t wear studs out onto the court…
Exactly, it’s almost too performance based. I was far more interesting in the basketball angle and that’s why when the idea appeared to do something with Michael, I was happy to do whatever he wants to do!
I was given the chance to choose one of the Jordan designs and they ran with that. They then combined that with the Vapor – the RF8 – that I wear, and I think they did an incredible job. They look like Air Jordans that were built for tennis.
What made you choose the Air Jordan III? They’re rumoured to be one of Michael Jordan’s favourite pairs too…
I think it’s just the most iconic. I looked at all of them and I narrowed it down to two pairs. I liked the fact that the III existed in white and in black, I wasn’t even sure which I preferred at the time. So originally I said let’s do white – because that’s what traditional tennis sneakers usually are – and only recently did the idea to do a black pair came about. They said I could debut them at the ATP World Tour Finals but I needed to qualify first (laughs). Here we are and it exists! It’s very special.
It’s releases like this that have turned you into a bit of style icon, too. How would you describe your off-court style?
I guess I dress for the occasion. I think it’s important to respect where you’re appearing and what you’re doing. On the court, I have the opportunity to change my outfits with Nike between 10 and 12 times a year, which is way more than a soccer or basketball player has. I also have a lot of off-court photoshoots, which gives me the opportunity to try casual styles as well as suits, ties and buttoned shirts, which I like, you know? I used to feel very uncomfortable getting dressed up with all the red carpets, speeches and awards shows…but I feel very comfortable now. As athletes, part of what we do is meeting people and showing respect and style plays into that.
If you could choose to kit anyone else out in the new sneakers, who would it be?
I would like to see anybody wearing a pair (laughs). It’s always very special when I see anybody walking around with an RF cap, shirt or shoe. People almost feel proud to wear the shoe and now with the Jordan collaborations, I’ve actually had people asking me to get them a pair…but I didn’t have any! This definitely sparked something that hadn’t really happened before. My old sneakers were great but too easy to find, whereas the Air Jordan 3s are limited and once it becomes more difficult everybody wants a pair.
I think anybody who I look up to – any other athletes – it’s always cool when you wear something from someone who you also enjoy, whatever it is. I think it’s cool when we jump into other sports. It’s always great to see a musician wearing your stuff too.
You’ve now collaborated with Michael Jordan – a real sports icon – but if you could choose to work with someone from the fields of music and film, who and why?
It really is difficult. In music, I always enjoyed Lenny Kravitz and I think he’s quite into design and architecture and anything like that, so maybe that could be an idea that pops up sometime! In terms of movies, I always thought Leonardo Di Caprio was cool…especially lately…
So when there’s a film about your life we’ll be pitching it to Di Caprio?
(Laughs) Yeah, that’s absolutely fine.
We’re approaching the end of 2014 now, how are you looking back on this year?
Good year, lot of matches. I’ve felt this year but the good thing is I went on vacation after the US Open, which got me rejuvenated and fresh again for the year end. Even though it was rough to lose the Wimbledon finals, it was a great final and that was cool. I think going on a bit of a winning streak since the US Open with two Davis Cup matches and Shanghai…winning Cincinnati, they were really big events that all of a sudden put me in contention for world number one. I know it’s a very, very long shot…but it's very exciting.
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The limited-edition black NIKECOURT Zoom Vapor AJ3 by Jordan debuts Nov. 10 at global NikeLab destinations, Niketown London and select retailers. It will be available Nov. 11 at nike.com.
