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What not to wear, with Roger Federer and Anna Wintour

Mark Hodgkinson
July 5, 2014

Federer's Wintour fashion

Roger Federer's fashion tastes are shaped by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour © PA Photos
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It's often said that Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of US Vogue, and the inspiration for the book and film 'The Devil Wears Prada', has a crush on Roger Federer.

Those suggestions were being repeated on Friday with Wintour, the most powerful woman in the fashion industry, in attendance at the All England Club to watch Federer's semi-final against Milos Raonic.

But to tease Wintour about her interest in Federer is to belittle her role as an unofficial adviser to the Swiss.

It's true that when Wintour first approached Federer at the 2002 US Open - which was before he had won his first grand slam title - he had no idea who she was. But they became friends, to the extent that Wintour once hosted a birthday party for Federer in New York, and Federer has turned to her for fashion advice.

"I bounce all kinds of ideas off her - what to wear on and off the court, photo-shoots and everything," Federer has said.

Wintour isn't just a Federer fan; she's also a tennis fan. She has featured Andy Murray in US Vogue, and is believed to play most days, rising at 5am for a 6am hit.

Royal Wealth

Seated in the Royal Box on Friday was a billionaire and tennis enthusiast with the wealth to buy the All England Club several times over (not that anyone is suggesting that Wimbledon is up for sale).

Larry Ellison, a software mogul whose personal wealth is estimated to be £30 billion, is considered by Forbes Magazine to be the third richest man from the United States of America, and the fifth wealthiest man in the world. Ellison's interest in tennis is such that he owns a tournament in the Californian desert, which is played on the hard courts of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, and is considered by some to be the best event away from the four grand slams.

Stars in expensively-priced cars

Can you judge a player by the car they drive? Andy Murray once owned a red Ferrari, but sold it because he felt like "a prat". Grigor Dimitrov is said to have a Porsche, given to him by his girlfriend Maria Sharapova, who had won it at a tournament. And Novak Djokovic indicated the other day that, as he's about to become a father for the first time, he will have to consider changing a sports car to something more suited to a young family.

But there has probably never been more attention paid to a tennis player's vehicle of choice than when Petra Kvitova disclosed after winning the 2011 Wimbledon title that she drove a Skoda. This summer, Kvitova is back in another Wimbledon final, and she's driving a BMW.

Maria Sharapova has passed on the prize of a Porsche to boyfriend Grigor Dimitrov © Getty Images
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Mark Hodgkinson is the author of Lendl: The Man Who Made Murray. Hodgkinson is writing daily pieces for ESPN during Wimbledon.

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