For the first time, I’ve been dreading writing the Friday Fashion Face-off. How am I supposed to find best-dressed man nominees in a sea of white short-sleeve shirts and shorts? What a snooze-fest. But I guess this is why I make the big bucks.
I considered just nominating the four semi-finalists, but that would leave us with Rafa Nadal and three of the geekiest-looking guys on tour–John Isner, Kevin Anderson, and Novak Djokovic. (I’m a vegetarian, but Djokovic really needs to start eating some steak. Seriously anemic-looking.)
Clearly Nadal versus those guys would be a bloodbath, so I did my best to find three worthy nominees. Try to stay awake to the end, folks.
Nominee 1: Rafael Nadal
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Admittedly, there’s nothing all that special about this outfit. Take away the swoosh and you’ve got yourself an undershirt and generic white shorts. But–I’m just going to go ahead and say it–there’s something vaguely emasculating about men frolicking on the lawn in their twee tennis whites. Dressing in the most basic and manly whites may be the best way to go.
In the above photo, you can see the shirt is just beginning to cling to Nadal’s sweaty chest. As we know, Nadal is one sweaty guy. The longer he plays, the more transparent and clingy the shirt becomes…
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Design flaw or feature? You decide.
Nominee 2: Milos Raonic
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I don’t usually care for Raonic’s clothes. Somehow they manage to look both too conservative and too sloppy at the same time. This year the Canadian is looking smart in New Balance’s subtle white-on-white stripe, and the outfit seems just a bit crisper than usual. A solid choice for an otherwise bland player and color palette.
Nominee 3: Roger Federer
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I knocked Uniqlo’s clothing in an earlier Fashion Face-off, “A Study in Brown.” Really, the brand could only benefit from Wimbledon’s strict all-white dress code. Not only did they retire that hideous brown, they designed this stylish shirt with a pop of red piping along the placket. The piping is picked up along the pockets of the shorts as well…
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It was only two weeks ago that Federer dropped Nike for a jaw-dropping sponsorship deal with Uniqlo. I’m predicting that this fashion-forward icon will be exerting some influence on the brand’s future designs–and that Kei Nishikori will be a most grateful beneficiary.
As I write this, only one of these men can still win the Wimbledon title. But all still have a shot at the coveted LittleYellowBall best-dressed award.
Who will it be?!!!
My serving total: 1,148
I just have to vote for roger, still recovering from his loss!!!!
The GOAT is getting pity votes. Sad.
Oh, thank God. The Isner-Anderson servathon is finally over.
Nishikori: drop the UPS shorts. Other than that, Uniqlo for the win.
It is challenging to stand out when they take away the colors…and that’s part of the point of uniformity/uniforms. But Uniqulo did a fine job with the cut. Or maybe the body inside would look divine anyway. Still, I have to give Federer this win.
I do like the cut of the uniqlo items. But Nadal is the one with the Body Divine! And the way that even the simple Nike clothing fits that body divine gets my vote. And yes, the clinginess due to the sweat just adds to his fabulous look.
Roger won the vote, but I’m glad Rafa got a decent showing. I try not to focus on the body too much in the polls. It can be a challenge since one’s physique does affect how the clothes look. But in this poll in particular, Rafa’s body becomes part of the outfit. You simply can’t overlook it–and why would you want to???