Eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer began his 2018 campaign with a win on Centre Court on Monday afternoon.
There’s nothing new there, though there was something a little different about the Swiss star.
Federer, who has 20 grand slam titles to his name, stepped out in front of the Centre Court crowd on Monday with almost no Nike ticks or ‘RF’ logos to see.
After a near-decade association with Nike, which ended in March, the 36-year-old appeared wearing Japanese brand Uniqlo, having worn unbranded clothes during his warm-ups.
In Pictures | Wimbledon 2018
He still wore Nike trainers as Uniqlo do not make tennis shoes, however, with the American brand still owning the rights to his ‘RF’ brand logo, he did not have one on display.
"Yeah, so the RF logo is with Nike at the moment, but it will come to me at some point," he said.
"I hope rather sooner than later, that Nike can be nice and helpful in the process to bring it over to me. It's also something that was very important for me, for the fans really."
The new deal is reportedly also 10 years long and worth more than $300million (£229m).
He added: "I was excited to wear Uniqlo today. I must tell you, it's been a long time coming. I felt very good out there. It's also crucial to play well, so it was helpful."
Federer began his title defence in style at the All England Club, brushing aside Serbian Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 in 79 minutes.
