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Dubai - Roger Federer says he has thought about transforming his appearance by wearing only white tennis gear all year, if that were to become possible.
Federer has shown his love of traditional attire with his outfits during Wimbledon, most notably a cream blazer which he wore from the locker room to the centre court - and which divided opinion.
The seven-times champion's retro fashion sense has been complemented by his respect for the history of tennis and his considerable knowledge of how the sport has evolved.
Asked if he would therefore like it if players just wore white, in keeping with the Wimbledon's "predominantly white" rule, Federer replied: "Yeah, I actually thought about that - what if I just wore all white for a year or something?"
Although there are practicalities which make this difficult, the tennis legend's enthusiasm for the idea and for other traditional fashion statements soon became evident with his follow-up remarks.
"I thought about it, because I read a piece about someone saying that it's a pity that the players don't play more in white. Yeah, it's so true.
"It's so pure if guys would all just walk out in white. I guess we can push the envelope a little bit in tennis."
However there are questions as to whether Nike, his clothing sponsor, would like this idea, and whether spectators would like it.
Moreover, new lines are planned 18 months in advance, and there is no certainty how long Federer, 32 in August, will still be competing.
"But I change my outfit ten to twelve times a year," Federer pointed out. "It's fun. It really is. Not like a soccer player who plays in the same shirts the whole year. It's really fun to mix it up."
"My favoirite: I liked the blazer," he says. "That was a big move. I think it was after my third Wimbledon maybe going into my fourth. We thought - Nike thought - we should do something fun. I mean, I never wore it to play, obviously, but it was just to walk out.
"I thought, God, how is that going to look in shorts? I don't know. All I'm trying to do is pay tribute to the former generations of players who have paved the way. At Wimbledon I thought I could do it," he explained
