Stella McCartney may have partnered with adidas for a tennis line, but sharp on-court fashion sense is hardly exclusive to women's tennis, nor has it really ever been. Three men's names always bandied about in conversation involving sartorial sporting are Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer, and Andre Agassi.
The sole tennis star at present in the stable of Hennes and Mauritz (a.k.a. H&M), Berdych is known for loud prints and talked-about attire, though he claims in a *New York Times* piece that he's going more low-key ("gray, white, and orange") for this U.S. Open. Ahead of the season's final Grand Slam event, his clothier released some elegant footage of him stinging his trademark groundstrokes on a waterfront clay court and offering an easy grin at the very end:
In an accompanying story, Berdych lends three practical pieces of advice to improve one's tennis: Practice, balance (discipline), and small successes. The same could be said for life itself, which Berdych also addresses in the piece: "I find motivation in the small targets and tasks that are to be achieved every day, with joy, a smile, and humility. ... If I could summarize the essence of a tennis player in a single word, I would say 'quality.' For me, Tomas Berdych, I would add two words: 'faith' and 'desire.'"
It's faith that such second-tier stars of this sport must hold onto so as to continue seeking elusive first Grand Slam titles in the era of Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. Federer himself has made fashion news this week in light of his new shoes, with Nike's iconic elephant print, becoming available today. The style is cribbed from the Air Jordan III kicks released in 1988, and, speaking of MJ himself, Federer snapped a photo with him—a selfie, even, if the shot is to be believed—in New York.