Watch: Federer On Style, Wimbledon, Sampras Influence

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Watch: Federer On Style, Wimbledon, Sampras Influence

Playing Wimbledon is such an immense achievement, it made even Roger Federer feel small in his SW19 debut.

In his 1998 Wimbledon junior debut, a 16-year-old Federer was convinced the net was too high.

Watch: Federer Fights Off Match Points For 40th Grand Slam Semifinal

In this video interview with British GQ at Nike Lab before The Championships began, Federer recalls noting a major net problem warming up for his first Wimbledon match.

"I remember I was warming up and I was like 'Wow, this net is so high,' " Federer recalls in the video above. "So I went to the umpire and said 'Sorry, can you check the net? I really feel like it's this much too high.' "

Only after the measurement was confirmed, did Federer realize it was nerves, not the net, that gave him a distorted sense of perspective: "I was so nervous I thought the net was a volleyball net," Federer remembers.

The seven-time Wimbledon champion discusses style, his shoe fetish, why he was once turned away from a restaurant, cuddling with his kids and how Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras influenced his early tennis fashion sense.

"I grew up in the times with Pete and Andre when they used to use the baggy stuff. Basketball had a huge influence because of the Jordan era," Federer says. "So of course, I wanted to look the same. (Wearing) baggy stuff, I wanted to grow from S to extra large as soon as possible. Of course, I was wearing extra large shirts and I wear an M. I don't know where I've gone."

Photo credit: Nike

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