Michael Jordan and Roger Federer were brought together for the first time Monday at the U.S. Open by Nike execs for the debut of Federer's new line of tennis shoes, but ESPN's "on-air chatter" was not coordinated "between the athletes and the network," according to Sara Germano of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. ESPN Senior Dir of Communications Amy Phillips said the net's interview "wasn't part of any larger sponsorship or ad buy." She added that ESPN was "notified earlier Tuesday" that Jordan would be joining Federer's guest box, and "subsequently requested to interview the basketball star." Germano notes Nike's "cross-marketing ploy seems to be working." A store employee at the Nike Lab store in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood said Federer's Zoom Vapor AJ3s "sold out within about an hour" yesterday. The shoes "weren't available at the Nike kiosk at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, N.Y., where the U.S. Open is held." But an employee said that they had been "receiving many requests" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/28).
