Four hours and 57 minutes: the total time it took for Novak Djokovic to take his 16th Grand Slam over Roger Federer. There were gasps. There were cheers. There were surprisingly few toilet breaks. But our attention was also commanded elsewhere, to the stands, to the immaculate presentation of both Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston.
For the actors hit the dress code with aplomb, contrasting two very classic (and very wearable) shades of blue, and encapsulating the sort of gents you expect to see at an event as exclusively ticketed as the Wimbledon's men's final. Polite, we mean, and with the traditional tailoring to prove it.
That's because Hiddleston opted for Ralph Lauren Purple Label. As the top shelf of the American designer's Ivy League wardrobe, this two-piece in particular ticked all the boxes of a Very Good Suit: tonal, well-fitted and complete with a tie that punctuates without shouting about it. What's more, you can often clinch similar battle armour for less than £500.
Cumberbatch, however, went a little more experimental in Richard James. Not Haider Ackermann kaleidoscopic print experimental, but experimental nonetheless. Thank the eggshell blue shade. Summer-appropriate, and woefully under-subscribed, the lighter take on navy is a subtle pivot from the standard issue of every other guest at the next summer wedding. And, if you sing from the good Doctor Strange's hymn sheet, it'll still fit with the relatively conservative expectations of somewhere like Wimbledon (if you thought nothing of Stone Age diktats, know that Meghan Markle sent the Daily Mail into meltdown over the seemingly biblical crime of wearing denim to Centre Court. The horror).
But for these Marvel colleagues, a warmer reception: one as impressive to watch as the almost Shakespearean events of the Wimbledon final. And better yet, these skills are far easier to emulate than a 103mph Federer serve.
