The feature article not only canvasses his tennis comeback following his shock Australian Open win earlier this year, but also his love of cheese and his ability to look like an extra sibling from The Royal Tenenbaums.

Photographed by renowned British fashion photographer Craig McDean, Federer looks cool, casual and like a fit Carl Williams in grey tracksuit pants and matching blazer on the cover.

The other shots include The Fed Express dressed in designer garb by Tom Ford and Ralph Lauren and sporting accessories by his sponsors Nike and Rolex.

Across the spread he is seen nursing and reclining with his trophies on a fur rug, holding dumbbells while showing off a $1095 Emporio Armani bomber jacket, brushing his teeth in his latest RF x Nike collaboration and wearing $1500 Tom Ford brogues without socks.

Readers are also treated to an insight into his private life.

A life in the Alpine village of Valbella, Switzerland. "Only an hour's drive from swanky St. Moritz, Valbella is humdrum, frankly boring," the GQ feature reads.

It's here where "the greatest men's❖ tennis player of all time" reveals he eats a lot of cheese, is afraid of horses, writes thank you notes, loved Lion and is a "relaxed" human being.

"Hiking is Federer's favourite hobby (his only hobby), but snow was falling and his legs were tired from Australia, so we went out to lunch, for raclette (at his suggestion), a traditional Swiss dish for apres-ski, basically a plate of melted cheese," the feature continues.

"On the court, Federer is known for almost inhuman focus. Humourless determination. A steel-cut perfectionist with a stevedore's nose, the finest forehand of all time, and the coiffure of James Bond circa Timothy Dalton. In the stiffest of all countries, why should he be any different? But frankly, he was so easy going from the start, so relaxed, for a second I thought he was stoned. (He wasn't stoned.)"

Now we've clarified the clean-living champion wasn't under the influence during the interview or while being styled as a new-age Burt Reynolds, let's bask in the glory of this ridiculous photo shoot. A high-fashion shoot with the kind of poses female stars have been subjected to for years now.

Inspiration: Fur rug or legs? A male version of the "Hot dog or legs" game

Inspiration: How he travelled home from Melbourne after his 14-month trophy drought

Inspiration: When you have to call into a cocktail party on the way to training