Nike Court Slam Dri Fit Adv Men’s Tennis Polo
About Ifrane
This high town in the Middle Atlas was laid out by the French protectorate authorities in 1928 as a mountain resort and administrative post. At about 1,665 meters above sea level, it has colder winters than Morocco's Atlantic cities and has also been home to Al Akhawayn University since 1995.
THE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW
A NikeCourt Slam polo in white and black, built on Dri-FIT ADV — the specification Nike reserves for its tournament kit. The fabric is 100 per cent polyester in a jacquard knit with a smooth hand and four-way stretch, lightweight, breathable, and engineered so that it does not cling once it is wet, which is the quality that decides how a shirt feels from the second set onward.
The construction is where the shirt earns its place in the bag.
The sleeve seams have been moved forward onto the front of the shoulder so they follow the curve of the arm rather than sitting on the joint itself — a small thing over ten serves and a significant one over two hundred.
The back panel is engineered separately for airflow rather than being cut from the same knit as the front. The cuffs are ribbed, and the hem is extended at the back so the shirt stays where it was put when a player bends for a low ball.
Ifrane stands at over 1,650 metres in the Middle Atlas, surrounded by cedar forest, where summers are warm and dry rather than heavy and the shoulder seasons are genuinely cold.
That range is the case for a light engineered knit over a heavier one: it moves air when the afternoon is hot and layers cleanly when it is not.
Specifications
| Line | NikeCourt Slam (tournament) |
|---|---|
| Technology | Dri-FIT ADV |
| Fabric | 100% polyester jacquard knit, four-way stretch |
| Sleeve seams | Moved forward onto the shoulder front |
| Back panel | Engineered for airflow |
| Cuffs | Ribbed |
| Hem | Extended at the back |
| Colour | White/Black |
LET Nike Court Slam Dri Fit Adv Men’s Tennis Polo SHOW YOU Ifrane
Polo: Okay the light here is INSANE, everyone get this. The stone lion of Ifrane, carved from a single block — one block, no seams, that is the content right there — is the emblem of this Middle Atlas hill town and its most photographed monument. Most photographed. I did not set that record but I fully intend to contribute. Its origins are debated, which is giving mystery, and mystery performs: one enduring account holds that a German prisoner carved it during the Second World War, when Ifrane briefly held prisoners of war, reputedly in exchange for his freedom, while another attributes it to a French sculptor working in the 1930s. Two origin stories, zero receipts. The lion is widely understood to commemorate the Atlas lion, the great North African subspecies whose last wild individuals were shot in the region in the early 20th century — and that is not a caption, that one you just sit with for a second. Whatever its authorship, it has watched over Ifrane's lawns since the French-era town's early decades.
Polo: This is giving Alps and I am obsessed. Ifrane was established in 1928 by the French Protectorate administration as a hill station where European residents could escape the summer heat, laid out with chalets, gardens and steep-roofed alpine architecture unique in Morocco — an entire town built as an aesthetic, in 1928, before any of us were doing that. As part of the new resort, a royal palace was built in the 1930s for Sultan Mohammed ben Youssef, the future King Mohammed V, serving as a mountain residence and hunting lodge at more than 1,600 metres of altitude. Sixteen hundred metres. The palace remains a residence of the Moroccan royal family and is closed to visitors, so no, we are not doing a walkthrough, phones down, we shoot from exactly here. But its green-tiled roofs among the cedars, often under winter snow, are the entire reason they call this the Switzerland of Morocco. Green, white, dark green. That is a palette.
Polo: Campus content, and campus content always performs. Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane was founded by royal decree in 1993 and opened its doors to students in January 1995. Its name, meaning the two brothers, honours its founding benefactors, King Hassan II of Morocco and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, who endowed the project jointly — a collab between two kings, and the naming on it is immaculate, no notes. The university is organised on the American liberal-arts model with English as the language of instruction, a novelty in the Moroccan system, and its steep-roofed campus architecture echoes the alpine style of the surrounding town, so the whole place matches, and you have no idea how rare that is. Drawing students from across Morocco, Africa and beyond, it has made the small mountain resort of Ifrane an international university town at the edge of the cedar forests. Golden hour on those roofs. Saving that one.
Polo: Nature carousel, swipe through, this is the good part of the trip. Ifrane National Park, established in 2004, protects the forests and plateaus of the Middle Atlas around the town of Ifrane, including some of the world's most important stands of Atlas cedar, the great conifer emblematic of Morocco's mountains. The park shelters the largest remaining populations of the Barbary macaque, the endangered monkey endemic to North Africa and Gibraltar — endangered, so we look, we do not feed, we do not pose with them, that is the whole rule and it is not negotiable — along with wild boar, raptors, and seasonal wetland lakes such as Dayet Aoua that attract migratory birds. Within and around the park stood famous individual trees such as the Gouraud Cedar, long a visitor attraction. A single tree with a following. Respect. The park makes Ifrane a base for hiking, birdwatching and winter snow excursions in cedar country. Four seasons, one location, genuinely no filter.
Jackson Phillips here. Owner of TTT. We are working hard every day to bring you the most useful product reviews in the business. Our goal is putting the right product in every hand. If you have time, shoot me an email at jacksonphillips@thetennistactician.com and tell me exactly what you think of your purchase. The more feedback we get, the better we can serve. Thank you for your patronage. And Burn, Laugh, and Learn.