Tennis fans Pippa and James Middleton take their seats in the royal box for the first day of action at Wimbledon

Pippa and brother James watched Roger Federer in his opening matchPippa wore sky blue Sandro dress previously worn by Kelly BrookShe also donned dress seen on Kelly to recent wedding
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent also in royal box at Wimbledon

By Lucy Waterlow

PUBLISHED: 13:07 GMT, 24 June 2013 | UPDATED: 15:16 GMT, 24 June 2013

It appears Pippa Middleton has a new style icon in the form of Kelly Brook. The magazine columnist looked smart in a sky blue Sandro dress embellished with beads with a matching jacket as she arrived in the royal box at Wimbledon today.

The ?299 dress was previously seen on curvaceous model Kelly in March. It's not the first time Pippa has copied Kelly's look. Last week to a society wedding she wore a Tabitha Webb peplum number that Kelly, 33, wore in May to appear on Celebrity Juice.

At Wimbledon today Pippa was joined by her brother James who wore a grey suit and tie with a tennis club pin on his jacket.

Double match point: Pippa wore a Sandro dress previously seen on Kelly Brook in March, right, to Wimbledon

Best seats in town: Pippa and James Middleton in the royal box on the opening day of play at Wimbledon

Coveted view: The pair are shown to their seats but they weren't always so lucky, once when she was younger Pippa queued for hours for tickets

The pair arrived in time to see defending champion Roger Federer take on Victor Hanescu on the first day of the tournament.

The siblings were shown to their seats and chatted with the other spectators around them before settling down to enjoy the tennis.

The Middletons are life-longs fans of the game and Kate joined her sister to watch last year's final. It is not yet known if the heavily pregnant Duchess will make an appearance at this year's championship.

Pippa is a keen tennis player herself having attended Malborough College on a sports scholarship and last year won a place in the women’s first team at the exclusive Queen’s Club in West London.

The 29-year-old wrote about her love of the game in her recent Vanity Fair column where she explained the British traditions around the tournament including the penchant for strawberries and cream with a glass of Pimms.

Packed the essentials: Pippa carried a large beige Lamb 1887 clutch bag

Real royals in the box: Pippa chatted to Princess Michael of Kent who was seated in font of her

Tennis fans: Pippa once dreamed of playing in the final

True to her word: Pippa advised in her Vanity Fair column against wearing heels and instead wore wedges

She provided her top tips on spectating including urging women to abandon high heeled shoes and not make plans in the evening in case a match runs on.

'There’s nothing worse than having to leave Rafael Nadal’s athleticism for a routine pizza with friends,' she wrote.

She took her own advice by not wearing stilettos today hut still gained some height of donning wedge sandals.

She revealed in her column how she dreamed of winning the tournament as a little girl and wrote her wish to do so on a postcard.

And for those who may resent her presence in the royal box, she admitted she wasn't always so lucky to be able to get the best seats in the ground. When she was younger she said she and the Duchess of Cambridge once queued for hours to try and get tickets on People's Sunday.

Pippa arrived at the wedding of Lady Melissa Percy and Thomas van Straubenzee in Northumberland last week wearing an identical dress as seen on Kelly Brook in May

Golden company: The Middletons sat next to Olympian Denise Lewis

All smiles: The pair chatted happily between gaps in the action

Involved: Pippa pulls a face after watching one of the shots

Day out: Pippa and James have a chat, left, while the columnist later pulled on her shades as the sun shone

She said in Vanity Fair: 'One of my favourite Wimbledon experiences was queuing from 5am on People's Sunday in 2004 with my sister for three hours and getting ?35 tickets on Centre Court - my first time ever.'

Pippa, who is currently dating stockbroker Nico Jackson, 35, said when she was little she imagined if she ever married it would be in tennis whites.

But she forgoed the colour today to wear a blue ensemble as she smiled and clapped as the game progressed with Federer winning in three straight sets.

Also in the royal box today were former US secretary of state, Dr Condoleezza Rice, Olympian Denise Lewis and actual royals - the Queen's cousin Prince Michael of Kent and his wife.

Queen's cousin: Prince Michael of Kent joined his wife in the royal box

Also in the royal box: Dr Condoleezza Rice, left, and Denise Lewis

Winning look: Mirka Federer wore a smart scarf and pink blouse as she watched her husband take his first victory in this year's tournament

Step closer to the final: Roger Federer won against Romania's Victor Hanescu in straight sets

Pippa was seen sharing a joke with the royal couple as she took her seat behind them.

Andy Murray's mother, Judy, was also in place ready to cheer her son on as he will take to the court later this evening to open his campaign in the grand slam.

The British number one has promised to 'give everything' in his quest for the Wimbledon title this afternoon when he faces Germany's Benjamin Becker.

Murray took to Twitter ahead of his opener to express gratitude to his fans for their backing and encouragement.

'I’ll give everything I have on the court starting with round one', he wrote.

The Scot hopes he can make Wimbledon history this year and become the first British man to take the Wimbledon trophy since Fred Perry in 1936.

Pippa wears Sandro jacket, ?251, right

Her matching Sandro dress is currently ?183 down from ?229 at Selfridges

Pippa carries Lamb 1887 capri clutch, ?99

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