mischa zverev: before the fall, another erke peek

German Mischa Zverev had to retire from his first-round match against tenth seed Fernando Gonzalez at the Shanghai Masters Tennis Tournament this week. A right wrist injury, sustained during a fall early in the third set, left the score at 7-5, 6-7 (0), 2-2 — which sucks, since Zverev won that tiebreaker against Gonzo.

But before his departure, we got another peek into the wonderful world of Erke; Zverev’s the tennis face of this Chinese brand, which also calls Yanina Wickmayer one of its athletes.

Bracket: Roger Federer and Andy Murray pulled out of the tourney due to exhaustion and a wrist injury, respectively. Roddick and Nadal are grumbling about how long the tennis season is (with reason: have anyone play grueling tennis for 11 months a year and their body will surely fall apart).

Okay, I tried to find the bracket on that user-unfriendly tourney website. I will love you forever if you can help me track it down.

Deets: Note the color gradation detail down the sleeves of Mischa’s polo. Cute monochromatic wristbands, too. See more pics

thomas reynolds keeps on

James Blake and his Thomas Reynolds collaboration with Fila are keeping on, whether we like it or not. After debuting at the 2009 US Open with the Coolmax Crew in baby blue (“Campanula”), Blake has moved on to white and navy colorways of the TR Jersey Crew. (Buy: $37.99, TW)

That being said, we found the Fall Hoodie totally comfortable, and there’s some good detail in the contrast, unfinished seams.

On the court: James is still sputtering after his trip to the finals of the AEGON championships back in June. Since then, he’s lost in the first round twice (Wimbledon, Cincinnati Masters), second round (Beijing), and the third (US Open). Here’s hoping that he’ll make some sort of a mark at this week’s Shanghai Masters tournament.

(image via Getty Images)

(ot) pretty in pink: tom brady

We’re not ones to comment on sports fashion outside of tennis (we leave that to the experts), but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give the Patriots’ Tom Brady a pat on the back (bum?) for wearing pink shoes as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

(via kenneth)

player, politicized: martina navratilova

Martina Navratilova at last Sunday’s National Equality March, which was also attended by our own Nick McCarvel.

(photo by Austin Riggs for TSF)

nole djokovic: like clockwork

Trophy goes up, clothes come off: The winning ways of Novak Djokovic haven’t changed. Here are photos taken after his title win at the China Open against Marin Cilic. Never has TSF been so thankful for old habits dying hard.

Pics

trophy watch: kerchiefs, gang signs, pearl studs, and gold crosses

Moscow, represent: Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova bagged her first title since tearing it up on the clay courts in early 2009 (with titles in Stuttgart and Roland Garros) by defeating Agnieszka Radwanska in the final of the China Open. Not sure if it’s this new positive aura of hers, but she was lookin’ damn good in the cap-sleeve top from Fila‘s fall Heritage collection. (Buy: $38.99 at TW)

Nole, unveiled: Were we really surprised that there was a Serbian striptease after Novak Djokovic won the men’s singles title at the China Open? He took out Marin Cilic 6-2, 7-6 (4) in a rain-addled final. Nole now has three titles (Dubai and Serbia Open); he heads Shanghai to take part in the Shanghai Masters tourney (this week).

If you know what’s going on with the bandana wrapped around their wrists, hit me up.

Stud, studded: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and his pearl studs were no match for Mikhail Youzhny in the Japan Open. The Frenchman won 6-3, 6-3. Props to Youzhny, though, who beat Gilles Simon, Tomas Berdych, and Lleyton Hewitt on his way to the final. That one-handed backhand was smokin’!

Seal of approval: That chinese name stamp the China Open tourney organizers gave to Marat Safin after his swan song in Beijing was a cool concept.

sunday survey: politicizing the players

This weekend I’m in Washington DC to participate in the National Equality March for civil rights. There is a lot to be excited about when it comes to an issue such as gay marriage – and gay rights in general – but it’s always interesting to see where people land on the political spectrum. Who knew my ultra liberal bi-sexual friend from NYU would be against gay marriage? Surprised me.

Here’s this week’s question:

Which player(s) do you think would step out of the athlete box and be an activist for a social cause? Sure, players have delved into doing work as ‘ambassadors’ and such, but who could you see marching on the Capitol in Washington? And what would they be marching for? Who would back Martina, Billie Jean and Amelie when it came to gay marriage? Any of the ATP players? Are there any players who would never step out for any cause? Who?!

Let us know what you think below.

(photo by sionfullana via flickr)

fashion focus: caro’s spring and summer + stella mccartney spring 2010

adidas has released pics of what Caroline Wozniacki will be wearing for the spring and summer of 2010.

The highlight is the biker’s-jacket-as-warmup, which comes in green/grey (“slate”) and white. The dress, available in white and grey (“alloy”), has some floral detail all the way down the front. We’re also keen on those bloomers-esque shorts and the scalloped performance skirt. the gym hoodie’s ho-hum, as is the color palette. Check them all out (along with our recommendations for Caro’s warm-up and training looks) after the cut. (What do you think of next year’s goods? Tell us!)

Meanwhile, Stella also showed a proper collection as part of Paris fashion week. We love the bright colors and the fun curves on these gam-friendly dresses. Earlier that week, she had a more casual presentation for the entire adidas by Stella McCartney line, which this season also includes cycling and triathlon apparel.

Browsin’: See the adidas by Stella McCartney Spring 2010 showing here, and the Stella McCartney Spring 2010 rtw show here.

More here: A few more images from the adidas by Stella McCartney collection

why i love tennis

Fun feature from the folks globo.com, who asked journalists at this year’s U.S. Open to pronounce the names of players from their country. The video’s slow to load, but worth the wait.

List of players’ names included in the video

gettin’ glassy-eyed: marat bows out of beijing

Marat Safin lost to Rafa Nadal 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of this week’s Beijing Open.

Rafa on Marat: “I am happy for him to have the end the China Open for him like this. So, for the rest, it is important for tennis. Marat is a very important player for tennis, for the fans, so we are going to miss him a lot”

Up next for Safin is a wildcard entry into the Shanghai Masters.

Trophy watch: As a “thank you” for his years of service, the tourney organizers gave Marat a chinese seal carving with his name on it.

(images via Getty Images)

it’s been almost a week

and I am still obsessed with this dress.

ob. sessed.

(screengrab via YouTube)

dressing up doha

Fila expands its apparel/footwear sponsorships (Wimbledon, Indian Wells, Miami) by adding the SEWTA’s Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha to its roster.

The event’ll feature the top eight singles players and the top four doubles players, all competing over six days for prize money totaling $4.55 million. Five ladies have qualified for singles so far: Safina, Serena, Wozniacki, Dementieva, and Kuznetsova. Get more info about the tournament here.

Fila created a bespoke range for Doha that draws inspiration from the event’s purple and green theme as well as Fila’s 70′s and 80′s archive. The clothes will be seen on court officials, ball crew, and on-site staff.

TSF gives top marks to the women’s line official jacket (pictured above). What do you think of the clothes? Tell us!

More: See more pics — of the men’s line judge jacket, ballboy and ball girl tops, staff jacket, and the Doha-specific Alfa shoe — all

tennis, everyone: hermes’ spring 2010

Just as we were coming down from the high of seeing Thom Browne‘s Spring 2009 tennis-themed show, Jean-Paul Gaultier takes the baton with his Spring 2010 presentation for Hermes, which sent models down a grass runway (complete with a tennis match in the background). Gaultier’s inspiration for the collection was a female player that Hermes outfitted in the 1930s.

“I don’t recall her name, I know nothing about tennis,” Gaultier told journalists as he mingled with guests after the show. “I saw a photo of her from the 20s or 30s, and I liked her silhouette, and I said ‘allez, let’s play tennis.’”

As delicious as Gaultier’s take on the classic tennis pieces (polos, pleated skirts, warm-up sweaters) was his sporty adaptation of the house’s iconic Birkin bag: a pocket for a racquet; a separate dangling sleeve for a ball can. Any bets on which pro will be first to carry that onto the court? (Anna Wintour? ALT?) What do you think of this collection? Tell us!

Show: All the images (including detail shots) available at style.com.

Ones we loved: A few looks that we liked from the show

marat safin: no more pressure

World No. 52 Marat Safin is ambling his way to retirement (we’ll be Marat-less after 2009) but don’t let the impending racquet-hanging fool you — the Russian’s game still packs a punch.

The former World No. 1 showed glimpses of his former tennis life by upsetting Fernando Gonzalez in the second round of this week’s China Open. Too bad this good streak is part of his post-retirement outlook.

“It’s easy to play when you have nothing to lose, no points to defend, so you have no pressure at all so you can just play, just go for it.”

And this carefree style was enough to beat Gonzalez.

“I was expecting to win but I’m not surprised that I lost because Marat is a great player and didn’t do too much wrong,” shared the Chilean after the match.

Up next for Marat is Rafa Nadal, who needed three sets to overcome James Blake. Perhaps Rafa’s rustiness coupled with Safin’s worry-free tennis will get him through to the semis?

The duds: adidas did well paying homage to the North American hardcourt season with the light print on this competition crew. We see a blurry image of the NYC skyline. Buy: Men’s Summer Competition Theme Crew, in black, red, and white colorways for $39.99 at TW.

(image via Getty)

going stag

This picture reminds us of painful high school dances when, as freshmen and sophomores, your band of friends would “couple up” with a group of the opposite sex and everyone would move as a massive clump. No one had “dates”; none of that “he’s with her and she’s dancing with him.” Just a buncha awkward adolescents doing the cool thing and dancing solo.

And the theme of this China Open dance? “An Evening of Stars”. Dress is semi-casual, of course, and no doubt these crazies will be out on the dance floor rockin’ to Miley in no time.

Wonder which player’s parents are hosting the after-dance movie night?!

(image via Bryan Bros. Twitter)

shirtless ginepri: shirtless rettenmaier’s other shirtless half

TSF was so distracted by doubles specialist Travis “Quick Hands” Rettenmaier that we forgot to show you the other half of that hitting session in New York: the Under Armoured Robby Ginepri.

Blah blah blah Ginepri blah blah second round blah blah U.S. Open and Thailand Open blah blah first round blah blah Beijing. blah blah Shanghai, Moscow, and St. Petersburg.

More: The goods are

phoenix returns to the nest, leaves with the queen

We’ve just finished Day 3 of play and already Caro‘s out (grumpily), Venus is gone, and Jelena‘s title defense fizzled. Maybe a lesson should be gleaned from women who get their on-court kits custom-made?

Not convinced? Then we present Exhibit D in the form of Zheng Jie, who had her “Z” monogram adapted by ANTA to reflect her participation in this week’s China Open in Beijing.

The design’s named “Phoenix Returns to Nest” — symbolic of Zheng’s return to her home SEWTA tourney after months of playing all over the world. “I especially like this apparel as the design is simple yet it contains a lot of Chinese elements,” said Zheng of the apparel.

Sadly, Zheng lost in the first round to sixth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova; the Russian’s slated to face Venus-killer Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarters.

Bracketology: Serena is lurking in the same half as Kuzie, and will probably go up against Peng, who’s through to the quarters after beating Sharapova. Meanwhile, in the other half, Chinese No. 1 Li Na is out, losing to Dementieva in the third round. In the other quarter, Shuai Zhang will go up against Marion Bartoli for a spot in the final eight. Draw here (pdf).

Pleats, at least: See Zheng’s kit up close

(updated) hermes spring 2010: a sneak peek

The tennis-inspired Spring 2010 ready-to-wear show for Hermes ended not too long ago, and the designs that Jean-Paul Gaultier sent down the grass runway are to die for. (Think Suzanne Lenglen, not Bethanie Mattek.)

We’ll post more pics as soon as they’re available. Squee!

Update: Images from the show over at coutorture.

(image via AFP)

fashion focus: christophe lemaire – f/w 09/10

When he isn’t busy crafting looks for Lacoste or curating for the French company’s shop-in-shop, Christophe Lemaire is off creating clothing for his eponymous line, whose aesthetic draws from eastern silhouettes like kurtas, tunics, and trenches — all in flowing fabrics like molletons, judo cotton, silk, flannel, blended wool, and tweed.

More: It’s all very Lawrence of Arabia, and TSF only wishes that we could pull off wearing these clothes. Unfortunately, there’s just no room for it in Southern California. Read on to see a few images from the Lemaire Fall/Winter

serena williams — in the buff — on the cover of espn the magazine

Just when we thought we’d seen Serena as real as she could get — thanks to that U.S. Open semifinal — she ups the ante by appearing naked on one of six covers of ESPN The Magazine‘s “Body Issue”, on newsstands October 19.

The other five athletes are mixed martial artist Gina Carano, NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, triathlete (and amputee) Sarah Reinertsen, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, and Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. Click on the photos above to enlarge.

(image via HuffPo)