doppelganger week: andy’s andrew

It was doppelganger week last week on Facebook, and thousands of self-promoting social media-ers (myself included) made sure to post which celebrity they looked like… or wished they looked like (mine).

With all the buzz around the “Red Riding” trilogy, we couldn’t help but notice lead actor Andrew Garfield resembled one Andy Murray, circa 2006/7/8. Thank god Murray cut that mane, it’s the best thing the Scot has done in his career so far, no?

So if Murray traded the racquet in for a cig, could he go the way of Djoko? We’re not sure about that…

(garfield via nyt; murray via tsf)

alize cornet’s fed cup warm up jacket

A cute pic of Alize Cornet as she gets ready to play in this weekend’s Fed Cup tie against the United States. She’ll play the tie’s first rubber (against Bethanie Mattek-Sands). The varsity lettering on the french warmup jackets are cuuute.

In Melbourne, Cornet bageled 17th-seed Francesca Schiavone before losing 6-0, 5-7, 0-6. Ouch. At least we liked her orange and white Lacoste separates. Note the horizontal orange stripes near the hem of her skirt.

(Fed Cup photos by Corinne Dubreuil; aussie images via Getty Images)

fed cup 2010 – first round

That’s Bojana Jovanovski, Ana Jovanovic, captain Dejan Vranes, Jelena Jankovic, and Ana Ivanovic at the official Fed Cup dinner on the eve of the tie between Serbia and Russia. As you can see from the schedule below, the headcase Ivanovic will go up against Svetlana Kuznetsova first, and then Jelena, whose back injury could hamper her performance, will then face the hard-hitting Alisa Kleybanova.

Russian team: Captain Shamil Tarpischev, Vera Dushevina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and Alisa Kleybanova.

If the tie was based solely on footwear, the Serbians win. What is up with Anastasia’s red bra??

Who’s playing whom + TV: Here’s the line-up for all four World Group ties (plus TC’s coverage of the US/France tie) —

tattoo watch: black, like janko tipsarevic’s heart

Ask and you shall receive: Thanks to Amy for sending us links to some Janko images with his new tattoo. As he had explained on his website, this latest addition (on the back of Janko’s left arm) is the chinese/japanese character for “black”.

Tattoo watch: Read some more from the Tattoo Watch blotter here.

(image via Getty Images)

shirtless: dustin brown

Read up on Jamaica’s No. 1 tennis player, the 6’5″ serve-and-volleyer Dustin Brown on the ATP site. He’s currently through to the quarterfinals of the SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg. This is only his second tour-level event.

(image by Reg Caldecott via South African Tennis Association)

bryan brothers band play the viper room

Chris and I headed over to The Viper Room last night to see David Baron perform with special guests Mike and Bob Bryan. The twins, fresh from their 2010 Australian Open men’s doubles title win (their eight career major), played the guitar and keyboard through the roughly 45-minute set. They opened with “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas and closed with “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” by Tom Petty. In the middle were original songs by Baron, and one that was recently co-written with the twins as support for Andre Agassi (“Open My Heart”) amid all the slack the tennis legend has received for writing his memoir, Open.

As you may remember, the twins collaborated with Baron on their first album, Let It Rip.

I wasn’t expecting much, to be honest, expecting that the $10 cover and the prospect of watching some dilettantes perform live music could be washed down by a PBR or two. But that definitely was not the case. The music was polished, the songs well-written; this was definitely not amateur night. I could have lived without Bob’s omnipresent necklace (and one of the scariest sex faces I have ever seen, ever), but all in all a good show.

Sam Querrey and Justin Gimelstob were also in attendance. We asked Justin what he thought about the Bryan’s performance. “It’s amazing to see two guys who are as talented in tennis as they are in music,” he shared.

Bonus: Here is a video of Bob and Mike accompanying David through U2′s “All I Want Is You”.

feliciano lopez’s heavy breathing

… and nope — it has nothing to do with those pictures of Fernando Verdasco in CK chonies.

Instead, this other Spaniard is struggling with the high altitude of Johannesburg, South Africa, where a bunch of the ATP dudes are currently playing in the SA Tennis Open. Feli will face Rajeev Ram in the third round before possibly facing top seed Gael Monfils in the semis. Waiting on the opposite side of the draw is second seed David Ferrer.

We’re not quite sure what’s going on with this filmstrippy print on his Joma crew — his first kit of 2010 — but it was fun variation from the usual color blocking they’d done in years past. Lopez made it as far as the third round of the Australian Open before falling to Andy Roddick.

Joma adds a second: And speaking of the Spanish clothier, they’ve added former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero to their roster. The partnership began at the beginning of this year. He was previously with Lotto.

More: A few more looks at Feli’s Joma kit

x marks the spot: fernando verdasco for calvin klein

Where do we sign? You know that we here at TSF are split about our love for Fernando Verdasco (and after a recent trip to New Haven, I think I snapped Nick out of his, ahem, FeVer) — but consider us converts after seeing these preview pics of the Spaniard showing off his goods in Calvin Klein underwear.

Calvin Klein X is a new range of men’s briefs being marketed around the world, and they’ve signed on Kellan Lutz (one of them Twilight vampires), Mehcad Brooks (True Blood), and soccer player Hidetoshi Nakata along with Verdasco to promote the line.

Set your alarm: Our mice will be clicking over to xmarkyourspot.com to see more of these guys’ goods (shot by Mikael Jansson) on February 15. A belated Valentine’s Day present for everyone.

More: Pics of the other guys after the cut.

janko 2.0

That’s right, folks. Sury Serbian Janko Tipsarevic now has his very own website. It loads a little slow (which, in this age of seemingly unlimited bandwith, is “unacceptable”, as they say), but we’re definitely looking forward to keeping in touch with the munchkin.

Tattoo watch? In the fan question section (“Ask Him“, someone asked about the meaning of Janko’s new tattoo. His response? “Black”. Is there really a new tat? If you have info (or images), please send our way!

(screengrab via jtipsarevic.com)

short balls: tobin’s picks

Tobin Addington returns with a second installment of his fresh perspective column by taking a look back at the 2010 Australian Open.

My first major as a true tennis fan has come to an end. All in all, a great experience. Plus, now I have something to look forward to in the doldrums of January for years to come. Here are a few of my impressions:

Good Sport Award: Andy Roddick, laughing along with the expletive-laden ESPN fake commercial. Well handled.

Biggest Disappointment: Kim Clijsters exiting the tournament so early. I was looking forward to seeing her play more. Can’t help it; she’s got a compelling story.

Funniest Moment: I can’t decide. Either Venus‘s underpants or Victoria Azarenka‘s squeal-grunt. Seriously, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!

Most Worrisome Moment: Nadal‘s knee injury. I’ve developed real affection for the glowering 12-year-old-at-heart, and I’d hate to see him play less (or, God forbid, retire) now that I’m paying attention.

Coolest TV Coverage: The slow-motion shots of the players’ facial contortions as they hit the ball. Awesome!

Most Annoying Aspect of Aussie Open: The finals airing at 3:30 AM EST. Are you kidding me?! I know it’s Australia and all, but my bio-rhythms don’t allow those kinds of hours anymore.

Tennis Move I’m Now Trying to Incorporate into Daily Life: The fist pump. Every time something goes well at work, in the kitchen, on the street – I’m going to give that a shot. I’ll let you know how it works out.

What are your memories of the year’s first Slam??

(si photo via getty images)

another pretty in pink: victoria azarenka

Don’t think we weren’t going to give Victoria Azarenka‘s 2010 Aussie Open performance any ink.

The seventh seed (from Belarus) made it all the way to the quarters — battling Vera Zvonareva in the fourth round — before falling (tragically) to eventual champion Serena Williams.

Azarenka had Serena on the ropes being up 6-4, 4-0, but Serena fought back and won in the third set. At least Victoria looked good for that last hurrah. Along with Alona Bondarenko and Vera Zvonareva (both in K-Swiss), this Nike mascot went with a bright pink outfit that played well with Melbourne Park’s blue courts.

Buy: Nike Break Point Tank, $50; and Skirt, $55; pink flash/cool grey; at nike.com.

More pics: Detail shots

(uncle) sam’s hiring

Looks like there’ll be one American with a pretty dang cool job this summer…

(screen grab via twitter.com)

sunday survey: who will take more?

Major titles? Serena Williams or Roger Federer? It’s currently 16-12, Rog. What do you think? Tell us!

(getty images via tsf)