argentina: yet another warm-up from topper

The French Davis Cup team might have all the looks — uhh, that’s Gilles Simon, Arnaud Clement, Michael Llodra, Gael Monfils (and with Gasquet as an alternate, no?) — but you gotta give the Argentinians credit for their wardrobe. At this semifinal tie held in Lyon, the team of Schwank, Monaco, Nalbandian, and Zeballos (with coach Modesto Vazquez) are wearing a new warm-up suit from Topper. This is at least the second wardrobe change of 2010. (Deets: See some detail shots of the warm-up, along with Schwank’s crew, at Topper.)

Beauty over brawn: Llodra and Monfils won their singles rubbers against Monaco and Nalbandian, respectively. See the rest of the tie info here.

(image via the Argentine Tennis Association)

fila rises to davis cup challenge

Kudos to Fila for stepping up to the challenge of dressing their athletes in some festive clothing as they compete in this weekend’s Davis Cup ties. Janko Tipsarevic, currently embroiled in a close match against Tomas Berdych (the Serb is up in the match two sets to one; they’re on serve in the fourth), wears a crew with the country crest on the chest. In the tie’s first rubber, Radek Stepanek took out Troicki in four. (Follow: Tie info and live scores available here.)

In Sweden, Italian Fabio Fognini had a bright blue canvas on which to showcase his country’s red/white/green flag. He lost his singles rubber to Robin Soderling, putting them at 1-1 against the Swedes (Potito Starace won the other match against Vinciguerra).

No word yet from Fila about whether Janko’s Davis Cup crew is for sale (much like how they did it for Marin Cilic‘s Croatia shirt).

Update: Checked with the Fila folks and they said Janko’s shirt will be eventually on sale at TW.

(images via Getty Images)

tattoo watch update: andreas haider-maurer comes timestamped

We checked in with the camp of Austrian Andreas Haider-Maurer, and it turns out that his forearm tat is the time he was born.

He and his Davis Cup teammates are playing out the tie against Israel for a spot in next year’s World Group. They’re currently down 1-2; Haider is currently set to play the fifth rubber against Harel Levy. More: Tie info here.

we really need a new davis cup logo

It’s too plain and generic (hmm… just like the guy wearing it?).

North and South: The American team (Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey, John Isner, and Ryan Harrison) hopes to overcome the clay courts in Bogota as they go up against the Colombians (led by Santiago Giraldo and Alejandro Falla) in the Davis Cup World Group play-offs. Get more details about the tie here.

(image via Getty Images)

happy birthday, nick

TSF wishes our co-editor, Nick McCarvel a very happy birthday. (From the looks of this pic, he’s already started the party!)

Make sure to send him love (or at least add him) on Twitter: @nmccarves.

(illustration by Troy Venechanos)

feeling stuffy?

It’s a little beyond me why athletes like Eli Manning, Apolo Ohno, Shaq and Venus are part of endorsements deals like the ad campaign for Nabisco’s Oreo cookies. Laundry detergent? OK. Watches? Sure. Deodorant? Fine.

But for these athletes who pride themselves on being healthy, active individuals, why a cookie that’s made up of pure sugar? And to boot, this commercial is dismal. I don’t quite understand the Team DSRL angle, but it looks like they’re encouraging the youngsters to be somewhat active? If so, kudos.

Oh, and Oreo: ‘stuff’ is spelled with two Fs, FYI. Just putting it out there.

(screen grab via youtube)

do not sit idly, berdych

It looks like the Serbians really want to get to the Davis Cup final. As if having 2010 US Open finalist Novak Djokovic on their roster isn’t enough, they brought the Langoliers along to nip at the Czech team’s heels.

Tie: Most of the Belgrade Arena (capacity: 16,842) will probably root for the home team. Nole and Radek Stepanek are up first; Janko Tipsarevic and Tomas Berdych will follow. Nenad Zimonjic and Viktor Troicki will play Jan Hajek and Ivo Minar in the doubles rubber, and the singles players will switch opponents. More info here.

(image via daviscup.com)

nyfw s/s ’11: what we’ve liked so far

Last day of Spring/Summer 2011 NY Fashion Week is today. Aside from our separate post on Rodarte and one coming up on Lacoste (Lemaire‘s last!), here’s a list of which collections we’ve eyed so far:

tattoo watch: andreas haider-maurer

Austria’s Andreas Haider-Maurer lost the first rubber against Israel’s Dudi Sela at this weekend’s Davis Cup World Group Play-offs (in Tel Aviv). The scoreline: 6-4, 6-1, 6-3. Last month, Haider qualified for the 2010 US Open Main Draw on his first try; he lost to Robin Soderling in the first round. Not sure what that tattoo is… possibly a bible verse?

Even: Jurgen Melzer beat Harel Levy to put the tie at 1-1. See all the stats here.

Update: That tattoo isn’t a bible verse… Andreas’ camp tells us that this (6:55) is the exact time of his birth.

(image via Getty Images)

(ot) murakami at versailles

Takashi Murakami — an accomplice in one of TSF’s last known splurges — is showing at Versailles. Twenty two works (including 11 new pieces) will be up through December 12, 2010.

(via flavorwire; image by Cedric Delsaux)

in kazakhstan, the world’s largest tent

And we’re not talking about Evgeny Korolev‘s pants. The draw ceremony for weekend’s Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie between Kazakhstan and Switzerland was held at the Norman Foster-designed Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center in Astana. The structure, which opened this past July, is the world’s largest tent. (Read: HuffPo’s write-up.) The matches will be played in the National Tennis Center, also located in that city.

Draw: See the country line-ups here. (Marco Chiudinelli is playing!)

(photo by Sergei Kivrin via daviscup.org)

novak in undies, jimmy in suit

There are so many things happening in this video: Novak Djokovic is mostly naked (like); he’s doing push-ups (okay); the necklace is giant (almost as weird as this); and is being Mr. Broski (as per usual).

Weirdest, most interesting of all and probably the most awkward thing of this video is the (unplanned) cameo of one Jimmy Connors. It went like this:

JC: What’s up man? (Extends hand for handshake.)
ND: (Giggling, doesn’t really respond. Shakes JC’s hand. Giggles some more.)
Camera man: (Asks a meaningless question as fast as possible to avoid more awkwardness.)

Click here or the image above to see for yourself.

(screen grab via youtube)

short balls: open hangover

We don’t know this guy, but he’s serving our post headline brilliantly with this beer-carrying pose. Great concentration on the step up, wouldn’t you say? (Photo by feltonamus via flickr.)

If you’re having a little bit of a US Open hangover like us, make sure to check out our week 2 podcast if you haven’t already. Erwin and I are chatting it up about all things TSF cares about at the USO. Which is all you should care about, too. Now, the short balls:

There’s nothing like curing a good tennis hangover with some non-tennis news. This version of (OT) is gay-tastic, which shouldn’t come too surprising to most of our readers. The VMAs happened on Sunday night in LA, and as a prep before the big show (in which Lady Gaga wore a meat dress – yes, meat), OUT.com put together a list of the gayest moments from the show’s nearly 30-year history. OUT also compiled photos from photographer Jeff Sheng that chronicles service men and women who have been effected by the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The exhibit is opening at the Kaycee Olsen gallery in LA on September 28th.

(MORE (OT)) As if you couldn’t get enough we have plenty of (OT) news up our sleeves this week. The blog we once loved to love is still churning out content, even after getting a book deal and getting published. Stuff White People Like is a hilarious and satirical blog. The latest ‘stuff’ white people like: The TED Conference. Hilarity. The US Olympic web site is celebrating the 10 year anniversary of the Sydney Olympics (remember Cathy Freeman? And Michael Johnson?!). And the New York Times flexes its graphic muscle with this panoramic view of the new Meadowlands Stadium, home of the Jets and Giants.

There’s been much (tennis) controversy following ESPN2‘s decision to cut away from the trophy ceremony at Flushing Meadows to commentary before the second Monday Night Football game of the night (yes, the second) between the Chiefs and the Chargers. Chris Chase laments on the Yahoo! tennis blog Busted Racquet about the debacle. We agree: us tennis fans are greatly outnumbered by the NFLers, but give our boys a little credit for the work they’ve done, and the history they’re making. Pretty sure no history was made on the gridiron on Monday night, no? Luckily, Forty Deuce has us saved with the full trophy presentation here. (And kudos on that post title, Courtney… )

While Serena (and Fashion Week) had/have nothing to do with the 2010 Open, there’s still plenty of connection between the two events. Fashion Week mainstay and Vogue editor Anna Wintour is a constant face (force?) in Roger Federer’s box and yesterday, Wintour’s right-hand man, Andre Leon Talley, penned a note for the Vogue Daily about Serena walking the runway for Fashion Week. As we write this, it’s 3 PM on Wednesday, so the big event’s already taken place (1 PM catwalk call time for ReRe at LaQuan‘s show at the Peninsula Hotel). Hopefully pictures soon. Meanwhile, this picture of Wintour and Serena at the Michael Kors show will have to do.

Serena and sister Venus both were a part of the Huffington Post‘s recent online musings. Venus’s US Open fireworks dress, which we talked at length about in our TSF podcast, was the subject of a photo gallery on the Huff‘s web site, while Serena is one of eight athletes selected by the Post as part of their Game Changer’s series.

Read more short balls with an epic version of short(er) balls after the cut.

serena at nyfw – rodarte s/s ’11

Serena Williams dropped in on some shows during New York Fashion Week, including Vera Wang and Rodarte (pictured above). She sat with Anna Wintour for both presentations.

Browse: This latest Rodarte collection, inspired by the Mulleavy sisters’ Northern California childhood, has been all the rage since it showed yesterday. Check out the images here. Our picks? Looks 8, 11, and 31.

(serena/anna image via Getty Images)

caster bleige on the court

And in case you’re wondering, this is the Caster Bleige logo as it appears on Potito‘s kit.

(Umag pic via Getty Images)

atp players + italian clothing, pt. 2

It doesn’t smolder quite like Nole‘s photo shoot for the fall/winter 2010 Sergio Tacchini collection, but Potito Starace does his part to sell us the clothing of Italian brand Caster Bleige.

On the court: Potito lost in the first round of the 2010 US Open to 14th seed Nicolas Almagro in four sets. Earlier last month, he made it to the finals of the Croatia Open in Umag before going down 6-4, 6-4 to Juan Carlos Ferrero.

More: A few more looks at Potito — in a robe, with a cute tennis knapsack, wearing a t-shirt with tennis’ version of a bomber girl — all

tsf podcast: the us open in review

Erwin and I re-united on the podcast for the first time in a long while, talking about the US Open and all its glory. Of course we mention all that was Venus Williams and her wardrobe malfunctions, the circus of an outfit that Nadia Petrova had on and much, much more.

Nick and Erwin talk it out | TSF Podcast USO Week 2

(photo by zoomar via flickr)

(ot) le coq sportif: joakim noah’s pro model replica

We never tire of hightops, and this one from Le Coq Sportif is no exception. Originally designed by the French company for Chicago Bulls forward-center Joakim Noah back in May, the Joakim Noah Pro Model switches from an all-red shoe to a Frenchified blue/red/white for the replica version, available in limited runs starting this week. The shoes went on sale September 10 at stores in France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.

More: Photos and stockist info here.

And as far as we know, none of the big-time ATPers are playing in LCS right now. Potito Starace was in it for a while, but now he’s wearing clothes from Caster Bleige.

(via lecoqsportif)

want: fuzzy juan monaco

If you can tell me where to find the rest of the pictures from this session with Juan Monaco, I have lots to trade. My firstborn, a kidney, skin grafts, hair follicles, an eye, a few fingers. Hit me up.

(photo from LL’s Twitter)

sealed with a k-swiss: 2010 us open

The Bondarenkos made dents in the 2010 US Open women’s singles brackets and looked good doing it. Kateryna and Alona both wore versions of K-Swiss‘ Y-Back dress — in hyacinth violet for Kateryna and black stripe for Alona (there’s also a version in red that went untouched).

Alona’s was easily the best outfit from the first day of play in New York (and we hadn’t even seen Venus‘ EleVen dress at that point). In the second round, the blonde sister crushed a repeat of Melanie Oudin‘s run deep into the US Open draw; she fell to 6th seed Schiavone in the third round. Meanwhile, Kateryna scored one of the tournament’s first upsets by beating Li Na, the eighth seed. Kateryna lost in the second round to Cibulkova in a third-set tiebreak.

And Vera Zvonareva, of course, didn’t drop a set all the way through to the finals (including an upset of top seed Caro Wozniacki in the semis). Unfortunately, her mental and emotional (un)resolve got caught up in the intensity of playing that final, and she couldn’t give Kim Clijsters a fight, winning only three games.

Buy: Y-Back Dress, $75; Mesh Pleat Skirt, $50; Striped Pleat Skirt (not pictured), $55; Criss-cross tank (not pictured), $48; kswiss.com.

Bonus: It would be fun to see the girls go Cali (say, at Indian Wells? or Miami?) with these board shorts? They’ll set you back $40.

More: Closer shots of all three ladies’ outfits