maria’s spring 2011 for cole haan

More love to our favorite Russo-American: We would never have thought of uttering “Maria Sharapova” in the same breath as Dossier, Theophilus London, Bureau V, Kate Neckel, and Bamboo Bike Studio — yet here we are. She’s been added by Cole Haan to a list of makers, creators, and innovators that they’re spotlighting throughout the spring.

Browse: Check out a some adorable pictures of Maria (she should smile more often!) plus a mini-Q&A that looks into her creative process here. From her Spring 2011 Cole Haan collection, our faves: of the bags, the metallic Viola Tote, which she was also using for practice sessions at Indian Wells (image); and of the shoes, the strap-happy Air Jasmine OT Pump.

Bracket: At this week’s BNP Paribas Open, Masha bounced back after a surprisingly tough opening round match (vs. Anabel Medina Garrigues) to beat Safina, Rezai, and Peng Shuai. She now faces top seed Caroline Wozniacki in the semis; the winner plays Bartoli. (Draw: Women’s Singles.)

(photo via colehaan.com)

short balls: march madness

by Benjamin Snyder

Maria got an eight seed and Caro a nine. Serena? Nowhere to be found. (Screengrab via Esquire.com)

Is tennis (and the world) suddenly in the palm of Maria Sharapova’s hand again? Esquire‘s battle of beauty and search for the sexiest woman alive has the web abuzz during the month of madness. In the brackets, seeded 8th, her first competition is none other than Caroline Wozniacki, the 9th seed. Step aside world no. 1 because against Masha you’re better as Miss Congeniality. Plus, it looks like Esquire’s made up its mind on which blonde to root for: “On the tennis court, we’d probably pick Wozniacki, but on whatever kind of court this competition occurs on, our hearts will always be with Sharapova.” Yeah, cuz she sells ads, y’all! Click here for Esquire’s entire bracket brilliance.

Don’t think we’re done there… a revamped Maria, a revamped website. Reports the WTA, Masha’s actually “the world’s most followed female athlete on Facebook with 3.85 million fans.” Who knew? (Serena must be pissed!) In a statement, Sharapova wrote, “One on one engagement is important to me as my fans continue to provide an honest voice for me.” How does fiancé Sasha Vujacic feel about playing second fiddle to the fans? We’ll find out as that part of Masha’s life becomes more prevalent… er, is that possible? Royal wedding, Russian edition, here we come!

Around the game: Indian Wells action continues to heat up in the California desert as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer advanced over tough opponents in qualifier Somdev Devvarman and American up-and-comer Ryan Harrison. Will they clash in a much wanted and much rarer – at least these days – battle of the titans in the final? Novak Djokovic – with a stunning 15-0 record so far this year – will do his best to prevent it.

For the women, however, we’re left without fan-favorite Kim Clijsters who retired (from her match… not the sport) with a shoulder injury against the two-handed force – on both wings! – of France’s Marion Bartoli a la Monica Seles.

Williams Watch: It’s been tough following the medical drama from the Williams camp, especially Serena’s severe blood clots.  It seems her mental game has also taken a big hit, according to a recent USA Today article. The 13-time major champ revealed just how much the injuries have affected her emotionally. She said, “I definitely have not been happy, especially when I had that second surgery (on my foot), I was definitely depressed. I cried all the time. I was miserable to be around.” | Her Twitter, however, paints a brighter (Serena-fied) picture: ”I am feeling Much better Guys thanks again for all the support. I hope to be working out soon. Very soon….  about 14 hours ago via web”

LOVE: We love ESPN the Magazine’s newest plot to distance itself from competitor Sports Illustrated: an annual fashion issue. Need tennis experts? We’re here, ETM.

(maria/sasha images via getty)

WANT: from ruffles to duffles

Fine, fine. The cheese stands alone. No one’s into that Caro dress except for me (and hopefully Woz herself). You should see it up close, though, if you can. I think that’s how I got sold on it. But that then raises the question: who are you selling for — the person wearing it or those who have to look at it from afar?

Anyway, while snooping through the stores on the grounds of the BNP Paribas Open, we ran across this duffle from Fila, part of their 100-year collection. It’s in a quilted navy blue nylon with tan leather trim and gold hardware. These were flying off the shelves, so we think the public agrees with us loving this piece.

Sadly, we didn’t take one home with us; no more bag purchases until we thin out the stock in the TSF West accesories closet!

Buy: Fila 100-year duffle bag; peacoat (navy blue); $120; fila.com.

(screengrab via fila.com)

maybe a … christmas card??

One big happy… We know it’s only March, but don’t you think this could be their … uh … Christmas card?? We’ll let Nole pen the “update” letter.

(getty images photos)

spotted in the city: shoes in boulder and ana in soho

Because there were no trophies to be handed out on Sunday, we’re throwing out a couple of our recent city sightings. Have something you’ve spotted that you’d like to share? Send it to us. -NM

We’re digging this stringing of shoes in the display window at the Newton Running store in Boulder, CO. Peruse their colorful collection here.

Though we’re loving Caro in Stella, it has been Ana that has continued to get street-level billing at SoHo’s adidas store. (TSF photos)

sunday survey: would you rather?

It’s OK to have an excuse to bring these pictures up again, right? We always love “what-if” situations, so how about a fun, imaginative one today? What if you had the option of participating in any of the below. Which would you rather?

(photo by peggy sorita via blog gallery on flickr)

did he even stop to pose?

We can only hope that this is the only picture Andy Roddick gave the photographers at the players’ party for the 2011 BNP Paribas Open. Who needs to stop for a red carpet when there’s a Kogi truck inside?

(photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

folks ruffled by caro’s latest dress

We here at TSF West are giddy about the dress adidas by stella mccartney dress Caroline Wozniacki debuted during her match today against Sloane Stephens at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. We’d seen this ruffled number in pics and saw it (on the IW grounds) two nights ago.

Seeing it on Caro led a lot of folks to spew the snark but I beg to differ: that color’s a nice, cool shade that’ll work well through the French (similar to the blue dress Maria Sharapova wore in 2009) and all the sheer cutouts and the ruffles will come to life especially during Wimbledon’s moratorium on color. Besides, no one was complaining when Maria Kirilenko was wearing this stuff (granted, MaKiri’s match record didn’t give the outfits much airtime) and the label’s sensibility hasn’t changed. So what’s different? I think it’s the way Caro wears clothes. She doesn’t have the knack for carrying an outfit. Exhibit A.

Really, leave the ruffles alone!

Scoreline: By the way, Caro, as the top seed, moved on with a win over wildcard Sloane Stephens 6-3, 6-2. We don’t see her facing any stiff challenges until a potential meeting with eighth seed Vika Azarenka in the quarters. (Draw: Women’s Singles)

Buy: Tennis Ruffle Dress in white or blueprint, $120, adidas.com.

(photos by TSF)

jimbo’s shoes

Bud Collins wasn’t the only one wowing folks with outrageous footwear. One of our first sightings on Day 4 of main draw play at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells? These throwback sneakers on Jimmy Connors.

(photo by TSF)

novak’s next project

Aside from actively tweeting and coaching Ivanovic, one of Novak Djokovic‘s newest projects is rolling out a campaign with his racquet sponsor, Head, to promote a… well, we’re not sure what it is yet. Some of Head’s past videos have been pretty good, so we’ll go ahead and bite: “NOVAK WANTS TO PLAY ON THE WINGS OF A PLANE? WHAAAAT?”

The next installment drops March 21. We’re staying tuned.

(video from Head)

short balls: serena’s out, 3d’s in and mac’s prodigy

By Benjamin Snyder

You know behind those smiles that they’re actually pissed on how their outfits clash.

The WTA’s number one saga continues as Caroline Wozniacki and Kim Clijsters head to the BNP Paribas Open. But, get this: The not-so-intense rivalry between the two smile-y blondes started much earlier than people imagined, reports Matt Cronin. In fact, it was Kim’s late dad who first picked up on Caro’s “sunny disposition,” reminding him of his daughter’s own. Okay, so maybe that does not a rivalry make, and it’s more corny than anything. We can still hope for some drama between the two, can’t we? We’re ready for those pink dresses to get a little dirty.

The ATP doesn’t have any dirty pink dresses (well, at least not that we know of… ) but there’s plenty of controversy swirling around the boys these days. Davis Cup sparked quite enough juicy, male drama, especially from France’s Gilles Simon. He recently called out French Captain Guy Forget‘s coaching style, saying, “Guy has a vision for action and I play more in response. Guy was an attacking player. He won the Davis Cup and Bercy with aggression. That’s how he sees the game and I respect that, but it does not stick at all to my game.”

For more, check out FootFault‘s take here. Our thoughts? Simmer down, Simon. You might want to keep your mouth shut until you actually get a W out of a big-time Davis Cup match. But otherwise, how’s your kid, Gilles? Hopefully he’s as cute as you.

Serena Williams, as we all know by now, isn’t returning to court any time soon, although she’s raring to get back to hitting. She recently thanked us, the little people, on her website. And here we were convinced Serena thought only she existed in the world… “I am overwhelmed, and teary eyed by all the love and support from everyone. I am so blessed to have caring love from everyone.” Yes, guys, feel special. It’s the first time Serena has written something over 140 characters since her failed screenplay.

In Fenville, Michicgan, the tragic death of a high school basketball player has rocked the small town. Wes Leonard, 16, passed away shortly after securing a 65-64 win and a perfect, 20-0 season for the Black Hawks. For a moving tribute, read this powerful piece from ESPN.com’s LZ Granderson on Wes’ wisdom beyond his years.

In the wake of these heartbreaking stories, some pretty cool, uplifting ones are on the radar in the tennis world, too. There’s Wimbledon‘s move to stream the finals in 3D around the world. It’s time to exchange the strawberries and cream for popcorn and soda. Then there’s the tale of an up-and-coming John McEnroe prodigy in the form of a 12-year old girl. This girl, Ingrid Neel, is the real deal – according to McEnroe.  ”The way she played, the look in her eye, made me think that maybe it was the 2011 version of what I would look like now, only a girl,” he says.  We’re ready when you are, Ingrid. The juniors could certainly use some tiny, pre-teen drama.

shirtless: andy and nole play some futbol

Remember this? We told you we’d be back with more. And below there’s Andy, with exceedingly ripped abs. Um… ok. One more of Nole after the cut, too.

that’s a wrap: re-hashing davis cup

By Benjamin Snyder

Good job, team America. Andy “The Closer” Roddick pulled through against Chile under the guidance of new Davis Cup captain Jim “The Rock” Courier. And a new American frat squad has been born.

The real story, however, lies in the following five moments that mattered most. Sorry, Judy Murray, this weekend’s high intensity was a far cry from your beef with a future tie being in “Eazzzztbourne.”

Step aside Gilles, you aren’t French Davis Cup’s winner this week — actually far from it. Instead, Jeremy Chardy came out on top (and without drama), winning the deciding fifth match against Austria’s Martin Fischer 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3. Chardy can now say he not only helped France advance (although Tsonga, Monfils and Gasquet had to be hurt to give him the chance) but he also won in an airplane hangar: number three to be exact.

How about some Serbian success? Ilija Bozoljac, who tested Federer at Wimbledon last year, backed up his funky game — he plays two-handed on both wings — with a big win in a four-set doubles thriller against India with partner Nenad Zimonjic. Plus, he looked really good doing it.

Seriously, we can’t make this stuff up. (via ilija-bozoljac.net)

stay, don’t go

By Jonathan Scott

Another brand of March Madness is upon us: With the unisex goodness that is the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells tournament, the 2011 pro tennis campaign kick-starts into high gear. This 1-2 punch of Cali and Miami makes for a full month of top-notch tennis. Indeed, spring’s done sprung.

Now a curious trend seeped into tennis again in 2010: jumpy observers of the sport seeking to retire players -– good, even great stars who reaped some solid results -– before they themselves are ready to hang up their racquets. The guilty parties: too many tennis writers and other observers and “personalities” involved to various degrees. Their victims? Among them, Andy Roddick, Venus Williams, and even Roger Federer, proving that not a single star is exempt from these hasty calls to exit.

But Roddick won Memphis last month, dousing the ballyhooed, raging fire that is young Milos Raonic and coming up with possibly the best championship-point winner ever. He also ignited his fellow Americans’ effort on the Chilean clay in Davis Cup, punctuating his clinching win with a scissor kick (Video: here) that would make Sally O’Malley salivate. Too many quickly forgot that Venus seized some early 2010 titles and vaulted to no. 2 in the world before injuries in part derailed both her autumnal and 2011 Aussie exploits. (Oddly, she’s now singing 311 karaoke on a MIA-to-Turks cruiseship and showing off some fly dance moves for someone with chronic knee issues.). Fed himself ran the table at the London year-end championships in December, outdoing even Rafael Nadal in the final, and snagged an early 2011 title before a taking-all-comers Novak Djokovic rolled over him in Melbourne.

Still, retirement happens. It’s inevitable. Justine Henin’s departure has itself turned into a piece of music with multiple movements, the strings swelling and falling at different points. Henin has been like that lover who breaks it off and then loiters for attention: Mercy. And merci.

All of the brouhaha catalyzed a thought: Who or what in the sport truly needs to go?

Without further ado, a few items –- persons, peccadillos, and other pesky minutiae –- that best get gone. Now. Conversely, some other talents and trends are welcome to get comfy. So there it is: Stay, or Go.

GO: Foremost, let’s be done with the freak injuries. Some stars are making the maladies on TV hospital dramas seem realistic: Victoria Azarenka scarily passed out on court after bopping her head during a warm-up run, and then Anna Chakvetadze did her best Vika impression. Meanwhile Andy Murray strained his hand by playing video games excessively (okay, that one proved a fib). It seems a few players just need to be grounded.

Granted, Serena’s recent pulmonary embolism/hematoma scare is more than legit. Anyone who relishes compelling tennis, even if no fan of hers, whether onlooker or media, can only hope she makes it back into the mix again. Tennis needs her fight and her bite. Not every player needs to be Mama Kim Clijsters, portrait of civility.

Speaking of, GO: Can we just be done with all the talk about Clijsters’ motherhood? Cute turned to precious in a hurry there, and not in a good way.

GO: That hand-strain hoax aside, Murray might want to consider tempering his video gaming: Girlfriend Kim Sears reportedly already broke up with him once over the habit. Word to the wise, young gun: the lady has you on watch.

Judy Murray, we heart thee.

GO. STAY. Good dog: Not to pick on the Murray familia too much (see below), but what of these tweets from the family’s resident cur, this Maggie? So let it be written, so let it be done: No more Murray mutt tweets, at least not until Andy bags that virgin Major. It’s no less lame to put your pet on Twitter than it is to fashion a Facebook profile for it.

STAY: Judy Murray, British tennis coach and mom to Andy and Jamie. Yes, she advises her son. She also isn’t afraid to shoot a witty retort at a former player who yaps about her spawn’s chances at winning big with her on board.

GO: Boris Becker. Just let it be, Boorish. You were a fine player, a flame-maned, serve-and-volley stud on grass. Then you knocked Murray and his mum for his underperforming at Slams, chiding him for his closeness to Judy and (good grief!) for standing by his girl at age 23. So a former player cheats on his pregnant wife with a Russian model (in a closet), resulting in a lust child, and then doles out unsolicited relational advice? Laughable. Not content to merely stand by his statements from the fall, BB waxed on again after Murray’s mopey, one-sided loss to Nole in the Aussie final. Sigh. Everyone’s a Carillo. Click to read more, kids. You don’t want to miss these musings.

today on TODAY: serena’s health

Serena Williams was on this morning’s TODAY Show talking about her health and the blood clot in her lungs. But on a more serious note, what’s up with those flowers? Really, ReRe? Click the image to watch.

shirtless: novak on the beach

Taking a dip: Is Nole losing weight? Should we be worried?! It’s a little hard to conjure up feelings of concern when a shirtless Nole is in the picture, right? Here’s Novak in Malibu. We’re hoping for plenty of shirtless shots of the Serb from Indian Wells this week. (photos by TMZ via Towleroad)

chris: how the women will fare in the desert

The women’s draw for the BNP Paribas Open came out today, and TSF bracketologist Chris takes a look at who’s going to end up the last women standing.

The WTA has had 8 different winners at this event over the past 10 years; 7 of those are in action here. All are in the top 32 and will get a bye into the second round.

Caroline Wozniacki: There’s been a lot of debate recently about Caro’s slamless #1 ranking. She went 31-5 on North American soil last year and has finalist points to defend here. She’s drawn to play Pennetta in R16, which’ll be the toughest test — along with questions about the legitimacy of her top ranking — on her way to the semis. Final.

Kim Clijsters: If we did our calculations properly, Kim needs to best Caroline by just one round to reclaim the top ranking. But her track record, both overall — 16-2 on the year and 27-3 since (and including) the 2010 US Open — and at Indian Wells — twice a champ (pre-retirement, in ’03 and ’05) — might not be enough to buoy her through the toughest draw of the top 4 women’s seeds: Groth in R32, Petkovic or Bartoli in R16, Kvitova, Jankovic or Ivanovic in QFs. SF

Vera Zvonareva Vera’s won her before (in 2009, the title that catapulted her in the rankings and helped her gain control of her emotions) and lost to a formidable Stosur in R16 last year. Of the top 4, she has the easiest route; the only woman in the way is Schiavone in the QFs. Win.

Sam Stosur: We’re still waiting for Sam to bounce back from that loss to Schiavone at the French. The Aussie’s 6-6 on the year and 10-11 since the US Open. Those SF points from last year are going to be hard to defend; we don’t expect her to make it past the QFs with this draw: Hantuchova in R32, Sharapova or Rezai in R16, Li, Kuznetsova or Petrova in QFs. QF

Francesca Schiavone: It took seeing Schiavone in person at Indian Wells last year (she lost that match to Rezai) for us to appreciate her athleticism. She’s never made it past R16 here (a three-set loss in ’08 to eventual champ Ivanovic) but we’re giving her a little bump past that. QF

Jelena Jankovic: The San Diegan (soon!) and defending champ has a dismal IW record (six first- or second-round losses in nine appearances) yet plays well on the California hard courts. That being said, she’s only 7-4 this year and finished last year 5-11 after Wimbledon. Needless to say, this is the biggest slump she’s been in for quite a while. Despite semi loses to eventual champs Wozniacki (Dubai) and Zvonareva (Doha), I thought she was in good form. R16

Li Na: She started 2011 with a title win in Sydney and an appearance in the AO finals. However, Li’s lost in the first round of her two tournaments since. We’re hoping this is just a period of adjusting to being on everyone’s radar (Ed: even our non-fan parents are talking about her!). While she made the IW semis in 2007 (loss to eventual champ Hantuchova), Li probably needs one more post-AO tournament to get her back into form. She’ll be back by Miami. R16

Victoria Azarenka: Vika’s been many a journalist’s pick for slam contention for quite a while now, but we don’t agree. She needs to work on her mental state and physical fitness to match her potential. R16

Agnieszka Radwanska: We’re putting her in the same lot as Azarenka (though we prefer her game over Vika’s). Aga’s a defending semifinalist and reached the QFs in ’08 and ’09. QF

Shahar Peer: A middling year thus far with an 8-5 record, but Shahar’s hovering near her career-best ranking so she must be doing something right. QFs here in ’07 (loss to Hantuchova) and R16 in the past two years. R16

Svetlana Kuznetsova: Sveta’s had a better 2011 compared to how she did in 2010 this time last year. She played well as she handed Henin the Belgian’s final career loss in Melbourne, and there was no reason why she should’ve lost that epic match against Schiavone. (Sveta got her revenge by taking out the Italian on the way to the Dubai final.) All that being said, after reaching the Indian Wells finals in 2007 and 2008 she lost her first match here in the last two years. What should we expect in 2011? We’re thinking that seeing the ups and downs of her countrywomen — Safina’s ranking slide (but now a doubles specialist!), Vera’s potential ascent to #1 (something Sveta’s yet to do despite having two majors), Dementieva’s tearful retirement, and Sharapova’s continued commitment to the game despite injury — will give her a little something more to fight for. She’s only 25 (seriously?!) and can still get 5-7 years of play, so she should decide whether to push back to the top or be content in top 30 purgatory. Lucky for us, she seems to be on the Masha/Bepa train instead of Elena/Safina. SF

Petra Kvitova: All’s good with the Czech, who’s 16-2 record for 2011 matches that of Clijsters (whom she defeated in the Paris final). Her only losses are in the QFs in Melbourne (Zvonareva) and a two tiebreaks in Dubai to Morita. Kvitova’s third trip to IW will have her in the same seciton of the draw as Jankovic and Ivanovic. We have her going out to Clijsters in the quarters. QF

Ana Ivanovic: Nowhere to go but up for the Serbian, who followed a title and a finals appearance (in ’08 and ’09) with a first round exit in 2010. Ivanovic got her act together and went 21-6 to finish the year, picking up titles in Linz and Bali. Unfortunately, she’s sputtered in 2011 so far. Can the desert winds bring back some of her mojo?

Daniela Hantuchova: The two-time IW winner (’02 and ’07) has done alright so far, taking the title in Pattaya City with a win over Zvonareva then lost to her in 3 tight sets in the Doha quarters. We’re expecting her to take out Stosur on her way to the quarters. QF

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Jarmila Groth, Gisela Dulko, Greta Arn: All these ladies have won titles this year. Pavs and Groth are seeded but will run into Peer and Clijsters in the second rounds. We think Dulko’ll go the deepest into the draw. Vania King shouldn’t pose too much trouble in 1R and Kanepi (R64) and Wickmayer (R32) are always liable to be upset.

R16
1 Woniacki d 13 Pennetta
9 Radwanska d 8 Azarenka
26 Hanutchova d 16 Sharapova
11 Kuznetsova d 7 Li
5 Schiavone d 10 Peer
3 Zvonareva d Dulko
12 Kvitova d 6 Jankovic
2 Clijsters d 15 Bartoli

QFs
Wozniacki d Radwanska
Kuznetsova d Hantuchova
Zvonareva d Schiavone
Clijsters d Kvitova

SFs
Wozniacki d Kuznetsova
Zvonareva d Clijsters

Finals
Zvonareva d Wozniacki

fred perry x amy winehouse, part 2

Fred Perry and Amy Winehouse have come up with their second collaboration. The new additions to the list (joining the return of the halter dresses and the gingham) are some tie-up bowling shirts (wha?) and a hawaiian print. This pattern’s our fave, and appears on a silk scarf, on the collar of a track jacket, and as a mandarin collar polo and a short-sleeved button-up. The print’s also used for a barrel bag (pictured above).

Buy: Amy Barrel Bag, £77. Browse: Fred Perry Amy Winehouse collection.

Flashback: See their first collaboration.

(image via fredperry.com)

trophy watch: never been kissed

OK. Not never. But almost never. Jelena Dokic kissed a WTA trophy for the first time in nine years (Sarasota, 2002). Dokic shot up 30 spots from no. 91 in the world to no. 61. In Kuala Lumpur, she took out top seed Francesca Schiavone in the first round before rolling into the final. It was there that she beat B-Lister Lucie Safarova, 2-6, 7-6(9), 6-4, saving two championship points en route. Tough day for the Safarova-Berydch family.

Pablo Cuevas gets a little hoist from his teammates following his tie-clinching win in Montevideo. None of those gents on the sidelines seem to care much for the celebration. Uruguay beat Colombia 4-1 in a Group I Americas clash. Davis Cup: All results

(ot) fashion focus: mccartney, hermès, and dior

Christophe Lemaire didn’t do so bad for his first collection with Hermès. That pant-boot (“poot“), along with his nods to falconry and archery (equestrianism takes a momentary back seat), mixed with Lemaire’s own penchant for jumpsuits and things middle-to-far-east to create a presentation that probably will need one more round to win everyone over. Meanwhile, in the boardroom, Hermès CEO Patrick Thomas had some fightin’ words about his disinterest in letting LVMH, a 20% stakeholder in Hermès, collaborate on the company’s business development. View: Hermès Fall 2011 collection at style.com.

Loving all the gold from Stella McCartney! View: Stella McCartney Fall 2011 collection at style.com.

And, in case you’re curious, Christian Dior‘s Fall 2011.

(images via style.com)