Keeping it cool: Isn’t it nice to have an un-cranky American be at the top of the sport? Perhaps Fish‘s reign as the No. 1 Yank will take the edge off for Andy…
Regardless, both chaps are still in contention for the 2011 U.S. Open title, with Roddick defeating Benneteau for a spot in the fourth round (he plays David Ferrer next) while Mardy is set to play Tsonga for a spot in the quarters. How crazy would it be if they both got through their halves of the draw and met in the final? (Bracket: See how the men’s field is stacking up.)
Caro Wozniacki‘s in the 2011 U.S. Open as the world No. 1 and the event’s top seed, and comes into New York on the heels of a title win in New Haven. Sadly, this momentum will come to a grinding halt very very soon. (Draw:Women’s Singles)
Sleek: Wozniacki’s wearing a white chalk dress — scuba-inspired — from adidas by Stella McCartney. Check out this video from her photo shoot for the fall pieces. The gallery below also shows the photos released as part of the lookbook for the collection.
(US Open match images via Getty Images; lookbook images courtesy of adidas)
U.S. Open fifth seed David Ferrer practice in a Lotto graphic tee. He’s set to play Florian Mayer today for a spot in the fourth round. (Draw:Men’s Singles)
Crown her queen. For a set and a half yesterday, Serena Williams absolutely dominated Victoria Azarenka on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Serena had match points at both 6-1, 5-3 and 5-4, coming within a point of absolutely drubbing the world’s 4th-ranked player. But Vika saved four match points and drew the second set into a tiebreaker. And while the Belarussian couldn’t quite nab a set (or the match) from Serena, she made somewhat of a case for the rest of the remaining US Open field.
But who — really — can give Serena a true challenge in the final four rounds of the Open? Among Ana Ivanovic, Francesca Schiavone and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (her fourth round and potential quarterfinal match-ups, respectively), the three women hold a 2-7 (and 4-14 in sets) record against Serena in nine matches. So, who has the best shot? Tell us who you think below.
The few: Only a handful of ATPers dared to venture into stripes for this year’s U.S. Open: Andy Roddick wore a piece from his Lacoste collection (Buy:Striped Polo, $88); Robin Haase, as the lone mascot for Robey, dared to go diagonal (Info:Top spin Polo); and James Blake tickled us with his Fila design (Buy:TR engineered polo, $55).
Draw: Roddick’s still in it after schooling American upstart Jack Sock in straight sets on Ashe. Up next for Andy is Benneteau, then likely a tough fourth-round match vs. Ferrer. If he survives that, it’s a QF date with Rafa!
Haase ground out Andy Murray before losing 6-7 (5-7), 2-6, 6-2, 6-0, 6-4 (yikes!). Muzz should be okay to beat Feli Lopez in the third round, but could run into trouble against Donald Young in the round of 16 or Isner (or Delpo, or Simon) in the quarters.
Blake lost to Ferrer in straight sets.
Scan: See the entire 2011 U.S. Open Men’s Singles draw here.
More: See pics of Roddick’s, Haase’s, and Blake’s polos — all after the cut…
We never got around to posting images from Rafa‘s Armani Jeans Fall/Winter 2011 campaign shoot — the poster of which he made a cameo for at Macy’s right before the start of the 2011 U.S. Open — so here they are!
Spanish Armada: Nadal was photographed by Steven Klein for the ads; fellow Spaniard Jon Kortajarena, meanwhile, is the face of the collection’s catalogue. See all of JK’s looks here.
Maria Kirilenko ended the run of local fave Christina McHale in the third round of the 2011 U.S. Open. The 25th seed defeated McHale 6-2, 6-3, which puts her at her best showing at the U.S. Open thus far. Kirilenko’s also made the round of 16 at the French (this year and last year) and the quarters of the 2010 Aussie Open. She’ll next face the winner of the Stosur/Petrova match. (Draw:Women’s Singles)
The details: Maria did everything a little better than McHale on the court, including with their outfits. The Russian’s clothes, from this season’s adidas Barricade line, include “Intense Blue” and “Intense Pink” as its colors. Sprinkle some gold jewelry, a dark nail color, a few wristbands, some braids within braids (!), purple laces on white/yellow on her shoes, and a slouchy dark fuschia bag to bring on the court. Perf.
The adidas Barricade collection for the 2011 U.S. Open — worn by Andy Murray in competition — has been doing a good job giving the lanky Scot some shape. (Well, more shape, since we know he doesn’t need the help). This bright red v-neck has details along the upper chest that accentuate his shoulders and collarbone; the black print down the sides breaks up the red, giving his torso a more toned look. These same concepts got lost in the noise a few seasons ago when every company used the trims; it’s refreshing to see it standing alone, succeeding at the optical illusion. (Buy: adidas Barricade Tee, $55, tennisexpress.com)
Other deets: And obviously, there’s that neon that we’re seeing everywhere…
Draw: The fourth-seeded Murray defeated Somdev Devvarman 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-3 and will next play Robin Haase. They’re both in that bottom half of the men’s draw along with Rafael Nadal.
More: A few more photos of Andy in his Barricade Tee after the cut…
Ladies, watch your back: The world’s current No. 1 TWAG, Jelena Ristic, is doing her part to make bf Novak Djokovic — or at least his player’s box — look great during his matches. Loving the multi-charmed necklace!
And on the court… Djokovic easily dispatched Argentine Carlos Berlocq 6-0, 6-0, 6-2 in his second-round match tonight. His next opponent, sigh, is Kolya. See how the men’s draw is stacking up.
We’d like what he’s having: Not sure how he swings it, but Philipp Petzschner ends up in the most opportune of places.
Tender: And while this Tipsarevic/Petszch post-match moment isn’t quite like the Dimitrov/Monfilsmashfest that happened in the first round of U.S. Open play, we find it just as sweet.
Draw: 20th-seeded Serb beat Petzschner 6-0, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in their second round match.
Slurp and step. Do you guys remember the Honey DeuceGrey Goose specialty drinks from a couple of years ago? Well, we do (so thirsty!) and they’re still serving up the delicious gems at the GG outposts around the ground. Too bad this just-outside-the-fence giant cup wasn’t full of vodka. We would have gladly parked there for the day and stuck to the practice courts. And: How much do we love these New Balance shoes? They’ve been done in collaboration with Polo Ralph Lauren for the officials at the Open, and though some of us at TSF are so-so on the many bright colors on site this year, we LOVE this option. What’s that? You want our sizes? Gladly…
Ups and downs: We’re trying to take in as much of Tommy Haas as we can, especially after the injury that’s left him iffy and cautious about how much longer he’ll play on the tour (this year).
But when Tommy packs up, we’ll turn to boxes, too — of Thomas Haas chocolate. (We prefer bold and dark, please). The sugar high isn’t quite the same as the thrill of Tommy sightings, but it’ll get pretty close.
Brackets: At this week’s U.S. Open, the veteran German beat Jonathan Dasnieres De Veigy in the first round and will face Alejandro Falla in the second. (Draw:Men’s Singles)
(And since we couldn’t back up our Farmers Classic Tommy report with a photograph, here’s exhibit A, above, snapped by Anthony Chartoff during a hitting session at this year’s U.S. Open. Check out all of Chartoff’s great pics here.)
