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.
A week ago, Chanda Rubin was sitting in her Louisiana home preparing for 2011 to come rolling around. Now that home barely exists. The former top 10 player and Major semifinalist endured the worst nightmare of many homeowners: her house caught fire. The destruction (and devastation) was caught by (Lafayette, La.) The Advertiser photographer Brad Kemp. “I’m like a vagabond now. I don’t have a home,” she told the paper. | Chanda’s career
While the 2011 has officially kicked off, we’re still loving the WTA‘s batch of off-season pics. Our favorite? That’d be Maria Kirilenko sporting a different ‘do in Las Vegas. And Maria is supposedly “training” there during the off-season? Who does she think she is… Jennifer Capriati?! | Remember: Maria’s 2010 Aussie run
Two-time Major finalist Vera Zvonareva also had a busy off-season, booking quite the spread(s) in the Russian versions of Glamour and Harper’s Bazaar. While Zvonareva – who reached the Wimby and US Open finals – looked all dolled up for the shoots, she was giving plenty of lip to the work she has done with UNESCO as a global ambassador. | Vera’s Glam shots
Print is dead? Print is recycled! If you’re worried about all those magazines we’re not reading going to waste, Nike is here to quell your fears: they are to begin making shoes from old mags. Now runners will have more than just the weather to talk about: “Yeah, so I was reading on my shoe that in 1932 Vienna…” | Flashback: Our picks for shoes you must have in 2011
short(est) ball: This ain’t no cowby prez. While vacationing in Hawaii, the first family reportedly took the the Kailua Racquet Club courts for a little hit and giggle. No word on weather Bo served as their balldog or not.
(rubin pic by brad kemp of the advertiser; kirilenko pic via mariakirilenko.com)
Maria Kirilenko made a furious run to the Moscow final this week, bowing out to Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-4 in the deciding match. This year alone, Kirilenko has registered wins over Maria Sharapova, Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova in making her way from 58th in the world to her current spot at no. 26th.
We’re Kiri-ous: can Maria make the next step? Or will she always be the 20th to 50th ranked danger floater who has the weapons to take out the big guns but can’t be a consistent champ herself??
Maria Kirilenko notched a first round win versus Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. She beat the tough Spaniard 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1, and I’m seriously hoping for a good end-of-the-season run to close out a moderately successful season: two doubles titles — San Diego with Zheng Jie; Cincy with Vika — plus that singles QF appearance at the Australian Open. (Draw: Toray PPO Singles)
Buy:adidas Fall Barricade Tank, Collegiate Purple/Radiant Red, $32, TW.
Caroline Wozniacki might be adidas‘ choice to sport the much-coveted Stella McCartney line on the court, but her predecessor, Ana Ivanovic, still books the corner spot when it comes to ad space.
The adidas Soho store in New York has a bank of windows full of tennis players and gear (Wozniacki, Ivanovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray) in anticipation for the US Open, but while Wozy might have the most square footage of any subject with her McCartney display, it’s Ivanovic and Murray who get one of Manhattan’s busiest street corners (Broadway and Houston) to peer over all day long.
There’s no Maria Kirilenko (the former Stella gal) in sight in the window display (full photos after the jump), nor does 2009 US Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin make an appearance.
Full window display shots of all four players after the cut. (more…)
I assume you watched Project Runway last night? That Korean girl is craaaazeeeeee, but her dress was fantastic. And I never fall for anyone who uses the word “hoochie”, but I could not stop staring at Jesus Estrada. What is wrong with me??
Onto business: speaking of that potato sack PR episode, Maria Kirilenko is one lady who could look good wearing anything. Case in point: she looks wonderful in adidas‘ competition line, having been downgraded traded places with Caro Wozniacki as the face of Stella McCartney‘s line for the sportswear company.
Making lemons: Kirilenko shot to the top of Day 1 headlines with her upset of 14th seed Maria Sharapova in the first round. She’s now through to the fourth round and will face another Russian, Dinara Safina. (Draw:Women’s singles.)
A closer look: We love how Kirilenko’s made that adidas Competition Tank pop on the court. Contrasting that lime (“acid buzz”) with black is never optimal, but notice the use of color from her hair accessories, nail polish, and knee strap.
Buy: adidas Spring 2010 Competition Tank, in acid buzz/core teal, $45.
Thanks to Twitter, and player web sites (we love modern media!!!), we came across this photo of Maria Kirilenko roadside in the States. We’re not sure what or when it’s from, but the picture is both frightening and hilarious all in one.
Unlike the No. 1 ranking… Thanks to Chris for tipping us off about Caro Wozniacki being the new face of the adidas by Stella McCartney line. I guess the folks in Portland finally realized that while Maria Kirilenko has the best face/bod combo to show off the British designer’s amazing pieces, the Russian’s game (and thus the fashion show that should come with it) has relegated Stella’s designs to the outer courts (and early rounds) of most tournaments.
And all that will change now that the Woz has exclusive opportunities to wear the collection, starting with the fall/winter 2009 tennis range — including apparel and shoes — at this year’s U.S. Open.
“I feel like I have everything any fashionable female tennis player always dreams about: cutting-edge adidas technologies combined with Stella’s unique designs that actually perform,” said the current world No. 9 via a press release.
And with this partnership, McCartney finally gets to design for someone who wins. “It’s very rare for a fashion designer to dress one of the top 10 players in the world. I couldn’t be more thrilled and happy to be given that opportunity.”
Along with key styles from the tennis collection (Performance Dress, Hot Pant, Bra, etc. in pinks and purples), Caroline will also wear the Skynde, whose Barricade V base is redesigned in a seed pearl/dark grape/white colorway.
She’s been with adidas for a while, of course, joining the company’s Player Development Program back in 2007. The PDP helps nurture young tennis talent through a unique mix of advice and support, giving an extra helping hand towards building a successful career. And FYI, Wozniacki has two titles this year: the MPS Group Championship (on clay, in Florida) and the AEGON International (grass, Eastbourne).
More later: We’re in the process of getting a lookbook for the collection. When it shows up, we’ll post!
What about Maria? Wozniacki will be the only player wearing adidas by Stella McCartney. From the folks at adidas: “Maria Kirilenko continues to be an excellent tennis ambassador for the adidas brand and remains part of the adidas tennis family. From the U.S Open onwards Maria will move out of the range and start wearing the adidas Competition tennis products.”
Scoreline: Maria beat sixth-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round of the Collector Swedish Open Women and will now face top seed Caroline Wozniacki in the quarters. See draw here.
SEWTA bombshells Daniela Hantuchova, Maria Kirilenko, and Tatiana Golovin appear in this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Joining them in the magazine is Brookly Decker, Andy Roddick‘s fiancee.
The three tennis ladies were photographed by Walter Iooss in Cap Cana, Juanillo, Dominican Republic.
Here are the pics — a million times better than the non-HD preview we posted two days ago:
Among many costume changes for Dani was this pink number from V del Sol.
“Being a part of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue was a unique experience that gave me a rare and fun opportunity to let the people see me in a different light, away from the tennis court,” Hantuchova commented to the SEWTA website.
Meanwhile, Maria was shot wearing this print bikini from adidas by Stella McCartney.
From Kirilenko’s site: “I have very good memories of the photo shooting for Sports Illustrated. I went to Dominican Republic with my mother. I was there for three days and I had a great time ! All days on the beach posing I can tell I was busy all the days but it was so nice ! A great team worked with me. The great photographer Walter Iooss, I think it is a greatest photographer I ever work with.”
Tati looked comfortable (has she recovered from her injury?) in this Rachel Pappo suit.
“It is such an honor to be a part of the Swimsuit issue and while I have done lots of photo shoots in my career, none of them can compare to the fantastic atmosphere of this shoot and the positive energy of the crew,” Golovin said on the tour site. “It was a fantastic experience that will stay with me for a long time.”
…aaaaaaaand Brooklyn Decker blows them all away. Just keep this picture in your wallet, Andy!
(Decker photographed by Raphael Mazzucco in Canouan Island, The Grenadines. Swimsuit by Elizabeth Kosich; all images via si.com)
While they might not have any major titles among them (one or two Tier I’s, at most), the blonde tennis trifecta of Maria Kirilenko, Dani Hantuchova, and Tatiana Golovin has the distinction of being included in Sports Illustrated‘s 2009 Swimsuit Issue. They’ll join Andy Roddick‘s fiancee Brooklyn Decker, along with a long list of scantily clad babes.
A sneak peek of the issue aired on CBS Sunday Morning (who was the target demo?), spun as a profile on legendary photographer Walter Iooss, who shot the trio for the magazine.
And on tonight’s episode of the Late Show with David Letterman, the magazine will announce the cover girl.
Maria Kirilenko had a super-brief stint at this year’s Australian Open; as the 27th seed, she bowed out to Italian Sara Errani 6-0, 6-4.
Still, it gave us a look into the spring/summer 2009 adidas by Stella McCartney collection, a marriage of the designer’s thematic inspiration (Edwardian petticoats) with looks from her archive, plus an infusion of the color du saison.
Trophy watch: The men and the women stopped by Asia this week to contest titles in Beijing, Bangkok, Korea. We saw rematches and familiar faces from last week and last year. A roundup of the winners, their trophies, and what they wore — all after the cut…
Congrats to the newish doubles team of Flavia Pennetta and Maria Kirilenko. They qualified for Wimbledon in their third competition together (won Estoril and reached the second round at the French).
And of course Maria looks super-cute in her adidas by Stella McCartney get-up. (That’s the midlayer jacket.)
I don’t think I’ve seen this scoop neck long-sleeved top before… is it from the current season?
Rafael Nadal continues to make his case for winning this year’s Wimbledon title with a 7-6 (6), 7-5 victory over Novak Djokovic at The Artois Championships in London. Rafa, who took home $133,000, is the first Spaniard to win a grass court title in 35 years (bookending Andres Gimeno‘s 1972 Eastbourne feat).
Does Rafa already have a toothpaste endorsement deal? It could be very lucrative…
Meanwhile, Roger Federer scurried back to the teat of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, where he tried to erase last week’s French Open drubbing with his fifth title at this smaller grass event. He beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-4. He didn’t drop a set in five matches, helping extend his record to 25-0 at this event (and to 59 straight wins on grass dating back to 2002).
Looking forward: Roger will seek his sixth straight Wimbledon title this coming week.
Top seed Nikolay Davydenko chips away some more of that (unfounded) match-fixing notoriety with another title, this time at the Orange Prokom Open in Warsaw. He has racked up three titles so far in 2008, tying Nole and trailing only Rafa’s five. Kolya beat second seed Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-3. Great track jacket from Airness!
Kateryna Bondarenko switched to a more even K-Swiss outfit for the DFS Classic final. Kateryna overcame Yanina Wickmayer 7-6 (7), 3-6, 7-6 (4).
In this week’s only clay contest, Maria Kirilenko made quick work of Maria Martinez Sanchez (6-0, 6-2) in the Barcelona Open. Maria turned this around with a first-round exit at Eastbourne this week.
Maria Kirilenko switches from the separates to the sold-out Tennis Dress from adidas by Stella McCartney‘s Spring/Summer 2008 line.
She lost in the second round of the French to Jie Zheng 6-4, 3-6, 2-6.
Buy: The dress is no longer, so you should wipe away your tears with this Cover-up Blouse Jacket in Shell Beige, $165, also from the spring/summer collection. The puffy sleeves and pleated chest detail are a nice touch.
The Spring ’08 line of adidas by Stella McCartney has finally dropped. You can check out the goods at adidas.com, but if you’re just looking for the tennis pieces, consider this storefront at Tennis Warehouse, which has an infinitely better layout. That being said, you should remember that McCartney also designed lines for yoga (aka “gym”), running, golf, and swimming.
Of the non-tennis items, we were drawn to the Swim Cover-up ($120), available in white and shell beige — the latter color is a light pink. We also liked the Golf Midlayer ($160), essentially a mini-trench coat.
If TSF had our way, the later rounds of a Slam would have great tennis and great fashion. Sometimes, that doesn’t work out (ahem, Justine Henin), like the case of the second round match between 27th seed Maria Kirilenko and Akiko Morigami.
Maria blew Akiko out of the water 6-1, 6-1 in a second round match at the Australian Open, and could put up a fight against the not-quite-100% Anna Chakvetadze on Saturday.
The fashion scoreline was a lot closer, though. Maria passes muster (mustard?) by representing the earth tones hit week. She brings out a pleated skirt and white tank — both part of the the Spring line from adidas by Stella McCarthey. The yellow is a refreshing change from all the other women wearing various shades of pinks and purples this fortnight.
In the other corner…: And Akiko, who celebrated her 28th birthday last Saturday, previews the new Spring line from Fila Japan. Her outfit plays with pink and ruffles (at the sleeves) and and stays sporty with thick horizontal stripes of black, white, and red.
Hold your horses: The adidas spring line won’t drop for another few weeks (February). In the meantime, you can get your fix by raiding the Fall/Winter clearance. The tennis skirt ($60) is my pick. Browse the rest of the goods here.
And same goes for Fila Japan. They’re still in winter mode on the interwebs. We’ll make sure to update you when everything’s ripe for the picking.
I should point out that TSF reader R. C. French is writing about his hometown tourneys — the ASB Classic (women) and the Heineken Open (men) — in his blog, Yellowballin’. Make sure to bookmark or RSS the sucker.
Notables from the first day of this Auckland, New Zealand, tournament (the ASB Classic happens first) include sixth seed Tamira Paszek‘s 7-6 (7), 6-1 win over boldly clothed Yanina Wickmayer; and the unseeded Lindsay Davenport‘s defeat of fellow American Laura Granville, 6-2, 6-3. But what I’m really excited about is tomorrow’s line-up: Maria Kirilenko (hopefully) will debut the Spring 2008 line of adidas by Stella McCartney.
(I was also hoping for a peek of Fila‘s 2008 goods for Akiko Morigami, but she lost in her first round match today. Le sad.)
We have focused our TSF efforts on an online tennis hub called TSFTennis.com. Check it out for the latest news, blogs, and feature articles on everything tennis.
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