ana’s firsts: a no. 1 ranking and a grand slam title

Ana Ivanovic did one better than last year’s Roland Garros performance — when she won only three games against Justine Henin — by denying Dinara Safina another come-from-match-point-down performance. She shut out the Russian, who was also vying for her first Grand Slam, with the 6-4, 6-3 win.

Henin, who would’ve taken this whole thing had she not retired 24 days prior to the final, was on hand to pass the baton to Ana. The Serb earned the No. 1 spot as of yesterday’s rankings and becomes the first woman to win a title for Serbia (following Nenad Zimonjic as the first Serb ever to win a GS title and Nole Djokovic as the first singles winner).

(photos by Getty Images)

why ana’s coach is not sitting in her player’s box

Ok, stop staring at Justine Henin’s cold sore and look over at Ana Ivanovic’s player’s box. That’s right — there is no sign of her coach, Sven Groeneveld, hanging out next to her family. He’s been asked by adidas to stay neutral in this match because of his involvement in the company’s Player Development program (which both Dinara Safina and Ivanovic participate in).

The initiative, started in 2006, offers a unique mix of advice and support to both junior and senior players, from coaching tips to hitting partners to nutritional and career management plans. Other pros currently in its stable are Sam Querrey and Sania Mirza. Gil Reyes helps out with off-court training.

Did Justine get a stinker of a holiday home in Thailand?

The recently-retired Justine Henin picked up a condo unit with ocean views in Infinity Samui, a new gated lowrise development in Koh Samui, Thailand. The 65-unit development is due for completion in mid-2009.

But did Justine get duped into the PR campaign of a sinking ship? As this forum shows, constructin on the island has run into lots of problems, forcing developers to dump unfinished projects back on the market.

We hope we know what she’s doing!

(Asia Property Report via src)

A coelacanth swims back into the deep

Joshua Gibson praises the rare creature that is Justine Henin’s game.

To watch Justine Henin play tennis was to see something at once indestructible and fragile. She was a creature of another era, emerging from Belgium like a coelacanth from the deep. In a time when her contemporaries were increasingly tall, muscular and strong, Henin was only 5′6″; there didn’t seem to be a place for such a player eight years ago. (Speed and a beautiful backhand will only get you so far, even if that backhand is the most technically-perfect backhand in the sport, men’s included.) Henin should have been crushed, left to linger somewhere in the top 20. But she refused this offer. She wanted to be the best. And for much of the last five years she has been the best.

The numbers only begin to do her justice:

adidas weighs in on Justine’s retirement

adidas will continue to keep Justine Henin on their sponsorship roster even after retirement. (Yes, folks — it pays not to do blow.) Here’s an e-mail to TSF from the Sport Performance division:

adidas would like to wish the WTA World Number One all the best in her future endeavors.

adidas has been side-by-side with Justine Henin since 2003 during which time she won seven Grand Slams, including a record-equalling four French Open titles at Roland Garros, and Olympic Gold in Athens.

Justine Henin has been an outstanding player for adidas Tennis and will remain an ambassador of the adidas brand, continuing to inspire and enable young athletes worldwide.

Buhskyooze: Justine Henin retires from tennis

Justine Henin, speaking from the Justine N-1 Club in Belgium, announces her immediate retirement from tennis. This is the first time someone has retired from the sport while holding the No. 1 ranking.

Share your thoughts: What do you think about Justine’s retirement? Tell us!

More: Read the AP report

Looking for some geek chic?

Huge wire frame glasses? Check. Zip-up varsity jacket with loud sleeve patterns? Check. Siamese ice cream cone? Check. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

And yes, I think that is Kim Clijsters on the right.

Now it makes sense to me why Justine’s current wardrobe is so drab — she used up all her style points as a kid!

(photos from src via WTB)

trophy watch: i call him “melo yellow”; a japanese phenom; mama murray must be happy, etc.

This one’s for you, Mikey: Our Sa Watch 2008 begins with the duo of Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa — locals — winning the Brazil Open doubles trophy over Albert Montanez and Santiago Ventura. Leave it to Andre to wear yellow socks on the court. Cute.

Meanwhile, it was a battle of the lankies as British fourth seed Andy Murray took out Croatian Mario Ancic 6-3, 6-4, at the ATP Open 13 in Marseille, France.

In Delray Beach, Kei Nishikori surprised everyone (including finalist James Blake) with this impressive 6-3, 1-6 and 4-6 upset. Our buddy Ichizo took this video of Kei while playing against Zack Fleishman in Japan last October.

By the way, look out for Ichizo to launch his japanese language tennis blog sometime soon. This is one of the few times I’m sad that I don’t know Japanese. That, and everytime I can’t read anything in Men’s Non-No aka the best magazine in the world.

And we are sure that Mama Murray is proud of her other son, Jamie, who teamed with Max Mirnyi to upset the top seeded Bryan Brothers. (Watch: See Jamie use finger code to communicate with Max.)

A beaut! The Proximus Diamond Games tops itself with a racquet encrusted with 2008 diamonds (get it?) totalling more than $1.5 million. 1,611 of those diamonds are on the ball itself. Unfortunately for Justine Henin, who beat Italy’s Karin Knapp, 6-3, 6-3 in the final match, she has to win the tournament three times in five years before she takes home that puppy. It’s not an impossible feat, though; Amelie Mauresmo did the same last year and took home the first diamond trophy.

Singles: Sorry, guys. I was too crushed by the early loss of Guga Kuerten in singles (and doubles, actually) at the Brasil Open to care about who won. Props to Nicolas Almagro for besting mainstay Carlos Moya 7-6 (4), 3-6, 7-5.

Lastly, Flavia Pennetta wore her multi-collared Sergio Tacchini all the way to a title at the Vina del Mar tourney in Vina del Mar, Chile. Her opponent: Klara Zakopalova.

(Mirnyi/Murray video via ATP; photos by Getty Images)

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fashion focus: maria and yuri dressed in nike

Wow. I didn’t think for a second that I would be waking up to news of Maria Sharapova blowing top seed Justine Henin out of the water. The 6-4, 6-0 women’s quarterfinals scoreline at the Australian Open gave Justine her first bagel since the 2002 French Open.

All in the deets: Here’s a closer look at her visor this week; it reminds me of the one she wore at last year’s French but in white with gold accents. And those earrings of hers are significantly more diminutive than those of the Williams sisters, but do the job of keeping Maria’s look elegant.

Out for blood: And her father Yuri brought his own fashion to the stands with the Bape-like camouflage hoodie from Nike (who’s Maria’s clothing sponsor).

“He (said) he has a cold so he had to put the hood on tonight,” Sharapova said of her father’s “unfortunate” hoodie. “I told him ‘you look like an assassin with that jacket on.”

And assassin he was as he “made a dramatic throat-slitting motion as his daughter blew kisses to the crowd” after her defeat of top seed Henin. Yikes, that’s intense.

One more: See a photo of Maria toting her new gold Prince tennis bag, plus a Nike gym bag in the Spring pink color. Both

trophies: heineken, hobart, kooyong, sydney

The girls and boys warmed up for the start of the Australian Open with another week at various tournaments Down Under. The usual fare of crystal and silver were doled out, save for minikegs in Auckland…

Philipp Kohlschreiber ends up with a silver trophy and a keg (yes!!!!) for winning the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand. He beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6 (4), 7-5 in the finals.

More photos: Kooyong, Sydney, and Hobard (plus Auckland doubles)

adidas hits out of (melbourne) park with competition group

So we were already pretty happy with the Edge Dress adidas is releasing for Spring 2008, so imagine our elation when we saw the rest of the collection…

Our fave from the Competition Group is the Competition 4 Cap-Sleeve Top, with its draped mock turtleneck, contrast side ties, and the three-stripe design on the cap sleeves. And that quarter zip, which also appears on the men’s polos, have been placed on the back of the women’s top.

And we’re relieved for Justine Henin, who will likely wear items from this group for the early part of 2008, including the Australian Open. (The group also has a tank and skort.) Justine hasn’t exactly blown us away with her past fashion choices, so I’m glad to know adidas is taking care of her. Yeah, I know what you’re saying: “who cares what she wears?” If she’s going to win all those Grand Slams, she might as well dress nicely while doing it.

Colorways: the vibrant colors this season are Aqua, Lemon Peel, White, Lucid Pink, and Cherry Wood. The 4 Cap-Sleeve top comes in four colorways.

Browse: As usual, you can check out the other colorways and pick up this item at Tennis Warehouse, for $41.99.

(photos via TW)

blacks, metallics, and leopard print (!!) at the yec party

(My thoughts go out to those affected by the earthquake that hit Chile today…)

The SEWTA Tour hosted their Year-End Championships Players’ party in Madrid on Sunday night (after the longest three-set final which saw Justine Henin defend her title).

Black was the evening’s shade, found on LBDs, floor-length skirts, and a sexy halter bubble dress on Serena Williams. Metallics showed up on Ana Ivanovic and Sharapova (in Thakoon). There were lots of gold accessories, too: a belt on Ana, a brooch on Anna Chakvetadze, and chains adorning Serena’s Louis Vuitton bag. And Jelena Jankovic separated herself from the pack with a body-hugging leopard print dress that puts Bethanie Mattek to shame.

Here are some photos from the shindig. Make sure to check out the entire gallery on the WTA website.

Anna punctuated her black half turtleneck knit top with a gold brooch at the bust and toted classic quilted leather purse. Meanwhile, her oft-braided hair got some air.

Ana went Victorian with her lacy silk top, gold belt, and floor-length skirt (is that a key around her neck?); and Jelena pulled off a leopard print ensemble.

Momma long-legs Daniela Hantuchova let her hair down and wore a fur caplet over her little black mini dress.

See Serena, Sveta, Justine, and Marion

trophy watch: madrid + asian hopman cup

The SEWTA Tour capped its 2007 season with a thrilling match between winner Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova. The 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 match — played over three hours, 24 minutes — was the longest three-set final in tournament history. (It was played as a best-of-five final from 1984-1998.) Jesus, that 12th game of the first set was agonizingly long, and not even in the nail-biting kind of way.

We were surprised about Masha’s late-season run, which came after a nearly two-month layoff due to shoulder injury. (More

trophy watch + year-end championships

We all breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing a cleaned-up Justine Henin — sans pirate pants, that is — receiving this lame trophy from the SEWTA in Madrid. The Belgian will finish 2007 as the No. 1 player female tennis player in the world. This is the second year in a row that Justine has achieved this feat; she also did it in 2003.

Look at those biceps. Rawr.

Of course, Henin’s in town to vie for Sony Ericsson Championships, which begins next week. On the Baseline handicaps the field.

My picks: Henin wins the Yellow Group round robin and Daniela Hantuchova wins the Red Group. Henin takes it all. Who do you think will win? Tell us!

(Henin photo via Getty Images; group photo via WTA)

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trophy watch: paris, quebec

This week’s winners were all about the streaks…

Lindsay Davenport continues her successful comeback campaign with her second title in three tourneys. She beat Julia Vakulenko 6-4, 6-1 at the Quebec City Bell Challenge. She looked good wearing Nike’s Drop Shot Cable Top from the winter collection.

If it ain’t broke…: Boo to you, Masters Series Paris. You were in the running for best tennis trophy with your Fanti Tree, and you replace it with this. But hey, it’s better than a silver cup, right?

David Nalbandian continues his comeback with a 6-4, 6-0 destruction of Rafael Nadal in the finals. This is the second time in the last three weeks that the Argentine has beaten both Roger Federer and Rafa in the same tournament (the other being Madrid, which he also won. Not bad to have your only two titles in 2007 be Masters Series ones, no?). Could this latest streak mean that he’ll take the TMC like he did back in 2005?

trophy watch: kissing crystal

More boring trophies from this week’s tournaments: the Zurich Open and the Mutua Madrilena Masters in Madrid. David Nalbandian beat Roger Federer 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 to win his first title of the year. He equaled Novak Djokovic’s feat of defeating the Worlds No. 1 and 2 back-to-back in the same tournament. (Nole did it at the Rogers Cup.)

And Justine Henin continues her dominance of the women’s tour with her ninth title of the year. (She racked up four of them in this latest 20-match winning streak.) Justine took on Tatiana Golovin in the Zurich Open and won in straight sets — 6-4, 6-4.

More photos — plus men’s doubles results —

trophy watch: the green egg, the yellow car, and big silver cups; aka the winners keep winning

A few days late, folks, but here are the trophies doled out for the four tournaments contested last week.

The Open de Moselle in Metz, France awarded another Yoshi egg, this time to Spaniard (and top seed) Tommy Robredo, who beat Andy Murray 0-6, 6-2, 6-3. It’s good to see the Scot (however color-uncoordinated, in Fred Perry) shaking off the rust from his wrist injury. Welcome back.

And U.S. Open semifinalist David Ferrer continues his hardcourt success with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Richard Gasquet to hoist this ginormous trophy. I’ve heard a few people mention that Ferrer was in top-player could-beat-Rafa-on-clay form during this all-blue fest.

On the women’s side, Justine Henin — in her first tournament since winning the $1 million U.S. Open prize last month — takes out Tatiana Golovin 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Filderstadt. And with that victory, she goes home with a sleek trophy and a bright yellow 911 Turbo.

And in Japan, Virginie Razzano follows last week’s Guangzhou International Women’s Open title with a 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4 victory over Venus Williams, giving the Frenchwoman her second singles title in as many weeks.

More French success (but no photo): Pauline Parmentier upset top seed Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-2 to take the Tashkent Open title. Like a true professional, Azarenka has already rebounded by beating Masha in the first round of this week’s Kremlin Cup.

what’s in this week’s water?: justine henin cleans up

Can someone check the charts for me? Something weird is definitely going on.

First, Vince Spadea proved to the world that he could put together a decent outfit at the Thailand Open, and now the normally ho-hum Justine Henin follows in the fashion week footsteps of Roger Federer (at de la Renta), Maria Sharapova (at Peter Som and Michael Kors) and Serena Williams (at Tommy Hilfiger and Zac Posen) with her own front-row appearance at Milan Fashion Week.

Justine looked great as she sat front row at the Giorgio Armani Spring 2008 ready-to-wear show. She was decked out in a white pantsuit (which seems to be her glam staple), and two necklaces.

Bonus round: The collection, inspired by the “languid, sensual summers of Southern Italy”, saw its share of trousers tied at the knee, beaded scarves (glittering), and harem-pant gowns. See it all here. (via style.com)

Kudos, pt. 2: Justine, we love your red glasses, too.

Right sentiment, but…:” Did anyone else find it funny that in this list of Most Overrated/Underrated athletes, it’s the overrated ones who get the ink? Regardless, props to Mike Freeman for giving Justine credit for her achievements.

(Milan photo from Elle Belgium via the Justine Henin forums; red glasses photos via the forums)

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henin channels her inner rafa

….when she should have been channeling her inner Roger.

Get her a stylist!: Someone needs to tell Justine Henin that capri pants and sneakers are no-nos for U.S. Open trophy photo opps. Who does she think she is, Rafa Nadal?

Meanwhile, R-Fed looked good posing outside Times Square. We could’ve done without the barricades, but whatevs…

the women’s final: henin wins but sveta shines

Congrats to Justine Henin for taking her second U.S. Open title (her first came in 2003) by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova — the 2004 U.S. Open champ — 6-1, 6-3.

Henin wore her ho-hum orange adidas separates, and Kuznetsova wore the same outfit from Fila that she’s been sporting all week.

We did notice a few more things this time around: Kuznetsova has a necklace with an “S” in cursive lettering, and her bandana was personalized with a monogram.

I love these little touches that make the ensemble hers. (Do you agree? Tell us!)

Bonus round: In case you’re wondering, that Mary Cohr badge on her red tank is from sponsor Baronesse Cosmetiques, whose stable includes Sveta, Thomas Johansson, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Paul Capdeville, and Tamira Paszek.

(photos via Getty Images)

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