fashion: EleVen’s third outfit

Today’s match between Venus Williams and Alona Bondarenko became the stage for showcasing EleVen‘s third tennis outfit for the twelfth-seeded American.

Roger, part deux?: The all-black ensemble debuted the day after Roger Federer unveiled his tennis tuxedo look. Venus’ gear consisted of a ladies’ polo (with EleVen’s crest on the breast), a pleated skirt, a headband, and wristbands. She sealed the deal with some nice bling — two pairs of earrings and a ring on her right hand.

FYI: EleVen is Venus’ clothing design collaboration with retailer Steve & Barry’s. It will go on sale in November. She’s previewing outfits from the line at this year’s Open. (Also, Venus won the match 6-1, 6-2.)

Let’s hear it: what do you think of this third look? Tell us!

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>> fashion: Venus dabbles in low-end retail with Steve & Barry’s
>> fashion preview: venus’ u.s. open outfits
>> first eleven look debuts
>> on day three: EleVen, part two

JNP’s day five wrap

Well Day Five at the U.S. Open was an awesome day for Novak Djokovic. The Serbian outplayed Radek Stepanek in an ESPN Classic-style 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (2) battle.

On the women’s side, Venus, Dinara Safina, Ana Ivanovic, Serena, and Henin all won their matches, Jankovic defeated Alize Cornet in three sets.

Tommorow John Isner and Donald Young both play, so that should be interesting. By the way, in case you’re wondering: it’s Donald Oliver Young, Yes, his middle name is Oliver; I asked him today.

P.S. On my way home I got a small Cherry Berry float from Burger King… kinda awesome.

the annual atp portraits

haha this is like my dream yearbook… the ATP takes portraits of their players for the website, the media guide, etc.

My besties (clockwise, from top left): Juan Monaco and his awesome hair, Marat Safin, Mikhail Youzhny, and Nikolay Davydenko.

Stay cool, guys! K.I.T.!!!

(photos via Getty Images)

fashion focus: rafa nadal makes nike his own

While everyone else in the Nike stable seems to be getting lost in the crazy stripes of this fall’s Global Power collection at this year’s U.S. Open (blogs and forums are all complaining about them), Rafa Nadal is fortunate enough to have a whole ensemble to help diffuse the shirt’s sublimated design.

All in the Cool Grey/Yellow colorway, his outfit consists of the Swoosh bandana, Global Power sleeveless shirt, wristband, Global Power board shorts, and his Air Max Breath 4 Cages.

What do you think of the outfit? Tell us!

Buy: If you’re interested, the good are available here.

fashion: peeling bethanie mattek’s layers

Like with an onion, I’m crying as I peel off the layers of Bethanie Mattek‘s gold U.S. Open outfit by Bebe Sport. The pictures I’d posted a few days ago didn’t show the mesh detail on the torso.

Jesus.

(photo via AYA?)

short balls: connors, berdych, tracy austin is a smurf, etc.

Jimmy does Vogue: As if to remind the tennis public of the generation who first made tennis glam, this month’s Men’s Vogue does a piece on Jimmy Connors (now back in the fray as Andy Roddick‘s coach). Check it out. (more at MV‘s tennis hub)

If we lived in New York, we’d do the same: The NYT profiles some folks who play hookey to see matches at the Open.

Reality check: Tennis superstars Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have been mainstays in Forbes‘s lists this year (of richest female athletes, and richest celebrities). In Forbes‘ list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, though, these ladies don’t make the cut.

Andy and Pong, Lacoste style: TSF loves the Andy Roddick-inspired Pong over at the Lacoste website better than the Amex version from a few years ago.

Berdych gets ATP love: To help raise the Top 10er’s Q rating, the ATP made him his own card. Putting a face to a name is a great idea. (Newsday)

Tracy Austin is a smurf?: AIPT thinks that Tracy Austin needs a new stylist.

Graf sells her Miami house: Retired tennis great Steffi Graf is no stranger to real estate dealings — her investments in Idaho with hubby Andre Agassi are a hit — and she makes another move by putting her Miami digs up for sale for $3.5 million. (WSJ via Big Time Listings)

guga watch + sa watch: u.s. open 2007

We’re sad we missed it: TSF faves Guga Kuerten played doubles with Robby Ginepri at this year’s U.S. Open. They faced Brazilians Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa in the first round, and lost 7-6 (5), 6-2.

Guga’s optimistic and baggage-free with his recovery from hip surgeries, and is using doubles as a segue back into the pro circuit:

“I’m not regret with everything that happened, even with all my injuries,” he said. “The only difference (is) I have some white hair in my head. I feel a little bit the signs of age.

“I’d rather stick with doubles a little bit, see if my body can respond a little bit better for the future.” (source)

Guga on reserve: Kuerten will be on reserve for the Brazilian Davis Cup team facing the Austrians (in Innsbruck on Sept 21-23, 2007). He’ll back up the team comprising Flavio Saretta, Ricardo Mello, Andre Sa and Marcelo Melo.

Still standing: Meanwhile, at the Open, Sa and Melo will face the Czech team of Frantisek Cermak and Leos Friedl, seeded 15th.

(photo via Magic Jewball)

fashion: agnes szavay + designer marta makany

At this year’s U.S. Open, Hungarian SEWTAer Agnes Szavay knocked off the hard-hitting Michaella Krajicek in the second round 7-6 (4), 6-3. She did so wearing the simple white dress she’s had all summer — an outfit designed by compatriot Marta Makany.

On the catwalk: Above are photos of of Makany’s ’07/’08 collection presented on Dec. 4, 2006 in Budapest. (And you can see clothes from previous collections in this video.)

More, more!: Szavay is next scheduled to face Russian Nadia Petrova. Let’s hope her success continues, if only so Makany can create more clothes for her. I’d like to see those layered pleat dresses on the court.

(photos via Reuters)

santoro slices and lobs his way to five sets

The match of the 2007 U.S. Open‘s first week will likely be tonight’s five-set — that’s 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 — win by hometown hero James Blake over Frenchman Fabrice Santoro.

The Frenchman is nicknamed “The Magician” for his shotmaking abilities; his arsenal of slices, lobs, and angles created by two-handed grips on both wings regularly frustrate his opponents (and have propelled him to Doubles Grand Slam titles on more than a few occasions).

Santoro is also known for his wacky Lacoste outfits — we’re talking almost Vince Spadea-level here. But for some reason it works on Fabrice (perhaps because it goes with his unconventional playing style).

FYI: His candy shirt from tonight’s match has been in his closet for most of this year (I remember seeing it on him as far back as Miami). It’s just a piece from the company’s casual collection (i.e., it’s not a Lacoste Sport polo).

Buy: Lots of folks are asking where they can get this shirt. Most retailers have already removed this from their inventory since it’s an item from a past season. Sadly, I have no other leads right now but I am still waiting to hear back from two people. If you can help us out, write me: tennisCBH AT gmail DOT com. Also, there are other companies who’ve produced similar styles. Artful Dodger, etc. You might be better off shopping that way.

fashion focus: sharapova’s shoes

Maria Sharapova beat Australia’s Casey Dellacqua tonight 6-1, 6-0. She played under the lights again, so it will be at least until the third round before we get to see her day dress in action.

Meanwhile, here’s a closer look at her U.S. Open shoes.

JNP’s day four wrizzap

Donald Young, way to get lucky! Don’s opponent Richard Gasquet withdrew from the tournament, leading me to believe will have a leg up in his next match. Although we did not get to see that possible five-set battle (and we predicted the Frenchman would win), we did see a lot of good matches: Svetlana Kuznetsova ran off an upset by beating Camille Pin 6-3, 4-6, 6-0. Also Masha won her match 6-1, 6-0.

Tommorow on the women’s side look out for some upsets, *cough* *cough* *French* *cough* *qualifier*.

On the men’s side, Tomas Berdych, Tommy Haas, and Andy Roddick all won in convincing fashion. Lastly, Fabrice Santoro should be inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame!!!

Who’s hot:

• Tamira Paszek
• Anabel Medina Garriques
• Maria Kirilenko
• Roger Federer
• Nicole Vaidisova
• Mikhail Youzhny

TSF contributor JNP is in the trenches and checking in with us everyday.

fashion focus: vaidisova’s day dress in action

Above are shots of 13th-seed Nicole Vaidisova playing against Alla Kudryavtseva in the first round of the U.S. Open. The Czech won 6-1, 6-2.

The blue of Vaidisova’s Fall Premier dress by Reebok is a lot more vibrant than what we saw during the preview back in April.

We give this one a thumbs up. Do you? Tell us!

in print and online, serena steps up

While CNBC’s Darren Rovell has spent a lot of energy covering the many marketing moves of Ana Ivanovic (and what a great job he’s done), I feel like the recent developments in Serena‘s world deserve mention…

Back on the web: First, after being MIA at least since the beginning of 2007, her official website is back up and running. I’m not in love with that cursive font she uses in her note to fans, but hey it’s a start. Not sure what’s going to happen with her blog. (It’s been cited in a few media outlets — who I can only assume fact-check — so we’ll go with it.)

HP’s “Hands”: Serena is also the latest star of HP’s ads which have previously featured Shaun White and Vera Wang. The TV ad focuses on her passions, “including tennis, fashion, movies, video games, animation, and music.” They’ll run on USA and ESPN (and online at SI.com).

The ad also plays when users visit the “Serena Web Experience” — a mash-up of vlogs (from friends and family), downloadable ringtones (her grunts!!), and clips of her Jackass moment with Wee Man — involving a pineapple, of all things.

FYI: The ads were created by Omnicom Group‘s Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco.

How does Serena choose endorsements?:

I don’t take every offer that comes along — I get a lot of them. I think sometimes my agent (Jill Smoller) gets mad at me! Not really; she understands, but she does kid me about it: “Are you going to turn down everything?” I don’t want to attach my name, like some athletes or celebrities or whatever, to just anything. It has to fit my values, my personality. … And my partners are always involved in philanthropic things. They’re companies that give back, and that goes well with me. It’s not really about the money. … [The brand of] Serena Williams is not for the now; it’s for a lifetime. (via Ad Age)

Boobs, schmoobs: And Serena takes part in a series of ads by Nike Women which comment on the place of women in sports. Manhattan got a billboard from the campaign in time for the U.S. Open. It’s a picture of Serena Williams wearing a blue shirt printed with the word “ATHLETE”. The accompanying text asks, “Are you looking at my titles?” Titles, titties — get it?

AdRants wonders why Nike would stoop to the level of objectifying women if the point is to move away from that. (But female fans drool over male athletes all the time, so I guess it’s okay…)

FYI: As a part of the campaign, Nike founded the Let Me Play Fund with $425,000 in cash and equipment. The fund will benefit women’s sports orgs.

(via DTL)

fashion: tuxedo for a reason

Roger refered to his black U.S. Open Nike outfit as tuxedo-esque not just because it was all black; he actually had satin stripes running down the sides of his shorts.

(tip via Craig, photo via Getty Images)

JNP’s day three wrap

Lots of good tennis on Day Three. Notable straight set winners include Elena Dementieva, Serena Williams, and Alize Cornet. On the men’s side Rafael Nadal had some trouble against Alun Jones but pulled through in four sets. Americans John Isner and Ahsha Rolle both had big upset wins; Dinara Safina prevented an upset fairly loosely by beating Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 6-1. However, Kateryna’s sister had better luck: Alona Bondarenko beat Eleni Daniilidou 6-4, 6-7, 6-3. Lastly, Philipp Kohlschreiber won his match with ease. He will play Mikhail Youzhny, the eleventh seed, in his next match… I smell a showdown.

TSF contributor JNP is in the trenches and checking in with us everyday.

fashion focus: roger federer wears black

First off, TSF made an error reporting that Roger Federer would be wearing the Body Map Polo for this year’s U.S. Open.

Turns out he’s wearing a non-production shirt that’s a take on the Heritage Polo from Nike‘s Fall ’07 collection. Roger wore the one in the Argon/White colorway for his first round match (above, middle and right).

And for last night’s match he pulled out the Black/White shirt (above, left) to complete, as he said, his “tuxedo” look: a head-to-toe all-black ensemble with bandana, wristbands, this bag and a limited-edition all-black version of the Nike Vapor IV (50 pairs of which will be available at the Open).

The Vapors: Nike made Roger’s version of the shoe with three circular Swiss flags on each shoe (the flags represent his three consecutive U.S. Open singles titles). Like the white version of this shoe, an embossed “RF” monogram appears on the heel and tongue.

Shirt deets: The Dri-FIT Polo has a satin-backed placket laser-etched with his monogram (the laser cut exposes the satin behind it). I have not seen the back of his polo, but apparently there’s a monogram at the collar which fades into a sublimated pattern down the back. (via MW)

Mining Nike’s archive?: The Daily News called him the “Grim Reaper“, while discussion forums have found the outfit ugly and tacky (esp. the black socks/shoes). I think the outfit is great, and reminds me of Serena‘s sleek Nike U.S. Open look from 2004 (above).

We love Roger in all-black. Do you? Tell us!

(photos via Getty Images)

RELATED POSTS
>> TSF’s u.s. open coverage

for federer, fashion elite at the front row

Last night’s second-round match between Roger Federer and Paul “MC” Capdeville brought out the big hitters: Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, and busy bee Vogue EIC Anna Wintour.

Of course, Roger’s devoted girlfriend, Mirka Vavrinec, was on hand to entertain the guests.

RELATED POSTS
>> TSF’s u.s. open coverage

waitaminute: mary carillo

I feel 20000x better knowing that if ever something happens to Mary Carillo (heaven forbid!), we’ll know where to find her replacement: call the ATP and ask for Paul Capdeville.

The Chilean wore Lotto as he lost his second-round match 1-6, 4-6, 4-6 to R-Fed at this year’s U.S. Open.

adidas making me yawn

So far I haven’t done 2007 U.S. Open coverage of players from the adidas stud ranch — aka Novak Djokovic, Mikhail Youzhny, and Marat Safin — mostly because I have nothing to write about (fashion-wise, at least).

Their tennis might be speaking volumes (congrats to Marat for surviving his first-round opponent, summer sensation Frank Dancevic), but their clothes aren’t that great.

adidas fashion stays conservative as Nole wears the Summer YOC Theme Polo (in the white/orange/navy blue colorway), Mikhail wears the Competition 3 Polo, and Safin wears the Competition 3 Crew in gold.

Buy: adidas Men’s goods available here.

on day three: EleVen, part two

Tennis fashion grande dame Venus Williams showed another outfit from EleVen, her clothing collaboration with retailer Steve & Barry’s.

She wore this white and periwinkle number for her second-round U.S. Open match against Ioana Raluca Olaru of Romania, who she easily beat 6-4, 6-2. The short shorts — reminiscent of her Wimbledon outfit — didn’t quite have the same oomph as her first round dress.

But we like the top with the poofy sleeves, and we love that she’s forged out on her own to design this line.

What do you think of Venus’ Day Three look? Tell us!