fashion preview: sharapova’s U.S. Open dress

(photo provided by Nike)

TSF was on hand at tonight’s unveiling of Maria Sharapova‘s 2007 U.S. Open dress. The event, held at the Top of the Rock, opened with an exhibit of Maria’s past fashion hits, including her 2004 Wimbledon whites (with that awesome slit), her 2006 U.S. Open dress (the Breakfast at Tiffany’s ensemble), and her pink tutu get-up from the 2006 French Open.

The dresses: Maria then came out and introduced her two Nike looks for this year’s Open, both “inspired by New York”. The day dress has an abstracted image of the City’s skyline in black and white to create a negative-print effect. The night dress, in red (coral, really), features the same skyline pattern but illustrated with 600 Swarovski crystals. (It’s the first red dress Maria’s worn as a pro.)

A techie innovation: There’s NO SEWING on the dress at all; all the pieces of Dri-fit fabric are bonded together for minimal abrasion and maximum comfort.

Shoes: She’ll wear white Nike sneakers with red soles to match the red of the dress. Black tongues on the shoes will complement her day outfit.

So, what do you think of the dress? Tell us!

Let’s not forget the purse: Masha will walk onto the courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center carrying her belongings in a six-racquet bag from her eponymous limited edition collection by Prince. The bag’s exterior is made with patent leather and detailed with fuschia-colored velour.

The Tour bag (which holds six racquets) will retail at $70.00, while the three-racquet bag will go for $50.00. Both will go on sale on November 1. (via OTB)

JNP’s 2007 U.S. Open Preview

by JNP

Draws released: Today the 2007 U.S. Open draws were released and it looks like we should be having a pretty interesting tournament. If the seedings hold, Andy Roddick will most likely end up playing Roger in the quarters, and on the women’s side Justine Henin could play both Serena and/or Venus Williams before the finals.

Luck of the draw: Players with an easier potential path to the finals include Maria Sharapova, R-Fed (he plays back-to-back qualifiers opening the tournament), Ana Ivanovic, and Aravane Rezai. Meanwhile Martina Hingis, Nicolas Massu, Jelena Jankovic, Arnaud Clement, and Justin Gimelstob (I thought he retired?) all have tough draws.

Cementing Serbia’s arrival: Right now I think all the Serbians could blast through far into the tournament (giving this years tourney a “Serbia vs. the World” feel). However, Federer, Henin, and, Sharapova all seem to be the most obvious choices to stand in their way. (Do you think one of the Serbians will take the U.S. Open title? If so, who? Tell us!)

TSF contributor JNP will be attending the U.S. Open and blogging after each session with his thoughts and upcoming match predictions. He’ll have opportunities to be around all the players, so we’ll probably be posting some exclusive pics throughout the two weeks. If you want coverage of a certain match or player, leave us a comment with your request.

fashion preview: a closer look at vaidisova’s u.s. open outfit

Reebok threw a birthday party for Nicole Vaidisova back in April and announced her U.S. Open attire on the same night. We posted photos of the outfits but none were detailed. Here’s a closer look:

Day matches: Nicole will wear the Fall Premier Dress (but in a powder blue) for her day matches. This dress’ white version made an appearance at Wimby ’07.

Warm-up: The dress will be paired with the Premier Jacket, which has gold zippers and piping plus a tonal print on the back.

Under the lights: Vaidisova will play her night matches in the Premier Tank and Skort. The tank, like her day dress, has a racerback. It’s sewn from a fabric with heat-embossed floral pattern. It also has stretch gold ribbon binding with bow at center of neckline (cute!!!) and shimmer mesh side panels.

Of course, all items feature Reebok’s PlayDry technology, which accelerates evaporation, increases ventilation, and reduces abrasion without trapping the body’s thermal energy.

Buy: Reebok Fall Premier Dress, $53.99; Fall Premier Jacket, $65.99; Fall Premier Action Tank and Skort, $36.99 and $44.99 respectively. All available here.