My biological alarm clock, after 28 years, is finally blasting me awake (to the sound of Renée Montagne’s voice, of course). I am all ’bout the babies lately: the ones running around in the park, the ones being pushed in strollers by their hot dads, but never ever the ones crying in the middle of a tennis match. I’ve even started eyeing kids’ clothes! It doesn’t help that great collections abound, including the latest collaboration between Gap and Stella McCartney.
A pup in lamb’s clothing: This second installment (the first one dropped at the end of 2009) speaks to our love for rolled collars, side zip-front jackets, and nautical themes. While it’s nothing revolutionary, it makes us wonder if this is how Stella would design for grown men. (The girls get the usual Stella dose of frills, ruffles, pleats, eyelets, and droopy fabric.) Buy: New Yorkers have been chipping away at inventory for the past five days (via the Gap White Space pop-up). Now the rest of us can follow. Click here.
And at Fore Axel & Hudson, they’re churning out golf-inspired looks without the sport’s stuffy ‘tude. The same way that kids should be talked to like adults, Designer Paul Nguyen took a shrinking gun to silhouettes normally seen on the greens (cardigans, sweater vests) and re-sized them for the Spongebob set. Detailing is youthful, but not necessarily child-like; we love it. Check out the lookbook at foreaxelandhudson.com. (via DailyCandy)
(stella screengrabs via gap.com; FA&H screengrabs via foreaxelandhudson.com)
Wanting what we can’t have: That sleek red Dunlop polo worn by Nikolay Davydenko at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open (last week) is purely for show; while there are other Dunlop tennis clothes available for sale in the U.S., the ones on Nikolay are from the European collection.
And speaking of things that are only for our eyes only, it seems that the optical illusion that is the Dunlop/Prince/Davydenko sponsorship triangle isn’t quite over. To recap:
The top Russian’s sponsorship deal with Dunlop was announced just before the start of Indian Wells. Especially in light of being in limbo with Prince, we were happy that Nikolay had monetized his achievements in some form for 2010.
Now you see it…: The deets of the agreement came in a press release via the Dunlop and ATP sites. Along with endorsing racquets, clothing, and accessories, Kolya would also speak up for the company’s junior talent identification program, called D-Squad.
Two days after the Dunlop announcement, Prince countered with their own releases stating that Kolya had signed a deal to be “an exclusive endorsee of Prince tennis racquets and Prince racquet bags” through 2010. This requires him to have a Prince stencil on his Ozone Tour rackets during the four slams. Off the court, there’s also a clause giving Prince the right to use the Davydenko image for advertising.
So both companies are sticking to their guns, but it doesn’t matter since Davydenko pulled out of Indian Wells. He felt pain in his wrist while playing Rotterdam in February (he lost in the semis to Soderling) but it was misdiagnosed. He continued playing through the injury until he got to the desert; after a hard-fought win over Ernests Gulbis in the second round, Kolya discovered a more serious condition — a broken wrist bone — and pulled out.
Now you don’t…: The Dunlop press release, along with the rest of the Dunlop site, is currently down because of a revamp. The Dunlop release is also no longer available via the ATP website. I wonder if this is any indication of which company successfully courted Kolya?
Blank slate: Nikolay has yet to test out any Dunlop racquets (he was using an unstenciled Prince stick during Indian Wells). And since he’s out for a few months — he’ll likely miss all of the clay season — it’ll be a while before he gets matched up with a Dunlop racquet (if at all).
(Davydenko image via Getty Images; Dunlop screengrabs via dunlopsports.com)
TSF’s excited for Loup, the tennis clothing line that got a write-up over at DailyCandy this week (and that usually means a kiss of life — is that the antonym? — for anything trying to make it big with the ladies these days). Flashback: TSF’s Nick McCarvel chatted with Loup owner Danielle Ribnerback in September.
Almost in bloom: The spring/summer goods currently on pre-order, but we’ll remind you in a week or two when everything is actually for sale. (Keeping our fingers crossed that the branded canvas totes will eventually be produced for public consumption!)
The 2010 spring men’s collection from Balmain has taken our love for the military motif to the next level with an homage to the air force. They throw in a few other looks — motorcycle jackets, graphic tees (tigers!), requisite skinny pants, and some softer sweatshirts — to round out the rugged season.
View: The lookbook is available here; and you can pick up some of the goods here.
We all know who Anna Wintour (yes, wearing sunglasses during the evening session) and Mirka are rooting for to win in Florida. But who are your picks? Let us know in the comments section.
While Melanie Oudin was busy making believers out of all of us, the one she really has to worry about is herself. (Photo via Getty Images)
It hasn’t been an easy year for Melanie Oudin. Since she rocketed to stardom at last year’s U.S. Open, the American teenager has struggled to marry her new-found life in the public eye with hard work off the tennis court. The result has been a topsy turvy tennis season that has left most of us wondering: What will happen to Melanie Oudin?
What most of us (including myself) have forgotten, is that before there was her run at Flushing Meadows or her stunning breakthrough at Wimbledon, she has spring success in North America last season with inspiring tennis at Charleston, Indian Harbour Beach (ITF) and Raleigh (ITF). It was a span of four weeks of tennis that saw Oudin lose just one out of 15 matches, sending her ranking from 177 in the world to number 125.
What we’ve learned about Oudin in the nine months that we’ve known her well (since she won six matches at Wimbledon last summer), is that she’s a streaky player. After her spring winning streak last year, she lost badly at the French Open the first round of qualifying, winning just one game in a match against Zuzana Ondraskova, ranked 192nd.
We’re absolutely gaga over this adorable picture from Amer Delic‘s Twitter profile. But we’re wondering: is that really him? And if not, who the heck is it?! What a freakishly cute baby, too!
Los Angeles catches the FeVer: Imagine our excitement upon seeing Fernando Verdasco‘s Calvin Klein X photos go up onto the company’s Sunset Boulevard billboard in West Hollywood, Calif. For those of you who aren’t familiar: this billboard is the first of many that drivers see if traveling west on Sunset.
Our morning commute just got a lot more interesting.
Bonus round: Speaking of billboards, make sure to check out the MAK Center’s How Many Billboards? project, which converted 21 ad spaces throughout the city into canvasses like these. Most of the installations will be up through March. (Read: Fast Company’s write-up.)
Yanking our chain (reaction): Though we’d rather see Novak Djokovic participate in another sort of chain, this one — involving a HEAD racquet, two geeks, and a whole lot of tennis balls — will suffice for now.
The racquet company’s newest campaign had the current ATP World No. 2 drumming up an idea for a chain reaction set-up triggered by swinging at a tennis ball (and eventually hitting a target).
To make it interesting, he and his friends upped the ante: if the experiment succeeded, Nole’s friends would have to wear pink bunny suits to one of his matches. If it failed, he’d have to wear the bunny costume to practice. (As long as tennis forever associates pink bunnies with Djokovic, we don’t really care how this turns out!)
Video: So how’d Nole fare? Check out the video above (it’s kinda sweet, so we’d rather not spoil it). And when you’re done, you can look at background info here.
Rewind: As you may remember, Djokovic was also the star of the “Speed Lessons” campaign, which came out a year ago.
Fast-forward: Brit Andy Murray‘s next up to bat. His video will be shot in the coming weeks and will debut later this year.
In the past few weeks, Real Housewife Kelly Bensimon has made a push to become the most tennis-savvy of the New York ladies, first appearing with Venus at the Billie Jean King Cup in New York, and yesterday hosting a celebrity exhibition match in Miami.
TSF spoke with Kelly’s cast matesRamona Singer and Jill Zarin at the Night of Legends tennis event in September. We wondered who Jill might pick as a doubles partner in a re-match of the two reality stars’ tennis duel. Maybe she should consider Kelly, no?
The ladies of the Real Housewives of New York are back on the small screen with their third season of cat fights and caviar.
Once little-confirmed rumors have reached the top of tennis’s tier, as this week the tournament director for the French Open said that there is a good chance that the tournament might say good bye to its current grounds inside the Paris city limits because of future growth plans. A bigger tourney means a new place? We’re not sure if we like that.
Tennis. It’s healthy. The USPTA, the professional organization of tennis teaching pros, announced a re-design of tennis-health.com. Though the layout doesn’t threaten the design of today’s top pro’s sites, we’ve gotta hand it to the folks at the USPTA for their continued commitment to health and tennis. Forgot tennis was a lifelong sport? Shame on you!
Partytown, USA. We’re sad to be missing a barrage of parties this week in Miami that are happening in line with the Sony Ericsson Open. FILA‘s Friday Night bash will be most missed on our calendar, along with their fashion show on Saturday. There’s two mixology sessions that have our mouths watering. Best we get to Miami for some fashion and drinks (and yes, some tennis!), next year.
So Long, Butch. The founder of what is known today as the Sony Ericsson Open, Butch Bucholz, is retiring from his position as chairman of the event after nearly three decades with the event, which many called tennis’s “Fifth Major”.
Missing Serena? Venus is there. Venus Williams will be the lone sister in Miami competing for the family. She takes a ten-match win streak into the tournament. Her last loss came to Li Na at the Australian Open.
What do you think of Jelena Jankovic and Ivan Ljubicic winning at Indian Wells? How does it bode for the rest of their year? Can Jankovic finally win a Major? And will Ljubicic ever re-enter the Top 10? Become a threat again? Tell us what you think.
Zheng Jie put on a show in front of the Southern California crowd in attendance at last weekend’s session at the BNP Paribas Open when she took out Maria Sharapova in the third round. The loooong match, which Zheng won 6-3 2-6 6-3, lasted for about three hours; it didn’t help that Masha has a Mary Pierce-like pre-serve ritual; neither did the multiple games with multiple deuces.
But what does it matter when you’ve got a hot baller boyfriend? Or when you’ve out-accesorized your opponent? There were the green drop earrings; the warm-up jacket in a Victorian silhouette; the Princeracquet bag, prettier (in person) than we’d expected it to be; and the gym duffle (“Valentine”) from her line with Cole Haan. The duffle reminds us of Masha’s black and silver dress from the 2009 U.S. Open.
Buy: Cole Haan Valentine Large Duffle, $228, also available with patent leather detail; Small Tote, $198, also available in black patent leather (our choice!); colehaan.com.
Bracket: Zheng made it to the quarters before losing to Caro, who’s now in the semis. (Singles Draw). And her doubles team with Chan upset top seeds Huber/Black in the opening round but they couldn’t get past Peschke/Srebotnik in the semis. (Doubles Draw)
More: Detail shots of Maria’s Indian Wells outfit — all after the cut…
Nadia Petrova must have heard about our dislike for desert heat (yeeeahah, we don’t “dry” heat a consolation) because she came out dressed as an orange creamsicle for her second-round match against Patty Schnyder at the BNP Paribas Open, happening at Indian Wells this week.
Nadia’s Ellesse outfit is the same she’s worn so far this year (including the 2010 Australian Open); there’s also a black version of this dress as well as a sleeker (i.e., non-ruffled; non-rouched) counterpart.
Bracket: Petrova, the 16th-seed at Indian Wells, lost to Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round. The Dane’s set to face Agnieszka Radwanska in the bottom-half semi; Jankovic and Sam Stosur will duke it out in the top half. (Draw:Women’s Singles)
Up close: See a few more shots of Nadia’s dress after the cut…
German Philipp Kohlschreiber fell to second seed Nole Djokovic at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open — but not without a fight. He took the second set and pushed Djokovic to a tiebreak in the third, exposing the Serb’s weakened game; Djokovic lost to veteran Ivan Ljubicic 7-5, 6-3 in the round after. Up next for Ivan in the quarters is Juan Monaco (!), who beat Gigi Lopez in three sets. (Draw:Men’s Singles.)
Buy:adidas Men’s Spring Competition Crew, in black/core teal/white, $38.99; the Barricade-esque Tirand III, $59.95.
Tattoo Watch: TSF ran into Kohlschreiber during one of his practice sessions. Did you know he has a tattoo on his right shoulder? Up close: See it after the cut…
Belgian Yanina Wickmayer — 13th seed at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells — was the last of her countrywomen to stand ground in the singles draw: wildcard Justine Henin was “upset” in the first round by Gisela Dulko; Kim Clijsters‘ plan to play no matches (save for the BJK Cup) between the Aussie ’til now failed against Alisa Kleybanova; and Kirsten Flipkens couldn’t hold her own against Elena Dementieva, who we’re hoping will take this whole thing.
Yanina fell to the Twitter-unfriendly Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-4, 6-4 in the fourth round. MJMS next faces eighth seed Sam Stosur, who booted (coachless!) defending champion Vera Zvonareva from the tourney. (Draw: Women’s singles)
Wickmayer’s drug-related off-court battles are still in the air; she has an appeal pending with Belgian courts as well as with the Court for Arbitration of Sport. It could be months before rulings are handed down by those institutions. (Speaking of, the president of the ITF has been asked if anything’s going to happen to Andre Agassi after he revealed in his autobiography that he’s used meth during his career and lied to officials about it. Unfortunately, the statute of limitations is eight years and has already expired [just the right timing for publication?]. Thus, he’s off the hook.)
And now for the serious stuff: As usual, Yanina looked good in her Erke get-up, this time using a palette of blue and grey with pops of pink (and some graphics). See some detail shots (including her Nike shoes and her pink gym bag) — all after the cut…
Judging by the pics we saw via Refinery29 of photographer Ryan McGinley‘s latest exhibit, we’re all about his refreshing move away from landscapes and towards raw portraits. Visit: “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere”, Team Gallery, New York City; through April 17, 2010.
And over at Recession Rags, they’re mining the nooks and crannies of clothing manufacturers all over the city for scrabs of fabrics then turned into shorts, pants, scarves, and suspenders. Look at the fun patterns they’re using for neckwear. Browse: Wrap your head around the goods here. (via Thrillist)
Keeping with the usual plan of keeping R-Fed’s Nike outfits fairly low-key, the top seed’s clothes at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. didn’t distract from his game. (Still, he was upset by Marcos Baghdatis in the third round.)
Note a few deets: first up is that stripe that breaks up the collar of his All Court polo; also note the horizontal contrast line that runs along the placket of the shirt. His black Vapors are pretty darn shiny and have an “RF” monogram on the heel. TSF saw a pair of these on site (worn by a spectator) and it’s very reminiscent of his Darth Federer from the 2007 U.S. Open.
And in case you’re keeping track, he’s traded his diaper bag from the Australian Open with this more demure gym bag.
Moral support:Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale were on hand to watch their besty Roger Federer — top seed at this week’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. — lose to 27th-seed Marcos Baghdatis 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (4). Roger had a match point in that twelfth game of the third set but couldn’t convert. TSF was on hand to watch Marcos smoke Arnaud Clement 7-6 (7), 6-1 in the second round and he’s playing pretty well this week.
Looking forward: Marcos next faces Tommy Robredo (in the fourth round) and possibly Andy Roddick in the quarters. (Men’s Draw [pdf])
14th seed Kim Clijsters became the latest high seed casualty at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open when she fell to 23rd seed (and head-jerker) Alisa Kleybanova 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4). Up next for the Russian is Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, who took out top seed Sveta Kuznetsova in the round prior.
“What got me to be ahead was I was playing aggressive tennis and being dominant,” Clijsters said about her performance, which saw her get back into the match by winning the second set but losing a 4-0 lead in the third. “[Kleybanova] put me under pressure during those long rallies and I kind of just backed off a little bit.” Clearly her rust from not having played competitively since the Australian Open (save for two matches at the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this month) was showing.
But before she bowed out, Clijsters played to her girlier side by joining the rest of the WTAers who’ve been toting cute gym bags onto the court. From the current batch of accessories at Fila, Kim chose the brand’s Signature Quilt Bowler. We’ve been eyeing the gold version of that same bag…
Buy: Fila Signature Quilt Bowler, available in white, black, chinese red, and gold, $49.99, at buy.com. And her outfit: Center Court Sleeve Top, in ebony/white and white/hot coral, $48; Wrap Skort, ebony/white/hot coral, $45; Jacket, $68.
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