before london, andy tried a new game

Small court, big results. Before Andy Murray‘s London hopes got muddled because of injury, the Scot took to a British warehouse to play some Road Tennis. Not sure what that is? Nor were we. adidas explains:

[We invited the] Road Tennis Association of Barbados to London, to teach Murray how to play Road Tennis. A cross between traditional tennis and table tennis, Road Tennis is played on the street, with participants chalking out their own courts. Murray had never played the game before, and was given just one hour to pick up his wooden bat and attempt to master the game’s ins and outs, before we put him up against Barbados’ finest.

In the video above, Murray gets a “warm-up” with storied English boxer David Haye, who is now retired, and British rapper Example.

adidas noted that the Murray vid was the first of many to come for the brand over the next year: “The event marked the start of our new campaign, where we’ll be challenging some of the world’s best tennis players, around the biggest tournaments next year.” Excited? You bet we are!

As for who Murray gets a lesson from on the Road Tennis pavement? That’d be Sylvain “Lama” Barnett, a legend in Barbados and one of the Pro Road Tennis Association’s greatest players of all time.

men’s best at the 2011 u.s. open

Testosterone treatment: The folks at adidas have done well to integrate current streetwear trends — geometric patterns, color blocking, neons — into their men’s adiZero collection. As a whole, this was the best look for the 2011 U.S. Open, seen on Juan Monaco, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Fernando Verdasco, Alexandr Dolgopolov, among others.

More: See the individual pieces (that triangled warm-up’s our fave) —

huff(po)ing and puff(po)ing: tsf on styleist

Over at Styleist, we point out a few U.S. Open fashion notables to the casual tennis fan: the neon Polo Ralph Lauren ballperson polos; Sharapova‘s Head bag (it’s true: we can’t stop raving about it); Galina Voskoboeva‘s ruffled dress from Ellesse (trust: it wouldn’t have made this list had it been worn by Nadia); Lacoste‘s color blocking for both men and women; and adidas‘ men’s adiZero line — all those triangle patterns are to die for!

What do you think? Was there something else we should have mentioned?

Read: “U.S. Open Tennis Fashions: What You Don’t See On TV,” styleist.com.

gilles simon: look a little closer

In case you missed it, Parisian shopping snob Gilles Simon‘s adidas Adipure tennis polo has an tonal checkered print — easier to see on the blue and red colorways. (Buy: adidas Adipure Polo, $50.)

Draw: Sort of a mini-upset for the 12th-seeded Simon as he beat 18th seed Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (3). This was Delpo’s chance to defend his 2009 title after being sidelined by a wrist injury last year. Simon plays the winner of the Isner/Bogomolov third round match, still being played. (Bracket: Men’s Singles)

(photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

caro is anything but under water in her adidas dress

Caro Wozniacki‘s in the 2011 U.S. Open as the world No. 1 and the event’s top seed, and comes into New York on the heels of a title win in New Haven. Sadly, this momentum will come to a grinding halt very very soon. (Draw: Women’s Singles)

Sleek: Wozniacki’s wearing a white chalk dress — scuba-inspired — from adidas by Stella McCartney. Check out this video from her photo shoot for the fall pieces. The gallery below also shows the photos released as part of the lookbook for the collection.

(US Open match images via Getty Images; lookbook images courtesy of adidas)

fashion focus: kirilenko outstyles mchale

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.

More: A few more images/screengrabs

adidas’ barricades give murray some shape

The adidas Barricade collection for the 2011 U.S. Open — worn by Andy Murray in competition — has been doing a good job giving the lanky Scot some shape. (Well, more shape, since we know he doesn’t need the help). This bright red v-neck has details along the upper chest that accentuate his shoulders and collarbone; the black print down the sides breaks up the red, giving his torso a more toned look. These same concepts got lost in the noise a few seasons ago when every company used the trims; it’s refreshing to see it standing alone, succeeding at the optical illusion. (Buy: adidas Barricade Tee, $55, tennisexpress.com)

Other deets: And obviously, there’s that neon that we’re seeing everywhere…

Draw: The fourth-seeded Murray defeated Somdev Devvarman 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-3 and will next play Robin Haase. They’re both in that bottom half of the men’s draw along with Rafael Nadal.

More: A few more photos of Andy in his Barricade Tee

neon matchables

Attention to detail. We had to tell this ball girl yesterday that we just loved her nails. Loved! While lots of the bright colors at this year’s USO are coming from full-fledged kits — particularly adidas — if you look closely, this gal took subtle brightness to another level, using neon yellow on her fingernails to go along with her Polo Ralph Lauren top. We dig it.

Neon-plosion. In fact, it’s actually very hard to tell just how bright a lot of these clothing items actually are. Rafael Nadal’s Nike is blindingly yellow, though both TV and still cameras dumb it down a little. The same goes for the tones of bright reds, pinks and oranges that adidas is experimenting with. Below: David Nalbandian.

As Nick noted in a tweet yesterday, Wilson is doing the same thing, though they are going more of the Nike route (accents) than adidas (full color blocking/in-your-face patterns).

Which do you prefer? Below, a good shot of the adidas kit that Sania Mirza had on today — similar to the bright number that Christina McHale rocked yesterday — both on the new Court 17.

And don’t forget that this all comes back to PRL, too. Their ball persons are in the same fashion game as the players. Anyone noticing a trend?!

(top image by TSF; others by getty images)

practice makes perfect: ernests gulbis

Facing Fish: Ernie Gulbis hits with Canas a few hours before his final match against Mardy Fish at the Farmers Classic, being contested this week at UCLA. This is Gulbis’ second appearance in an ATP World Tour final; his first was at Delray Beach last year, where he won his first career title. Bracket: See how the men fared in Los Angeles.

What a trooper: Browse the goods from the Fall/Winter 2011 adidas Originals x Star Wars collaboration here (and grab the goods here. Our fave? The Flight Jacket and the AT-AT sweatshirt.

(photo by TSF)

bellucci: feelin’ shapely

Tri, tri again? With this look, more is less. We actually love adidas’ over-use of the triangle on this adiZero Feather top seen on Thomaz Bellucci at the Farmers Classic in LA. Yes, there are plenty of triangles on the shirt itself, but the design is broken up by the white background and highlighted by the bright yellow/green triangles that dot the shirt. Furthermore, on Bellucci’s chest, adidas does good to melt the triangles into one another before the blue covers the shoulders.

Buy: adiZero Feather tee, $55 | TSF Vault: adidas

What about Thomaz? Bellucci, the 4th seed in LA, breezed through his second round match (0 and 1 over Alejandro Falla) after a first-round bye. He now takes on Alex Bogolomov Jr., the American, in the quarters. Juan Martin del Potro should be lurking in the semifinals for whoever gets through today. | LA: Draw

(Image via Getty)

gilles’ fashion face

Check no. We’re not quite sure of this checker-on-checker look that Gilles Simon was sporting last week. Thoughts? But lucky for the Frenchman, he walked away from the German Tennis Championships in Hamburg a (tennis) winner, beating Nicolas Almagro in the final. | TSF Vault: Gilles Simon

(Gilles images via the AP)

fashion focus: adidas adiace (roland garros)

Stanislas Wawrinka needed to remind Jo-Wilfried Tsonga about who was seeded higher at this year’s French Open, and it wasn’t easy: it took Stan about four hours to log the 4-6, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 6-3 victory. And it doesn’t get any easier: up next is a Swiss-fest against Roger Federer. (Read up: Roger and Stan’s career head-to-head; Pt. 2: French Open Men’s Singles Draw)

Tsonga was the only ATPer clad in the Roland Garros-branded adidas adiAce line. On the men, they produced a slim-fit polo with flattering color-blocking (not that Tsonga needs help in that department). And you know how we love a popped collar, so the quarter-zipped stand-up collar on the polo is a nice touch. The colorways: Intense Green with white and Medium Lead; Medium Lead with Intense Green and Ice Grey.

On the women, they’ve used a maroon colorway on a scoop-neck dress with a pleated skirt. The accompanying wristband and warm-up jacket — accented with a neon (“Aero”) red — round out the collection. Also of note: a few graphic tees and a white, ruffled top for the ladies. See our picks below; browse (and buy!) everything here. What do you think of the adiAce goods?

(Tsonga photos by AP Photo/Michel Euler and Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images)

practice makes perfect: andy murray keeps it real

French Open: 4th seed Andy Murray is through to the third round with wins over qualifier Eric Prodon and Italian Simone Bolelli. Up next is Michael Berrer. (Draw: RG Men’s Singles)

Buy: adidas Originals Stan Smith Printed T-Shirt, $46.16, asos.com.

(image via Getty Images)

as if there were more room for wanting

Gluttons we are, so there’s still room in our hearts for wanting after this: it’s refreshing to see a sleeveless jacket to go along with the pieces from adidas‘ Barricade line, which includes Andy Murray‘s polo. Speaking of, the man survived his opening match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win over Xavier Malisse. Up next is the winner of Troicki/Starace. (Draw Internazionali BNL d’ Italia Men’s Singles)

Buy: adidas Barricade Track Jacket; green and blue; $92.99; Tennis Express.

gilles simon keeps roddick’s clay at bay

Andy Roddick‘s strong start to 2011 — with deep runs into Brisbane, the Aussie Open, and Memphis — did nothing for him at Indian Wells and Miami, and it’s translated into more weak performances on clay. Last week’s flameout against Flavio Cipolla now sits alongside another first-round “L” against Gilles Simon, who took out the 12th seed 6-3, 6-3.

Draw: Sharing that quarter with Simon are Melzer, Troicki, Kolya, and Murray, among others. Who’s going to be the last man standing? (Browse: Internazionali BNL d’Italia draws)

Striped: The Spring 2011 Adipure line’s all about the collegiate look, putting these plain stripes on the Traditional Pattern Polo (in varying navy/green/white combo’ed colorways). There’s also some argyle and a faux cardigan. Our pick: The Traditional Cotton Tennis Polo — complete with a crest (img) — $42.99, tennisexpress.com. The rest: adidas Adipure Spring 2011.

(Image by AFP PHOTO/Alberto Pizzoli)

undergrowth

You know it’s time to get a haircut when…

Loving the mini-bangs, Andy.

Madrid: Fourth seed Murray ran into the Thomaz Bellucci train at this week’s Mutua Madrid Open. The Brazilian is still in it, nabbing a semifinal spot after upsetting 7th seed Tomas Berdych 7-6 (2), 6-3. Bellucci will play the winner of Ferrer/Djokovic and Nadal, who beat Llodra, will face either Federer or Soderling. (Draw: The Madrid Open Men’s Bracket)

Look down: As hypnotizing as it is, look away from Muzz’s fuzz for a sec and check out his fun blue adidas polo, part of their Barricade group and exclusive to Andy. Loving the green detail in the placket. Buy: adidas Men`s Barricade Traditional Tennis Polo; $51.99; tennisexpress.com.

(image via Getty Images)

spotted in the city: desigual, updated adidas and uniqlo

Feeling colorful: It’s nice to see some color in Midtown Manhattan every once and a while — away from Times Square, that is. The Desigual store on 35th and 6th Avenue, just below Bryant Park, gives spring a new feeling in the city. The Spanish clothing co. gets pretty good reviews for their store in SoHo, but as one Yelper notes: the store “isn’t friendly for budget shoppers.”

Summertime signage: We know you were curious about what the adidas store would launch off its blank canvas from earlier this week. Looks like they’re set for summertime, and if you can’t quite make out those faces, don’t worry — none of them are major athletes. Just models making the store look pretty.

After the jump: Uniqlo gets in the tennis swing, and not just for Kei.

spotted in the city: a blank canvas

We’re pretty good at keeping you updated on what’s going on at the adidas store in SoHo. But for TSF East, it’s part of our almost-daily route to and from the gym (might have to make that daily before summer hits… ), so we’ve always got our eye on what the folks at the German co. are putting out on the corner for fans to take in. Blank canvas: For now, it looks as though the folks at adidas are switching things up on Houston St. Above, a shot from later in the night and below, earlier. Two fun looks at the calm between storms. More: Missed Katy Perry for adidas? Photo shoot here

(tsf images)

shirtless: juan monaco

Juan Monaco‘s playing at this week’s combined Mutua Madrid Open, winning his first-rounder against Andrey Golubev 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. He’ll need to step it up if he wants to upset ninth seed Gael Monfils in the next round. They both share the same quarter as Andy Murray (though we think it’s Tomas Berdych‘s to lose). Browse: Mutua Madrid Open Draws.

Taking pic(o)s: Some shots we took of Monaco earlier this year at Indian Wells.

(images by TSF)

shirtless: tim smyczek

Anyone else ready to make this Donald Young vs. P-Mac story about Tim Smyczek instead? (Aside from Forty Deuce, we mean.) After all, Tim’s the guy who beat Young 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in that USTA six-man playoff in Boca West to nab a wildcard spot into Roland Garros this year. FYI: Smyczek’s never played the French. On the women’s side, top seed Irina Falconi beat third seed Julia Boserup 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3.

More news: Dunlop announced today that they’re making Tim a part of their roster (though he’s been playing with their racquets even before the signing). His apparel and shoes are via adidas.

Shirtless: Here’s Smyczek getting sun and practice at this year’s BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. On the other side of the net: Ryan Sweeting. Enjoy!

(images by TSF)