(tuesday’s) sunday survey: the channel slam

Just over the net. Another year, another batch of players proving the French Open and Wimbledon are just too close together on the calendar. Roger Federer‘s groin needed a rest after his run to the Roland Garros final, while Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic all seemed to half-heartedly make the train ride up from Paris to London for Queen’s Club this week. Meanwhile, Maria Sharaova opted out of Birmingham. So what’s the answer? It’s your call below — and remember! — the tennis governing bodies check TSF religiously. So obvi this vote will change the future of tennis…

(Image via Getty Images)

trophy watch: and the na’s have it

The King and Queen of Clay: Between Rafael Nadal and Li Na, the Na’s had it over the weekend in Paris. It was a tremendous finish to a grand clay-court major, Na coming out on top of what some called a depleted field but one that saw four semifinalist who could have all easily claimed their last two matches in straight sets and everyone would have said, Yeah, we guess that makes sense. It did make sense for Na, who fought off a poor-serving Maria Sharapova in the semifinals and then just barely rose above the defending champ, Francesca Schiavone, to win in China’s first singles Major.

As for Rafa, he fought off all the usuals: Andy Murray and Roger Federer at the end. He also fought off a testy first week, a doubting press (and a doubting self) and the streak of Novak Djokovic (thanks to Rog). Nadal now has ten Slams to his name, creeping into the double digits along with Federer. Whichever the two of them end up with more is yet to be seen (for years), but Nadal equaled Bjorn Borg‘s record of six Roland Garros trophies. Kudos, kid.

(Nadal image from Getty; Na from PacificCoastNews.com)

flashback: some things never change

Forever young. Above, a 20-year-old Francesca Schiavone playing in the 2001 French Open quarterfinals against Martina Hingis. Did you know Franny lost in the opening round in 2009 to … Samantha Stosur? She went on to beat the same lady last year here in the final. She’s 35-10 in her career at Roland Garros. Below, Li Na smacks a ball at the 2005 US Open as a 23-year-old against Lindsay Davenport. Na had never played the French prior to 2006. She’s also never lost to a player outside of the top 20 here. Last year she was scooted out of the tourney by one Francesca Schiavone in the third round. Career-wise she’s 15-4 in Paris.

More: Previewing the ladies’ final

(Images via Getty)

bjorn again

Bjorn this way. There is a little bit of American hope left at the French Open. While Scott Lipsky teamed up with Australian Casey Dellacqua to win the mixed doubles crown, 17-year-old American Bjorn Fratangelo has made a stunning run to the boys’ singles final. Fratangelo, who holds an ATP ranking of no. 1,404 (he’s no. 21 in the ITF juniors rankings) has come through the boys’ draw by beating two seeds en route. In the semifinals, he took out local hope Tristan Lamasine 6-4 4-6 6-3.

Fratangelo, a Pittsburgh native, now faces the no. 14 seed in the final, Dominic Thiem of Austria. Fratangelo is 23-5 on the year and has had runs at the Coffee Bowl (finals), USTA Spring Championships (finals) and the Easter Bowl (SF). Fratangelo and Thiem have never met.

More: Read up on Fratangelo on the Zoo Tennis blog

Ladies in red. Meanwhile, in the girl’s final, Puerto Rican Monica Puig, the no. 5 seed, outlasted no. 2 Irina Khromacheva of Russia in the semifinal 7-5 in the third. She’ll face no. 9 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia in the final.

(Image via the FFT/RG.com)

towels for roland garros 2011

French Open towels aren’t as solid this year (the Lacoste ones are better), but if we had to choose, we’d go for this one of the Eiffel Tower. The other honorable mentions

practice makes perfect: novak djokovic

Nole switched to his French Open kit during the warm-up tourneys leading to the year’s second major, so no need to rehash (here it is, in case ya need a refresher). So instead, here’s a few looks at his practice gear.

BTW: Nole has dropped only one set (to del Potro) in his run to the semis, which included a retirement from Victor Hanescu and a walkover against Fognini (who injured himself in that marathon vs. Montanes). Djokovic will play Roger Federer tomorrow.

Too much red! Aside from this olive green tee, a Stepanek-esque polo/shirt ensemble

flashback: stan the man

Gettin’ down: 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 third-round 4-6, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 6-3 victory over Tsonga. He lost the subsequent round — a Swiss-fest against Roger Federer. (Read up: Roger and Stan’s career head-to-head; Pt. 2: French Open Men’s Singles Draw)

Buy: Lacoste Forest Hills Gym Bag; white, empire yellow, flame scarlet, and blue aster; $160; lacoste.com.

(photos by Alexander Klein/AFP/Getty Images)

ground attack: nike.com’s french open landing page

For the curious, Nike.com’s French Open landing page looks like this. They also used Maria‘s image, seen without text below.

(Nike website screengrab via nike.com; maria image courtesy of Nike)

fashion focus: in lotto, schiavone keeps the frills to a minimum

While we wouldn’t have picked Francesca Schiavone as the woman who could best showcase the uber-feminine clothes from this season’s Lotto drop, the Italian is keeping up her end of the sponsorship bargain during this claycourt season: she’s backed up her decision to lay low during the last Fed Cup tie with a quarterfinal appearance in Rome (losing to Stosur) and a semifinal defeat in Brussels (to Caro). Now she has a chance to defend her French Open title in the finals against Li Na, played tomorrow. (Draw: RG Women’s Singles)

TSF loves the skort in particular, with its super-bunched hem and bow off to the side. (We first noticed this on Pironkova back at Indian Wells.) Schiavone’s done a good job mixing up the skort’s three colors — pearl (grey), dark navy, and white — with the irid cocktail (light salmon) and dark navy pieces. We’re also glad she’s opted for the more subtle ruching of the cap-sleeve top, leaving the messy criss-cross design of the tank back in Rome. All that extra fabric is doing nothing for her flat-chestedness.

Buy: Lotto Missy Skort, €30.17; Polo, €34.03; Tank, €30.17; Dress, €45.29; Cap-Sleeve Top, €30.17.

More: Images from her 2011 Roland Garros looks — plus two from Rome — all

bethanie dances at the moulin rouge

No Nicole in sight. This last week, Bethanie Mattek-Sands visited Moulin Rouge in Paris. Need we say more? Video below.

TSF Vault: Bethanie Mattek-Sands

(Image and video via WTA)

want: wear the clay without getting dirty

Let’s leave the grime to the pros, ok?

What an entertaining semi! Schiavone played Bartoli, with the defending champ taking out the hometown fave 6-3, 6-3. She’ll face Li Na in the final; their combined age makes this the oldest women’s final since Tauziat and Novotna played Wimbledon in 1998 (via Christopher Clarey, that one).

Swatch comes up with the Jeux d’Elite Roland Garros watch — the same shade as the tourney’s clay courts — and puts it in a tennis ball case. Buy: € 67,00 at storerolandgarros.com.

(image via storerolandgarros.com)

fo flashback: yannick and mary

Merci beaucoup. While hope has been dashed on the men’s side with Gael Monfils and a host of other players (Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to name a few) bowing out of the Roland Garros draw, tomorrow Marion Bartoli will take the court in a semifinal against Francesca Schiavone carrying her nation’s flag and the hope of a long-suffering people. Mary Pierce was the last homegrown hero to take this title back in 2000 (before her it was Francoise Durr in 1967), and Pierce — who had an even more topsy-turvy relationship with the French crowd (and stranger dad) than Bartoli — wasn’t necessary the apple of Paris’ eye. Pierce also reached the final in 1994 and 2005. TSF Vault: Mary Pierce

That title might belong to Yannick Noah, the Frenchman who was a one-Slam wonder with his stunning win at RG in 1983. He would reach just one other Slam semi in his career — at the 1990 Aussie Open. But as noted back in 2008, he’s beloved in France.

Checking in: Men’s draw | Women’s draw

PS from the GS. The French youngster that had potential champ Maria Sharapova 1-6 1-4 down in the second round, Caroline Garcia, survived a doozy in her second round match in the girls singles draw, beating Catalina Pella of Argentina 4-6 6-2 9-7. | More: Girl’s draw

(Images via the AP)

short balls: pippa does paris

The royal box. Everyone’s favorite Middleton was in attendance at the French Open yesterday as Pippa attended matches on Philippe Chatrier with a gentleman that Busted Racquet hilariously ID’d as Parks and Recreation‘s Jean Ralphio. OK, we’re going to guess that’s not him. But that is Pippa. And in case you forgot, this was Pippa’s dress that stole the show (or at least borrowed it for a few minutes) at her big sis’s wedding.

British (tennis) royalty. While it’s rumored that Kate Middleton (that’s Duchess of Cambridge, to you!) is supposedly being asked to present trophies at Wimbledon this year, no one had to ask the storied folks of Birmingham if they wanted two tennis photo galleries to descend upon their historic community, which helped co-found lawn tennis way back in 1859.

Go fetch. We’re obsessed with this image that the Wall Street Journal ran last week of a pooch nabbing a flying tennis ball in the city. Perhaps our heart really got stolen by the two lookers-on, both of whom are decidedly jealous and couldn’t care less at the same time. | Blue’s blue on FO fashion: But don’t ask Blue Carreon of the Journal what he thinks of the fashion at this year’s RG. He’s. Not. Having. It.

Wheel of Tennis. While Blue isn’t loving the tennis threads of this year’s FO, Wheel of Fortune is giving the sport a whole week of love. The game show is promoting “Tennis Week” this week with tennis-themed prizes, appearances by well-known tennis faces and the best mixed doubles pair you’ve ever known: Alex Trebek and Vanna White, of course.

(Pippa image via Getty Images; Tennis Week image via WOF web site)

this kid has no job (home?!) anymore

We know where you live (the streets). OK, so it’s not quite that dramatic, but this poor little fella isn’t thinking about how he pissed off Viktor Troicki — he’s thinking about how he won’t ever work Court Suzanne Lengglen again. How he might be out of a (summer) job. And how he probably doesn’t have a place to sleep tonight — or at least until some other ball-kid scandal pops up to make him forgettable. Oh, if you’re not sure what we’re talking about, see below.

But truthfully, Andy Murray should have volunteered the point. C’mon, Muzz. Where’s the sportmanship?

Result: Troicki won that game in the fifth set but blew a 5-2 lead, losing 6-4 6-4 3-6 2-6 5-7.

(screen grab via tennis channel)

sunday survey: week one’s 1-2 punch

Fabulous Franny: There’s been no stopping the Italian at this year’s French — so far. (Getty)

Era’s first. For the first time in the Open era the women’s no. 1 and no. 2 seeds are out of the tournament before the second week has even begun. For Kim Clijsters it was a dismal performance against unheralded Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus (who was promptly dispatched in the next round by Maria Kirilenko 1 and 1, thank you very much), in which she blew second-set match points. And for top seed Caroline Wozniacki it was an almost-as-bad showing against the always-lurking Daniela Hantuchova, bowing out 1-6 3-6.

But what was the biggest story line of the first week of the year’s second Slam? Novak Djokovic continued his impenetrable run through the men of the tour — a run not even 2009 US Open champ Juan Martin del Potro could stop. Roger and Rafa looked to be in all-right form thus far, though last year’s semifinalist Tomas Berdych continued his downward slide in a first-round loss to a French qualifier. And what about Francesca Schiavone? The defending champ that no one gave a chance was work-lady-like in her week one at Roland Garros, finding a spot in the QFs with a convincing 6-4-in-the-third win over Jelena Jankovic. And has everyone already forgotten about Sam Stosur??

What was the biggest story of week one? Your pick, below.

 

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: roger federer

Roger Federer has reached the fourth round of the 2011 French Open after brushing aside Janko Tipsarevic 6-1, 6-4, 6-3. Even from a different perspective — i.e., the buzz words these days are “Nadal” and “Nole” — it’s safe to say that this man can still play some good, clean ball: so far this week, he’s used his efficient serve to rack up only two break points after three rounds of play.

Nike Air Max Redux Men’s T-Shirt, $20, nike.com.

(photo by AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

happy, happy, joy, joy

For the curious: Steve Darcis is the tennis face for clothing brand J&Joy, whose logo is embroidered on the Belgian’s polos at this year’s French Open.

Gael force: Darcis couldn’t upset a second Frenchman — he took out Michael Llodra, the tournament’s 22nd seed, in the first round — in his match against Gael Monfils. Darcis lost in straight sets. (Draw: See how the rest of the guys are doing)

Lookbook: Just the basic stuff from this brand. Nothing to write home about visually, so let’s hope they make it up in fabric choice and quality construction. See more images from their Spring/Summer 2011 line

fashion focus: lacoste’s 40th anniversary with roland garros

Lacoste and Roland Garros put their heads together for a small collection in time to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Men’s and women’s pieces include polos with embroidered anniversary logos, screenprinted tees (two with photos from a 1973 ad campaign), and custom packaging.

The power of the Euro: Oh, that conversion rate… You can look at the goods at the Roland Garros Store

(images via storerolandgarros.com)

monfils wears k-swiss fading stripe in purple

Purple, please: Roland Garros 14th seed Gael Monfils booked a spot in the fourth round by taking out Belgian Steve Darcis in straight sets. He’ll go up against David Ferrer — the Spaniard we predict will go all the way to the semis. Yep, that means a potential win over Roger Federer. (Draw: RG Men’s Singles)

With the Nike men toning down their attire, Gael and K-Swiss have stepped up by using purple and showing off the Frenchman’s guns this spring. The color always reminds us of Serena‘s clay dress from 2007. More info: K-Swiss Fading Stripe Series.

More: A few more on-court pics of Gael going up against Bjorn Phau and Steve Darcis