When we started blogging four years ago — about tattoos (on Flavio Saretta and Potito Starace), trophies (still our fave: Bercy 2006), and Lleyton‘s marriage to Bec — we never thought of TSF as anything more than a casual hobby. Instead it gave us a chance to flex our tennis geekery: becoming besties with Sorana, obsessing about Mirka, playing “Where In the World is Andre Sa?”, founding a one-man fan club for Kolya, and polling everyone about their Top 5. (Who’s in ours, you ask? We both agree on Monaco, Melzer, Nole, and the puffy pecs on Igor Andreev.)
But as 2011 came to a close, we felt that it was time to move on and make room for our other projects. This will be our last post on TSF.
We’ll still be covering similar topics in our own work (uhhh SI pairing Rafa with Bar Rafaeli? Sexy.), so if you are curious to follow: Nick’s at @nickmccarvel and Erwin’ll be at @erwincong. (Note: TSF’s Twitter will continue to be maintained.)
Tennis Served Fresh wouldn’t have made it this far without support: from family and friends who clicked away on posts; readers who visited and left comments; industry folk who let us pick their brains; labels who let us into their showrooms; contributors who helped us with coverage; and from fellow journos whom we spent many, many hours with in the trenches. Thanks to everyone. Without you, Erwin would never have ended up peeing next toTursunov and Melzer in a U.S. Open bathroom.
Until next time: hugs, kisses, and a Venus Williams twirl (maybe a Petkorazzi shimmy??) —
In light of the AP’s release of a World Series style guide to help cut down on hackneyed words and phrases appearing in MLB postseason coverage, we wonder: which phrases should the AP put on their chopping block for tennis?
Our first choice: “Dick Enberg.” Just kidding. It’s “journeyman.”
California-based apparel company Sol Angeles teamed up with the U.S. Open’s official beer sponsor, Heineken, to create a limited-edition apparel collection for this year’s event. Called the Heineken Tennis Classics by Sol Angeles, the collection is sold exclusively at the Heineken Lounge at the Tennis Center.
SA’s husband-and-wife design duo, Eli and Lindsey Myers, designed six pieces that include distressed tees, pullovers, windbreakers, canvas bags (our fave!), and hats priced between $30-$80.
Swag: Heineken also doled out 20,000 Sol Angeles-designed hats to attendees of the U.S. Open tournament.
More: Visit Sol Angeles’ website for a look at the brand’s non-tennis collections.
Stylist Julien Farel has been taking care of players’ hair at the U.S. Open for five years running (and, for 2011, blogging about it at Tennis Channel). We asked him a few questions this week.
TSF: How did you get started working with tennis clients? Julien Farel: I use to do it for Roland Garros and always thought it was a great tournament and sport for JF Group. Now we’re in our fifth year at the Open.
TSF: Whose hair is the most fun to style? JF: Cutting Rafa Nadal, or styling Lauren Bush or Gwyneth Paltrow is tough to compare, they are all great — and the best in their fields!
TSF: And whose are you dreaming of working on? JF:Federer and Sharapova. Penelope Cruz and JLo.
TSF: Do you follow the sport? JF: Yes I am I big fan of tennis and try to play as often as I can. I prefer singles and I like the back hand passing shot.
TSF: How much does a player’s outfit for a particular tournament play into how you cut/style their hair? JF: A lot. I particularly like Wimbledon because it is all-white: very classic and elegant. I love the classic! I love Nadal’s haircut with a very fitted outfit. It’s very trendy, sexy, and cool.
TSF: What about accessories? JF: I like men’s hair accessorized with headbands or sweatbands; for the women, a fishtail or classic braid. They can control frizz with a little JF Relaxing Balm and that will do the trick.
TSF: What are players most concerned about with their hair? JF: Keeping the hair off their face and controlling the frizz. JF styling products work great because they all contain an UVA protection to keep the hair hydrated and healthy.
Fluffy: One of our favorite looks from this year’s U.S. Open women’s draw is the ruffled Ellesse dress on Russia’s Galina Voskoboeva. It teeters enough on being a caricature of tennis whites — with its Peter Pan collar and tiers of fabric — that it might’ve ended up on our “worst” list had it been on Nads Petrova.
Sadly, the dress didn’t last long, with Galina losing in the opening round to 7th seed Francesca Schiavone 3-6, 6-1, 4-6. (Draw:Women’s Singles)
More: A few looks at Voskoboeva’s dress — with pics from New York and Toronto — after the cut…
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) — after the cut…
Free-swingin’: Top seed Novak Djokovic is still in the running for the 2011 U.S. Open — he faces Roger Federer in the semis — and he’s going through the draw in surprisingly plain gear from Sergio Tacchini. (Did they peak too early?)
Recycling: The orange piping from his spring hardcourt run — one of our fave looks for the year — returns along with some white stripes to decorate his navy blue evening kit; the day polo gets navy piping. Of note is the single-panel, all-mesh construction under the sleeves that continues seamlessly down the side of the shirt — a result of careful ergonomic studies into how Novak moves his shoulder. Everyone’s worried about that part of his body, eh?
Golden Girls: Both Jelena Jankovic and Elena Baltacha opted to wear shades of yellow at this year’s U.S. Open. Jankovic, who lost in the third round to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, played in a gold ANTA dress. Note the boning detail, the ruching at the bust, and all that busy-ness (which we love!) at the top: a set of straps for the dress and one for the mesh bra.
And in Baltacha we have the heir to the Yonex throne once occupied by that other Elena — Dementieva. The Brit lost to 15th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round. The slit and the white stripe down the dress’ right side tones down the hard blue-collar feel of the contrasting black trim; ultimately, we’dve rather seen this in the dark blue version that Yonex printed in their catalog.
More: Pictures of Elena and Jelena’s clothes after the cut…
The Awl‘s Thomas Golianopoulos offers his suggestion for whom to root for as the 2011 U.S. Open plays out its final rounds. The shocker: putting Sam Stosur in his list of “most annoying” players.
Read: “Choosing Who To Root For (And Who To Hate) At The U.S. Open, The Awl.
The classics: Non-neons get representation in the store displays created by Polo Ralph Lauren for their U.S. Open pop-up. The colorful goods get their floor space, too, of course.
With Roger Federer these days, Nike has kept frivolous design to a minimum: gone are the flashy, gimmicky clothing; the blazers, the big bags, the warm-up dress pants — and the minimalist remains are enough to please the eye but not overpower it. Nike’s kept with this new aesthetic in Roger’s kits for the 2011 U.S. Open.
The casual day outfit has a bright red v-neck (with grey detail) while his night attire has a darker grey polo with red lines trimming the collar and appearing as a racing stripe down the back. Of course, there are the same construction elements that we’ve come to see in most of Roger’s shirts — no-sew application, laser-cut button holes, bonded plackets.
Icing on the cake: While all-dark outfits are nothing new, the prevalence of neon at this year’s event endeared us to the third seed’s stealthy ensemble. This outfit reflects Roger’s current state: toned down, flying under the radar, but still elegant where it counts. And with the youthful bursts of white emanating from his socks and shoes, we see a glimpse of Fed in the tail end of his career — letting loose just a little.
Brackets: Fed’s currently playing his quarterfinal against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The winner will play Djokovic, who won his QF match after Janko Tipsarevic retired with a hamstring injury while trailing in the fourth set. (Draw:Men’s Singles)
More: Plenty of detail shots of his day/night looks and his Lunar Vapor 8 Tour shoes — all after the cut…
Fashion’s Night Out: Just a reminder that Maria Sharapova‘s special edition Air Bacara Flats — part of her collection by Cole Haan, will drop today in select stores. These shoes were inspired by Maria’s Nike kits from this year’s U.S. Open.
Folks can snap up the Bacaras for $148 at Cole Haan SoHo and select other Cole Haan stores in New York (Columbus Circle, Flatiron, Madison Avenue, Rockefeller Center), Los Angeles (Century City), San Francisco, Chicago, Coral Cables and colehaan.com.
In addition, ten lucky guests at Cole Haan SoHo’s celebration of Fashion’s Night Out will have the opportunity to purchase a pair of signed special edition Maria Sharapova by Cole Haan Bacara ballet flats.
Bonus: Participating Cole Haan FNO locations, along with colehaan.com, will offer a special promotion for FNO: enter to win a new pair of Cole Haan shoes every month for an entire year! More info here.
FNO LA: For those of you in L.A., check out the evening’s plans here. We’re planting ourselves near Melrose/Robertson to start off the evening!
The latest lookbook for oki-ni, styled by Mark McMahon, shows off lots of outerwear in a range of textures — cords, wool, and neoprene (!) — paired with clashing prints and colors. (We’re all about itthese days.) Sadly, the garments are too thick for our blood and for SoCal winters, so we’ll enjoy it from the comfort of our computer.
When in New York… The WTA asked some of its top ladies about their “musts” while in New York City. And it basically came down to shopping (Fifth Avenue!), eating, or in Vika‘s case, being weird.
The rundown:Caro loves the Meatpacking District; Maria recommends the Halumi sandwich at Aroma (in Soho); Bartoli ends up in Shoe Heaven at Sak’s; and Schiavone enjoys a burger, fries, and a jukebox — from a location that will remain nameless.
Maria Sharapova wore diamond drop earrings from Tiffany‘s Grade collection as she competed in this year’s U.S. Open. The collection features princess-cut diamonds bezel-set in square designs and paired with round diamonds in platinum. (Clothes: from Nike — kits; warm-up)
On the court: Sadly, Maria couldn’t capitalize on her seeding, falling in the first week to Flavia Pennetta: 3-6, 6-3, 4-6 in the third round. (Draw: See how the last eight women are faring.)
Buy: Tiffany Grace Drop earrings with princess-cut and round brilliant diamonds in platinum. Carat total weight .76; $7,000; Tiffany.com
Chris Evert will serve as brand ambassador for the newly-formed Ellesse North America. The six-time U.S. Open champion, 56, will be actively involved in design, promotion and marketing, as well as the development of a signature collection,”Chris Evert for Ellesse.”
She will host a cocktail party at the Town Tennis Club on the Upper East Side Friday to help relaunch the Italian sportswear label Ellesse in the U.S.
Ellesse North America has acquired the master license for the Ellesse brand in all product categories for the North American market from Pentland Group plc. Ellesse will relaunch in the U.S. in the fourth quarter.
In addition to tennis wear, Ellesse will offer clothing and shoes for other “lifetime sports” like fitness, skiing, golf and equestrian. There are plans for an online store and freestanding stores, and the collection will also be carried in specialty stores, pro shops, ski shops, tack shops and hotel and resort shops.
We get it:Novak Djokovic + Maria Sharapova (+ Andy Murray, even) means that Head‘s got all sorts of momentum right now and they’ve done well with their marketing campaigns so far (our faves: Murray’s Facebook “likes” and racquet bag messages; Nole’s “No1vak” rebranding), so we were disappointed with the unimaginative user submission component of their latest — the Nole/Maria back-and-forth. Still, crossing our fingers that they’ll get a certain aspiring actress to enter!
US Open: Caro’s still in the 2011 U.S. Open women’s singles draw. She’s set to face Andrea Petkovic in the quarters and likely Serena in the semis. The QF was originally scheduled for yesterday but has been delayed with the two days of rain; Petko and Caro will play the second match on Armstrong today.
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Tennis Served Fresh covers fashion, style, media and culture surrounding the worlds of tennis and sport. (more)
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