Pass the scissors, please. One thing we loved about Serena Williams at the US Open this year was watching her walk into Interview Room 1 at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Not because we couldn’t wait to hear what Serena had to say — she’s actually notoriously bland in such situations — but for her hilariously amazing Nike tees turned home craft projects. Serena must have had plenty of late nights staying up with her assistant watching re-runs of her HSN appearances and Keeping up with the Kardashians while slicing through a collection of graphic tees. And by that we mean her assistant did all the cutting. Serena was probably painting her toes, right? Or Oprah’s.
Serena is getting some flak for her on-court apparel these days. But we say hey! What about what the girl is rocking off the court?
While the tees are all around a questionable move, we. Love. That. Hair. On the court, too? Do it, lady.
Slam season? It’s ova! I’m out of my let’s-research-this mindset from writing forUSOpen.org after two glorious weeks with a great staff at the National Tennis Center, so I’ll give someone else a go at this stat: when was the last time a Slam included no “ova” winner? Barring one-half of the girls’ doubles winning team — that’d be Irina Khromacheva — and she’s an “eva,” so does she even count? For all I know it could have been the French this year, but it certainly seems like a shocker, no?!
The men’s tournament, in the end, wasn’t a shocker itself. Sure, it was shocking that Novak Djokovic for the second year in a row denied Roger Federer a shot at the title by saving match points (how ’bout that forehand?!), but in the end, it was a result that many in tennis expected: Djokovic defeatsRafael Nadal in the final. And what a final it was! Thanks for ending a semi-mediocre tournament with such a glorious match, fellas. ‘Til next time!
Sam-a-Slam: Let’s just talk about the tennis. Sam Stosurplayed lights-out ball for two sets against Serena Williams on Sunday night at the Open. For us it was reminiscent of the way Maria Sharapova pounded her way past Serena in the 2004 Wimbledon final. Sure, Stosur’s style is completely different that Maria’s, but the result was the same: she lost just five games against her heavily-favored opponent to win her maiden major. One can only wish that the Aussie will show up with similar form at her home slam come January.
Cindarella story. This one really was written in the you-can’t-make-it-up category. Melanie Oudin, two years ago the Open’s golden girl, had paired up with this year’s golden boy in Jack Sock, and the two just stormed through the mixed doubles draw. No, they didn’t smooch! But we sure wish they would have. More? Doubles and juniors after the cut!(more…)
Say “stripes!” The US Open champ, Sam Stosur was reportedly running on some 90 minutes of sleep today — the day after she trotted past Serena Williams in an incredible display on Arthur Ashe Stadium court, winning 6-2, 6-3 for her first slam. The Aussie made a trip to Times Square for a I-just-won-the-Open photo-opp, donning an adorable striped red and white, loose-fitting dress by Lacoste.
Normally we’d want something like this belted, especially if you have a body like Sam’s. But it was 70 and breezy in New York today and somehow Aussie Sam made the concrete jungle feel quite beachy. And check out that sock tan, mate!
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.
The final question? Yes, we’ve all been wondering this for almost three years now. Since Roger Federer lost in the Australian Open final to Rafael Nadal in 2009 and broke down in tears on the podium, there has been talk that the so-called GOAT was past him prime. And then came having kids. And turning 30. Queue the weekly retirement questions.
But after yesterday’s meltdown — yes, it was a match that was Federer’s to win — the question can really be popped: Will Roger Federer ever win another major? Federer added to two abysmal and ultimately un-Federer-like stats yesterday with his loss to Djoko: he lost his second match ever when leading two sets to love (had done so for the first time ever at Wimbledon earlier this summer against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga), moving his record to 189-2 in his career and for the second straight year squandered match points in an Open semifinal. Your votes below.
Love me, Melanie: It was a big night for Melanie Oudin and Jack Sock at the US Open. The two won their maiden slam, stunning the mixed doubles draw by coming through for the title. No. The two didn’t actually smooch. But there seemed to smooching tension. Smoochsion? We crafted up some photoshop guile to bring them a little bit … closer.
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.
Matt Trollope began covering tennis in 2008, a natural extension of his childhood obsession for the game that included hitting for countless hours against his bedroom wall and self-producing and editing a fictitious tennis magazine. Based in Melbourne, he has covered four Australian Opens and one Wimbledon championship, and his tennis writing has featured in Australian Tennis Magazine, the Australian Open Official Program, and Alpha Magazine.
In this latest instalment of TSF’s WTA Headshots series, we take a look at some players who have posted solid results this past fortnight in New York. Given some of them have since been dumped from the women’s draw, they might have time to source new photographs. And remember, folks, this is just pure, unadulterated fun and fiction. We lack all seriousness in below post. Enjoy!
Sabine Lisicki | When Lisicki missed most of 2010 with a severe ankle injury, instead of lying around feeling sorry for herself, she went out and scored a role as an extra in the film Just Go With It. “I figured if Brooklyn Decker and Andy Roddick could be in it, why couldn’t I?” She explained to TSF. “I asked them to put in a good word for me, and the director said I could be involved in scenes set in Hawaii.” This photo shows that Lisicki pulled off the Pacific Island look brilliantly, and like every good extra, you don’t even notice her when you watch the film. Yet ever the ambitious young lady on court, Lisicki struggled to quash her competitive instincts in the acting arena, with an insider quoting her as saying: “Seriously, Brooklyn’s acting was such crap, as if I wouldn’t totally own that character! All she had to do was get a massage for half the movie and look pretty in front of the camera. I already do that as a professional tennis player!” After watching the film –- which copped a resounding thumbs-down from critics –- we have to agree.
Jelena Jankovic | It’s always been about the drama and the performance for Jelena. Forget the tennis –- JJ’s performances have been largely forgettable for three years anyway. Instead, Jelena’s current focus is on shoring up her post-tennis career options. We at TSF have dug up her submission –- a resume complete with a suitable headshot –- to take part in Celine Dion’s show-in-residence at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Jankovic notes parallels between herself and the Canadian diva: “My application shows that I clearly rock the wind-machine look, I’ve got my fist-pump down pat and I’m very comfortable being in the spotlight,” she says. “She’s always using back-up dancers, and with my body, I could easily fit in with them. And who cares if I can’t sing? It’s all about lip-synching these days.” Further investigation by TSF confirms that Dion’s management has yet to respond to Jankovic’s application.
Vania King | Ever watched Glee and thought the Asian-American character was an unconvincing actress, a dud singer, and generally pretty annoying? Well, it seems the WTA does, and it’s propping up one of its own as a viable replacement. Proud of the fact that King can sing, but keen to strip her of her prissy choir-girl image –- certainly not aligned with the tour’s sweat-soaked, pheromone-charged Strong Is Beautiful campaign –- CEO Stacey Allaster told TSF about the inspiration behind the push to “vote Vania” for Glee. “What better way for the WTA to position one of our players than in such a sassy, sexy and culturally-relevant program? We’re taking it up a level from Xperia Hotshots. Glee is totally where it’s at now.” So far, the Vote Vania campaign features a poster –- with Vania’s coquettish pose serving as the foundation –- but no slogan as yet.
Andrea Petkovic | Petko will continue to make her presence felt on the East Coast following her deep run at the US Open, lending her face to a tourism campaign promoting The Hamptons as an idyllic year-round escape from the frenetic pace of New York City life. This photo –- a still from the television advertisement –- shows Petkovic leaning luxuriously against the wall of a rustic timber home, her amber eyes glinting as the sun sets over the Atlantic Ocean. “Maybe your body is weary from lots of dancing,” she says dreamily in the voiceover. “Perhaps you want to disconnect from technology after tweeting, Facebooking, blogging and vlogging. You might want to rest your mind after tackling the works of Goethe and Wilde, or brushing up on your four languages. Whatever your reason, you’ll find your sanctuary in The Hamptons.” Given the German is an increasingly dominant force on the women’s tour, many of her opponents may be hoping for an escape themselves.
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!
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
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.
We have focused our TSF efforts on an online tennis hub called TSFTennis.com. Check it out for the latest news, blogs, and feature articles on everything tennis.
TSF – ABOUT/CONTACT
Tennis Served Fresh covers fashion, style, media and culture surrounding the worlds of tennis and sport. (more)
tennis served fresh 