stefan koubek retires

One less for Tattoo Watch to keep tabs on now that pseudo-tramp-stamped Austrian Stefan Koubek has announced his retirement.

The 34-year-old ATPer, ranked 261st, plans to finish his pro career off with an exhibition match on July 30. “I wanted to play Roland Garros and Wimbledon one more time but I won’t make it,” he told the press. “Once you’ve decided to quit, you lose your motivation.”

More: Here are pics we took of Koubek back in March. Yes, you saw that correctly: it’s a chinese character superimposed over a tribal pattern. He has his cake and eats it, too!

(photos by TSF)

shirtless: the rest of malibu novak

Nole‘s had more glamour shots pop up in the last few days, but we’re content with seeing these — the rest of the pap pics from his trip to Malibu right before the 2011 BNP Paribas Open.

(all images by X17 Online)

zvonareva’s bunnies

Sequined bunnies showed up for Vera Zvonareva‘s presser on the eve of the 2011 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. Buy: A similar Bad Bunny Sweatshirt, $59.99, from French Connection.

Fed Cup: Vera is on the Russian Fed Cup team that faces Italy in this weekend’s semi, to be played in Moscow. Others on the Russian squad: Kuznetsova, Pavlyuchenkova, and Makarova. On the Italian side, they’ll be without Fed Cup regulars Schiavone and Pennetta. Schiavone opted out in order to focus on defending her Roland Garros title; Pennetta’s nursing a shoulder injury. The roster’s made up of Vinci, Errani, Brianti, and Camerin. The Russians should take this, no prob. What do you think?

Read up: All the tie details are here.

(image via Getty Images)

flashback: novak treks through the socal desert

Denim on denim? Yesssss.

(via Nole’s tweet)

does melanie oudin still believe?

One of the highlights of our visit to the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells? Seeing this purple dress from Wilson hanging on a mannequin. The Chicago-based brand’s continued to up their game, starting with that lovely blank/pink motif at the 2010 US Open, and moving to brighter colors (white, teal, lavender) to work with the sunny backdrops of Spring ’11 tourneys. (BTW, we heard someone mention that Busted Racquet gave her a hard time about this dress in Melbourne. Is this true?)

And what of the Oudin slogans (“Believe” in 2009 and “Courage” in 2010) — will Melanie and Wilson drum one up in time for this year’s U.S. Open? “We will try to keep it going for sure,” said Melanie’s agent, Sam Duvall. They’re looking for the right time to bring it back, he added. I say that time is now, because missy needs a boost: she’s 5-7 so far this year. On the flip side, that’s enough to keep her ranking of 75th, making making her the fourth-best American on the tour(!). Perhaps the slogan should come back for all of U.S. women’s tennis?

Your thoughts: Will Melanie Oudin will stay ahead of Americans Coco Vandeweghe? Varvara Lepchenko? Christina McHale? Vania King? What do you think? Tell us!

Buy: La Divine Dress, in white or lavender, $72; La Divine Tank, in white or pool (teal), $48; the rest of Wilson’s women’s gear here.

(images via Getty Images)

oh, shahar!

It’s been a while since we’ve put up a fashion mishit — nay, a fashion shank — on TSF, but this one caught our eye. Too bad, because we were in the middle of writing a post praising Shahar Peer‘s current purple Reebok dress, and this had to pop up: a pic from last month’s BNP Paribas Open Players’ Party. That sock tan! And are those loafers?

TSF Archives: Previous mishits on and off the court — including Jankovic‘s pink bow, Spadea‘s leopard print backpack, and a lot of Mattek.

On the tour: Shahar’s done decently this year, ranked just outside the top 10 and with two quarterfinal appearances (Dubai, Indian Wells). She lost in her opening round match at this week’s Sony Ericsson Open to Anabel Medina Garrigues. As you may know, AMG gave Sharapova trouble in Masha’s opening match at Indian Wells.

(image via Getty Images)

how we survived in tursunov’s absence

TSF was heartbroken to find out that Dmitry Tursunov wasn’t going to play at Indian Wells and Miami this year. Tournaments just aren’t the same without his pastiness hanging out in the practice courts (exhibits A and B). So as we felt the withdrawal kick in during our first days in the desert, this man saved the day.

Ridic.

Anyway, Igor Andreev made it as far as the second round at this week’s Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, where he lost to John Isner 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (2). But that’s okay, Igor: winning isn’t why we keep you on our radar.

The tennis: Roger and Rafa play their quarterfinal matches today (vs. Simon and Berdych, respectively). The winner in that top half of the draw will play the winner of the Fish/Djokovic semi. We expect Nole to take this whole thing. Who’s your pick for the winner? (Browse: SEO Draws)

And in case you’re interested in seeing Igor clothed, some pics of his current Sergio Tacchini kit below.

(practice image by TSF; match images via Getty Images)

sightings in the stands: neve campbell and jj feild

Lovebirds Neve Campbell and J.J. Feild took in yesterday’s finals at the BNP Paribas Open. These were the first matches Neve have ever been to — she picked a good day to watch!

FYI, Neve’s going to be in Scream 4, opening April 15th, and Feild will be in Captain America: The First Avenger, which comes out this summer.

Buy: On Feild, the Fila 100 year jacket, $120, fila.com.

(photo by Bill Schlueter)

novak plays on a plane

Yep, Nole‘s already soaring high after that win over Rafa Nadal at yesterday’s men’s final at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. That three-setter — 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 — puts him at 18-0 so far this year; at No. 2 in the world (taking over for Roger); and puts him in that elite company of guys who’ve been both Rafa and Roger in the same tournament twice (the other two: Nalbandian and Kolya).

…Which made it the perfect time to release this video that he hinted at last week, the one of him recreating that image of two folks playing tennis on a plane. We’re still not quite sure if Nole actually got air time (while strapped in, of course), but we wouldn’t put it past him.

Watch: Click on that image above to watch the video.

(Djokovic picture courtesy of Head)

practice makes perfect: from russia, with love

Svetlana Kuznetsova lost in her opening round of the BNP Paribas Open to American (and wildcard) Christina McHale, who took her out 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7). While Sveta looked good — like, dropped-pounds-in-the-double-digits good — she was simply outplayed from the baseline by the more consistent McHale. McHale lost a three-setter to Nadia Petrova in the subsequent round. (Draw: Women’s Singles.)

For the curious: that Fila shirt on Sveta’s only for practice, alas, and is not for sale to the public. Sometimes a girl has to have something that’s just hers, yknow?

(image by TSF)

maria’s spring 2011 for cole haan

More love to our favorite Russo-American: We would never have thought of uttering “Maria Sharapova” in the same breath as Dossier, Theophilus London, Bureau V, Kate Neckel, and Bamboo Bike Studio — yet here we are. She’s been added by Cole Haan to a list of makers, creators, and innovators that they’re spotlighting throughout the spring.

Browse: Check out a some adorable pictures of Maria (she should smile more often!) plus a mini-Q&A that looks into her creative process here. From her Spring 2011 Cole Haan collection, our faves: of the bags, the metallic Viola Tote, which she was also using for practice sessions at Indian Wells (image); and of the shoes, the strap-happy Air Jasmine OT Pump.

Bracket: At this week’s BNP Paribas Open, Masha bounced back after a surprisingly tough opening round match (vs. Anabel Medina Garrigues) to beat Safina, Rezai, and Peng Shuai. She now faces top seed Caroline Wozniacki in the semis; the winner plays Bartoli. (Draw: Women’s Singles.)

(photo via colehaan.com)

WANT: from ruffles to duffles

Fine, fine. The cheese stands alone. No one’s into that Caro dress except for me (and hopefully Woz herself). You should see it up close, though, if you can. I think that’s how I got sold on it. But that then raises the question: who are you selling for — the person wearing it or those who have to look at it from afar?

Anyway, while snooping through the stores on the grounds of the BNP Paribas Open, we ran across this duffle from Fila, part of their 100-year collection. It’s in a quilted navy blue nylon with tan leather trim and gold hardware. These were flying off the shelves, so we think the public agrees with us loving this piece.

Sadly, we didn’t take one home with us; no more bag purchases until we thin out the stock in the TSF West accesories closet!

Buy: Fila 100-year duffle bag; peacoat (navy blue); $120; fila.com.

(screengrab via fila.com)

did he even stop to pose?

We can only hope that this is the only picture Andy Roddick gave the photographers at the players’ party for the 2011 BNP Paribas Open. Who needs to stop for a red carpet when there’s a Kogi truck inside?

(photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

folks ruffled by caro’s latest dress

We here at TSF West are giddy about the dress adidas by stella mccartney dress Caroline Wozniacki debuted during her match today against Sloane Stephens at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. We’d seen this ruffled number in pics and saw it (on the IW grounds) two nights ago.

Seeing it on Caro led a lot of folks to spew the snark but I beg to differ: that color’s a nice, cool shade that’ll work well through the French (similar to the blue dress Maria Sharapova wore in 2009) and all the sheer cutouts and the ruffles will come to life especially during Wimbledon’s moratorium on color. Besides, no one was complaining when Maria Kirilenko was wearing this stuff (granted, MaKiri’s match record didn’t give the outfits much airtime) and the label’s sensibility hasn’t changed. So what’s different? I think it’s the way Caro wears clothes. She doesn’t have the knack for carrying an outfit. Exhibit A.

Really, leave the ruffles alone!

Scoreline: By the way, Caro, as the top seed, moved on with a win over wildcard Sloane Stephens 6-3, 6-2. We don’t see her facing any stiff challenges until a potential meeting with eighth seed Vika Azarenka in the quarters. (Draw: Women’s Singles)

Buy: Tennis Ruffle Dress in white or blueprint, $120, adidas.com.

(photos by TSF)

chris: how the women will fare in the desert

The women’s draw for the BNP Paribas Open came out today, and TSF bracketologist Chris takes a look at who’s going to end up the last women standing.

The WTA has had 8 different winners at this event over the past 10 years; 7 of those are in action here. All are in the top 32 and will get a bye into the second round.

Caroline Wozniacki: There’s been a lot of debate recently about Caro’s slamless #1 ranking. She went 31-5 on North American soil last year and has finalist points to defend here. She’s drawn to play Pennetta in R16, which’ll be the toughest test — along with questions about the legitimacy of her top ranking — on her way to the semis. Final.

Kim Clijsters: If we did our calculations properly, Kim needs to best Caroline by just one round to reclaim the top ranking. But her track record, both overall — 16-2 on the year and 27-3 since (and including) the 2010 US Open — and at Indian Wells — twice a champ (pre-retirement, in ’03 and ’05) — might not be enough to buoy her through the toughest draw of the top 4 women’s seeds: Groth in R32, Petkovic or Bartoli in R16, Kvitova, Jankovic or Ivanovic in QFs. SF

Vera Zvonareva Vera’s won her before (in 2009, the title that catapulted her in the rankings and helped her gain control of her emotions) and lost to a formidable Stosur in R16 last year. Of the top 4, she has the easiest route; the only woman in the way is Schiavone in the QFs. Win.

Sam Stosur: We’re still waiting for Sam to bounce back from that loss to Schiavone at the French. The Aussie’s 6-6 on the year and 10-11 since the US Open. Those SF points from last year are going to be hard to defend; we don’t expect her to make it past the QFs with this draw: Hantuchova in R32, Sharapova or Rezai in R16, Li, Kuznetsova or Petrova in QFs. QF

Francesca Schiavone: It took seeing Schiavone in person at Indian Wells last year (she lost that match to Rezai) for us to appreciate her athleticism. She’s never made it past R16 here (a three-set loss in ’08 to eventual champ Ivanovic) but we’re giving her a little bump past that. QF

Jelena Jankovic: The San Diegan (soon!) and defending champ has a dismal IW record (six first- or second-round losses in nine appearances) yet plays well on the California hard courts. That being said, she’s only 7-4 this year and finished last year 5-11 after Wimbledon. Needless to say, this is the biggest slump she’s been in for quite a while. Despite semi loses to eventual champs Wozniacki (Dubai) and Zvonareva (Doha), I thought she was in good form. R16

Li Na: She started 2011 with a title win in Sydney and an appearance in the AO finals. However, Li’s lost in the first round of her two tournaments since. We’re hoping this is just a period of adjusting to being on everyone’s radar (Ed: even our non-fan parents are talking about her!). While she made the IW semis in 2007 (loss to eventual champ Hantuchova), Li probably needs one more post-AO tournament to get her back into form. She’ll be back by Miami. R16

Victoria Azarenka: Vika’s been many a journalist’s pick for slam contention for quite a while now, but we don’t agree. She needs to work on her mental state and physical fitness to match her potential. R16

Agnieszka Radwanska: We’re putting her in the same lot as Azarenka (though we prefer her game over Vika’s). Aga’s a defending semifinalist and reached the QFs in ’08 and ’09. QF

Shahar Peer: A middling year thus far with an 8-5 record, but Shahar’s hovering near her career-best ranking so she must be doing something right. QFs here in ’07 (loss to Hantuchova) and R16 in the past two years. R16

Svetlana Kuznetsova: Sveta’s had a better 2011 compared to how she did in 2010 this time last year. She played well as she handed Henin the Belgian’s final career loss in Melbourne, and there was no reason why she should’ve lost that epic match against Schiavone. (Sveta got her revenge by taking out the Italian on the way to the Dubai final.) All that being said, after reaching the Indian Wells finals in 2007 and 2008 she lost her first match here in the last two years. What should we expect in 2011? We’re thinking that seeing the ups and downs of her countrywomen — Safina’s ranking slide (but now a doubles specialist!), Vera’s potential ascent to #1 (something Sveta’s yet to do despite having two majors), Dementieva’s tearful retirement, and Sharapova’s continued commitment to the game despite injury — will give her a little something more to fight for. She’s only 25 (seriously?!) and can still get 5-7 years of play, so she should decide whether to push back to the top or be content in top 30 purgatory. Lucky for us, she seems to be on the Masha/Bepa train instead of Elena/Safina. SF

Petra Kvitova: All’s good with the Czech, who’s 16-2 record for 2011 matches that of Clijsters (whom she defeated in the Paris final). Her only losses are in the QFs in Melbourne (Zvonareva) and a two tiebreaks in Dubai to Morita. Kvitova’s third trip to IW will have her in the same seciton of the draw as Jankovic and Ivanovic. We have her going out to Clijsters in the quarters. QF

Ana Ivanovic: Nowhere to go but up for the Serbian, who followed a title and a finals appearance (in ’08 and ’09) with a first round exit in 2010. Ivanovic got her act together and went 21-6 to finish the year, picking up titles in Linz and Bali. Unfortunately, she’s sputtered in 2011 so far. Can the desert winds bring back some of her mojo?

Daniela Hantuchova: The two-time IW winner (’02 and ’07) has done alright so far, taking the title in Pattaya City with a win over Zvonareva then lost to her in 3 tight sets in the Doha quarters. We’re expecting her to take out Stosur on her way to the quarters. QF

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Jarmila Groth, Gisela Dulko, Greta Arn: All these ladies have won titles this year. Pavs and Groth are seeded but will run into Peer and Clijsters in the second rounds. We think Dulko’ll go the deepest into the draw. Vania King shouldn’t pose too much trouble in 1R and Kanepi (R64) and Wickmayer (R32) are always liable to be upset.

R16
1 Woniacki d 13 Pennetta
9 Radwanska d 8 Azarenka
26 Hanutchova d 16 Sharapova
11 Kuznetsova d 7 Li
5 Schiavone d 10 Peer
3 Zvonareva d Dulko
12 Kvitova d 6 Jankovic
2 Clijsters d 15 Bartoli

QFs
Wozniacki d Radwanska
Kuznetsova d Hantuchova
Zvonareva d Schiavone
Clijsters d Kvitova

SFs
Wozniacki d Kuznetsova
Zvonareva d Clijsters

Finals
Zvonareva d Wozniacki

it’s two happy hours away from becoming a fiesta cantina

The Corona Beach House at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

(img via @FortyDeuceTwits)

before the draw, chris’ preview of the men

by Chris Phillips

We’re taking a break form the Davis Cup ties to think about how the guys will fare at Indian Wells. Weather forecasts showing that day matches will be played in the low 80s and night matches’ll dip down into the 50s. Brr. (Yes, CHILLY. Some of you might consider that a heat wave, but anything below 65 causes us to bundle up and set fire to anything that can keep us warm). Players also have to factor in some unpredictability in the form of gusty winds, which rattles even the steadiest of players. Here are our thoughts on the guys in the top 10 and some other notables:

Rafael Nadal: This will be the Spaniard’s first test after that injury at the Aussie Open. This weekend’s Davis Cup matches don’t count since his toughest Belgian opponent will be Olivier Rochus. At Indian Wells, Rafa is Rafa but I predict that he’ll lose to a top 20 player in the later rounds but make a better run — if not win — Miami.

Roger Federer: Other than Monfils at Bercy (3 tiebreak sets) and Murray in Shanghai and Toronto, the only guy who’s been able to beat Roger in the past 6 months has been Novak Djokovic (and even so Nole is still down 3-4 since the beginning of 2010). But while these stats are in R-Fed’s favor, consider this one that isn’t: Roger hasn’t taken Indian Wells since 2006. I predict that he’ll extend that streak through 2011.

Novak Djokovic: His is probably the only case where winning a Davis Cup turned someone around. After Serbia took the 2010 title, Nole’s been 12-0 (titles in Melbourne and Dubai). This BNP Paribas Open is his title to lose.

Robin Soderling: If anyone’s had as good a year as Nole, it’s Soderling who’s 17-1 already capturing three titles in just as many months (Brisbane, Rotterdam, Marseille). That being said, the only success the Swedish Sod has had at Indian Wells was last year when he took out Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in route to losing to Andy Roddick in the semis. Depending on draws I think you can pencil him into the quarters or semis again.

Andy Murray: Oh Andy, Andy, Andy. You made it to the Aussie finals in rather convincing fashion and you’ve lost your last two matches in an even more convincing fashion. A lot of pundits think you have a slam in you, but I’m not one of them. We’re putting our money on you making the quarters, none better. And if we’re thinking up an early upset special (without seeing the draws), you’d be the main ingredient. That Australian Open loss is still in your head and will take a while to work itself out.

David Ferrer: Two titles in 2011 already? Do not collect $200 on your way to the semifinals.

Tomas Berdych: He’s only had one good win on the year (d. Verdasco). We expect him to match his best IW performance — which was getting to the quarters last year.

Andy Roddick: He’s got finalist points to defend here from last year (and that match against Ljubicic was his to lose). So far Andy’s 12-2 on the year with losses only to Soderling and Wawrinka. He looked good in his win in Memphis (over Raonic) and his Indian Wells track record ain’t bad: semis 4 of the last 6 years here (and quarterfinals 6 out of 8 here). Depending on how the draw plays out, Roddick’s got a good chance to reach the semis but I think defending those finalist points will be a tall task.

Fernando Verdasco I let out a shriek of sadness when they dismantled FeVer’s CK billboard on Sunset Blvd. (but now we have Rafa’s Armani ad, so life is good!). With his best win of the year being over 49th-ranked Istomin, we’re putting Fernando to fall in the Round of 32.

Jurgen Melzer: We see him doing just as good as his seeding. And after based on this past weekend’s Davis Cup performance, maybe even earlier.

Nicolas Almagro:: Sadly, one can’t leverage great clay court performances for a hard court title. We’re putting down money for him to the get to the quarters. Maybe.

Juan Martin Del Potro: If any player can make some noise in this tournament it’s Delpo (taking the reins from another persistent IW troublemaker, David Nalbandian). He impressed us with his play (even in his losses) during this early spring swing on the American hard courts. One concern: fatigue; this’ll be his fifth tournament of the year. We’re picking him to upset Roger or Rafa — if the draw pans out.

Mardy Fish: If he’s healthy, we’re expecting him to go deep. Remember: he took out three top-ten players (Roger, Kolya, and Nalbandian) before pushing Nole to three sets at this tournament in 2008.

Sam Querrey and John Isner: We got nothin’. Hoping Isner can shake off those Capdeville nightmares before his first round match.

Alexandr Dolgopolov: Even with wins over Soderling and Tsonga in Melbourne, we’re wondering if Dolgopolov will adjust to the hard courts of Indian Wells after spending the last month on clay.

Milos Raonic: Ahh, that other young canadian making folks swoon south of the 49th. Let’s hope taking a week off (for good reason) doesn’t ruin your mojo coming in.

Kevin Anderson/Ivan Dodig/Tommy Robredo: We’re wondering how to read the tea leaves for these guys, each of whom have bagged titles in 2011. Anderson’s big-serving pony is getting boring. We’re already waiting for what Wayne Ferreira‘s offspring will do for South African tennis. This will be Dodig’s first time playing Indian Wells, so we’re watching. And we mention Tommy a bit for nostalgia’s sake. The top 20 just isn’t the same without his consistency; he always lives up to his seeding — never loses before he should and never wins matches he shouldn’t.

who says you can’t buy maria sharapova’s love?

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 Prince racquet 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

in the hot desert sun, a cool and refreshing nadia petrova

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

tattoo watch: philipp kohlschreiber

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