Top 12 Style Moments of 2012

Leave your tennis shorts at home. It’s time for some tailored suits, couture dresses and, heck, even intimates! A look back at 12 of my favorite style moments (with a mishap or two) from 2012.

#12 A “good look” doesn’t always require clothes

Feli dares you to disagree.

#11 This is her.

More on clothes being optional in looking good, Caro also showed off her great bod when she modeled her new underwear line. Weeeell, atleast this was different from her off-court staple, Herve Leger, which I’m sure she wore on her way to the shoot.

#10 Nole goes tie-less

What’s so special about Nole wearing a suit? I’m not sure but for whatever reason he looks damn good in this one. Plus, I’m a total sucker for the glasses. And… well, yeah, it’s mostly the glasses.

#9 Kickin’ it in some Air Yeezy IIs

Everybody knows that Roger always looks great in a suit (see Suiterer link above) so seeing him walk around in these Kanye West-designed Air Yeezy IIs (with some non-blue jeans!) was a nice surprise. You gained some extra cool points with me on that one, Mr. RF. 

#8 Some chiffon lace and tape?

Masha’s the best dressed female athlete 90% of the time. This is Exhibit A of that other 10%. I gotta give her props for keeping it together the entire night  because that Alexander McQueen was begging for a malfunction.

#7 Bogo didn’t get the memo

Well, Bogo does seem like a jeans and sneakers kinda guy so why force him into some wool? Either that or nobody bothered to tell him that he was supposed to show up in atleast a two-piece. Whoops.

 #6 Milos does prep

I normally don’t care for the preppy look. (It reminds me of A&F and I’m not that brand’s biggest fan.) But it’s Milos! Not in a hoodie! But in a cardi! Looking adorbs!

#5 Love Him 2 Times

Rafa’s a hipster? The low v-neck graphic tee, red shorts and undone hair totally says so. Who knew?! Hipster!Rafa just might be my favorite off-court style Rafa.

#4 Winning looks good on you

Vika looked great in this little ensemble she wore for her official Australian Open trophy pictures. She looked fresh and young and the blue/green combo worked well with that new, large, shiny accessory.

#3 The wig that shook the tennis world

The amount of buzz this wig generated was ridiculous. I wish the actual photoshoot it was used for was talked about as much because it’s a great spread. There was some really bold styling and we’ve never seen Masha in anything like it before. (Menswear on a woman? Where do I sign up?)

#2 Serena covers US Vogue

Serena’s the first tennis player to ever grace the cover of US Vogue. She often talks about her love for fashion so I can only imagine how excited she was to be on the cover of the biggest fashion magazine in the world. This is only the second time US Vogue has featured athletes on the cover. I may have fist pumped for Serena when this came out.

#1 Wintour throws RF a birthday party

Being on the cover of Vogue is pretty hard to top but Roger, style maestro of the entire tennis world, can do it. How? By being thrown a birthday soiree by US Vogue’s editor-in-chief and tennis fan, Anna Wintour, herself. Some of the guests were the who’s who of the fashion world—Diane von Furstenberg, Oscar de la Renta, Vera Wang and David Lauren.

Was there ever a doubt that Roger would be at the top of this list? I think not. I’m sure I missed a look or 10 here and there. Feel free to refresh my memory.

via Just Jared, freshness, The Slice, More Than Stats, 10sworld, Guest of a Guest

“Want to walk around?”

I’m sure there’s a purpose for this… drill? But Mono being tied to the fence by her father in practice is a mildly disturbing sight.

Pico hitting with his doubles partner Kei. After practice, Kei was hounded for autographs. He looked shocked but tried to sign for every single fan.

.

How do you feel about drawing Vika once again?

Put a shirt on, Feli. This is not a very good look for you.

You know, two good lookin’ guys just chillin’.

Aaaaaaaand awkward.

I know, Benny, me too. Me too.

Andy made a rare appearance at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden practice courts.

Bromance back on?

As you all know, the field here in Indian Wells is the best thing ever. Year after year we see the top guys having fun playing soccer on it. Yesterday, Nole, Rafa, Janko and Feli had a little pick up game to the delight of many onlookers.

After all their battles on the tennis court last year and the subsequent bromance break-up, it’s great to see Nole and Rafa be so relaxed around each other again. Reunited and it feels so good.

I am told the kit Janko was wearing is not Rafa’s favorite. Now I understand why he made this face:

Rafa wants you outta here, dude.

What’s Feli grabbin’ at? Rafa looks like he wants to gouge his eyes out.

Australian Open 2011: A look ahead to Day 4

Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Vera Zvonareva, Robin Soderling, Andy Murray and Jelena Jankovic are some of the top players scheduled to take the courts on Day 4. I expect nothing but drama from today. I mean, after yesterday, I will now fiend for it until January 30.

Matches!

• Rafael Nadal [1] vs Ryan Sweeting
  I like both guys. I hope Ryan can make it competitive. But he can’t win because if he does then he might no longer play the Calabasas challenger. That would suck for me.
• Juan Martin del Potro vs Marcos Baghdatis [21]
  One thing: Please play well enough, DelPo.
• Bernard Tomic vs Feliciano Lopez [31]
  I need for Feli to win. Is that too much to ask?
• Bojana Jovanovski vs Vera Zvonareva [2]
  May or may not be tricky for Bepa. I honestly have no clue and that’s why I will be watching it.
• Andreas Seppi vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [13]
  Jo better have found his game already. I don’t want another 5-shitter.
• David Nalbandian [27] vs Richard Berankis
  I have a newly found like for Berankis. (I just jinxed him forever, BTW, for making that statement public.) I kinda want him to win this even though I like Nalby.

Complete Day 4 schedule here.

Image via Australian Open / © Ben Solomon

US Open 2010: Days 9 + 10 wrap

Hey, sorry I disappeared for a second there. I couldn’t bring myself to watch tennis yesterday, Day 9, because of the recent development that is Caroline Wozniacki. I just didn’t want to hear about it. Pardon my moment of weakness.

I did, however, hear about (and later saw) Fernando Verdasco’s amazing match point against David Ferrer. Then, I read that Kim Clijsters and Sam Stosur played a match that started off with high quality tennis but ended pretty poorly. With that, it’s hard to bet against Venus Williams now.

Day 9 results:
Quarterfinals
Kim Clijsters [2] def. Samantha Stosur [5] 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
Venus Williams [3] def. Francesca Schiavone [6] 7-6(5), 6-4

Round of 16
Rafael Nadal [1] def. Feliciano Lopez [23] 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Fernando Verdasco [8] def. David Ferrer [10] 5-7, 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(4)
Mikhail Youzhny [12] def. Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
Stanislas Wawrinka [25] def. Sam Querrey [20] 7-6(9), 6-7(5), 7-5, 4-6, 6-4

Day 10 was pretty uneventful. The wind made it hard for everyone. It was hard to play under those conditions and it was hard to watch the pros play under those conditions. The favorites all came through relatively easily. Straight sets on tap.

Day 10 results:
Quarterfinals
Caroline Wozniacki [1] def. Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 7-5
Vera Zvonareva [7] def. Kaia Kanepi [31] 6-3, 7-5

Roger Federer [2] def. Robin Soderling [5] 6-4, 6-4, 7-5
Novak Djokovic [3] def. Gael Monfils [17] 7-6(2), 6-1, 6-2

Image via Getty

US Open 2010: Day 9 preview

Day 9 promises a lot of exciting tennis. Quarterfinal matches start for the women while the men begin their R16 tussles. On tap; Kim Clijsters, Venus Williams, Rafael Nadal, Fernando Verdasco and Samantha Stosur.

• Francesca Schiavone [6] vs Venus Williams [3]
  Like Vee said, 30 is the new 20. I love this match-up! I like both players and both have been flying under the radar all tournament long. And after this match, (boom!) in the semis. I hope they put on a great show!
• Stanislas Wawrinka [25] vs Sam Querrey [20]
  You took out my favorite Stan, better not not take out my non-favorite.
• Samantha Stosur [5] vs Kim Clijsters [2]
  Just like Sam’s previous match, this is tough to call. We all know what Sam can do but I feel like Kim can defend enough to weather Sam’s fire power and turn it into offense. Mmmm.. this has the makings of a tasty match.
• Rafael Nadal [1] vs Feliciano Lopez [23]
  Feli doesn’t mind the hard courts and will probably look to attack as much as he can. He also knows and thinks he can beat Rafa on the fast stuff. It’ll be a fun battle to watch. It’ll be funner after Rafa wins it. Or after Feli wins it. Honestly, I’m fine with either result.
• David Ferrer [10] vs Fernando Verdasco [8]
  I haven’t see Nando play much this tournament but I’ve read that he looked very good in his 3rd round match. Daveeed’s also been playing well, obviously, but I’d like to see Nando take this one. He needs another good run at a slam.

Complete Day 9 schedule here.

Image via Getty

US Open 2010: Day 7 wrap

Crazy day! My pick to win the men’s title, Andy Murray, was sent home in the third round by Stanislas Wawrinka. Some great matches on the women’s side; Venus Williams and Shahar Peer played a tight 2-setter and Elena Dementieva and Samantha Stosur played the best match on the women’s side so far this tournament.

After winning the first set in his match against Stan, Muzz played very passively and got very down on himself. Per usual. I don’t think anyone can explain why he does it but everyone can see that it needs to stop for him to be able to break through and win a slam.

Lena D and Sam played a great match where they both held and saved match points. This match started a little before 11pm and went late into the night, last call for alcohol late. Lena had 4 chances to win but was not able to convert any of them. Sam had 2 and won it on #2 in the 3rd set tiebreak after Lena sent a forehand long. Towards the end of the match, it was clear that Sam was mentally stronger and that got her the W.

Day 7 results:
Kim Clijsters [2] def. Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 6-1
Venus Williams [3] def. Shahar Peer [16] 7-6(3), 6-3
Samantha Stosur [5] def. Elena Dementieva [12] 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(2)
Francesca Schiavone [6] def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova [20] 6-3, 6-0

Image via Getty