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

And the trophy goes to…

Agnieszka Radwanksa defeated Julia Goerges in the finals of Dubai, 7-5, 6-4, to win her first title of the year. In four tournaments this year, Aga has only lost to Victoria Azarenka. In light of all the “real No. 1″ talk during the Wozniacki Era, does this make her the real No. 2?

Aga improves her career finals win-loss record to 8-2. Very Ninja-like of her to sneak in an 80% success in finals. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Juan Martin del Potro claimed his first ever indoor hardcourt title at the Open 13 tournament in Marseille. He defeated a crafty lefty, Michael Llodra, in the finals, 6-4, 6-4.

This title caps off a very successful two-week indoor run for Delpo. Last week, he was in the finals of Rotterdam where he lost to a man who hasn’t dropped an indoor hardcourt match since 2010, Roger Federer.

Sofia Arvidsson really likes Memphis. She won her second WTA Tour career title after defeating Marina Erakovic in the finals, 6-3, 6-4. Her first title also came at this tournament exactly 6 years ago and she was runner-up to Maria Sharapova in 2010. The WTA website has crowned her the Queen of Memphis.

It was also a sentimental win for Sofia and her team. Her sparring partner suffered a recent death in his family.

“I’m so happy, but sad also – my sparring partner had to go home earlier in the week because his godson was dying of cancer, and he died yesterday. When I was out there I thought this was just a tennis match, and I was quite relaxed.

“This is for him.”

Jurgen Melzer is the broken toe wonder. He defeated a red hot Milos Raonic in the Memphis finals, 7-5, 7-6(4), to win the title. Jojo has been playing on a broken toe all week and still notched wins over John Isner, Radek Stepanek and Raonic en route to the title.

With this run, Broken Toe rises 19 spots to No. 19 in the rankings. A few more good weeks and we could see him back in the Top 10.

Elsewhere

David Ferrer denied Nicolas Almagro a second straight title in Buenos Aires after he defeated the younger Spaniard, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. This is Daveed’s 13th career ATP World Tour title.

18-year-old Timea Babos won her first ever WTA Tour title in Monterrey. She defeated Alexandra Cadantu in the finals, 6-4, 6-4.

Images © AP Photo

Azarenka, Federer and Raonic stay perfect

KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images

Victoria Azarenka keeps her unbeaten streak going and wins her third title of 2012. She improved to 17-0 after defeating Samantha Stosur in the Doha finals.

Vika is handling her post-grand slam breakthrough differently from the last 3 winners. While the others floated around the Tour after their wins seemingly hungover from all the glory, she keeps going and winning like she’s been expecting all of this. And perhaps she has, it’s been a long time coming. I have to admit, it’s refreshing to see someone in the women’s game not crumble under pressure. If Vika can remain healthy, who knows how long she can keep at this.

KOEN SUYK/AFP/Getty Images

Roger Federer, not a stranger to streaks, is currently riding a 24-0 one on indoor hard courts. His last loss on this surface was November 2010 against Gael Monfils at the Bercy Indoors. Since then, he has won 5 titles including this week’s ABN Amro World Tennis in Rotterdam.

Roger scored an routine 6-1, 6-4 victory in the finals over a surging Juan Martin del Potro. A good win for the 30-year old following the disappointing Davis Cup loss to the United States. He won’t let us forget that he’s still got it.

AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

In his two appearances at the SAP Open, this year and last, Milos Raonic has yet to lose a set. That’s right, a set. At this weekend’s championship match, he defeated Denis Istomin, 7-6(3), 6-2, to claim his third career ATP World Tour title.

Milos played incredibly well to defend his title. His serve was on fire (I think it could really kill someone.) and his forehand is at it’s best ever. It’s a little scary to think that he still has a lot of room for improvement. I’m really excited to watch him grow and see how far he can take his talents. (Hopefully, not to South Be… hahaaaa haa ha.)

Elsewhere

Nicolas Almagro successfully defended his Brazil Open title. He defeated Filippo Volandri in the finals, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

19-year-old Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino won her first ever WTA Tour title at the XX Copa BBVA Colsanitas in Bogota. She is the youngest Spanish player to win a title since Anabel Medina Garrigues won Palermo in 2001.

Australian Open 2011: Day 8 wrap

Most of the top seeds survived Day 8 and are through to the quarterfinals. The only casualty was Robin Soderling. He was stunned by Alexandr Dolgopolov. Sod’s forehand left him after the first set and Dolgo refused to miss. All credit to Dolgo for not buckling under pressure and outplaying his opponent in the final set. I guess his defeat of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga a round ago was not a fluke. Whatevs.

Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal played incredibly well in their 4th round matches. I don’t want to look ahead but I’m so looking ahead to their semifinal. I think they’ll actually be able to finish their match this time. To the death!

Agnieszka Radwanska is in the quarterfinals! A few weeks ago she was still unsure if she’ll actually be able to compete at this major and now she’s made it to the final 8. Once a ninja, always a ninja. Even with surgically repaired parts.

Day 8 results:

Rafael Nadal [1] def Marin Cilic [15] 6-2, 6-4, 6-3
Alexandr Dolgopolov def Robin Soderling [4] 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
Andy Murray [5] def Jurgen Melzer [11] 6-3, 6-1, 6-1
David Ferrer [7] def. Milos Raonic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4

Image via AP

Australian Open 2011: A look ahead to Day 8

Day 8 will feature the last 8 matches that will round off the Elite 8 on each side. (What?) Remember, no guts, no glory.

• Jurgen Melzer [11] vs Andy Murray [5]
  Go Muzz!
• Rafael Nadal [1] vs Marin Cilic [15]
  I’m pretty confident that Rafa’s got this but I’m interested to see how he’s physically feeling.
• Ekaterina Makarova vs Kim Clijsters [3]
  E-Mak went under my radar after she beat Ana Ivanovic. Good to see she’s in the second week. Let’s see if she can make Kim work.
• Milos Raonic vs David Ferrer [7]
  I can’t help but root for the kid.
• Shuai Peng vs Agnieszka Radwanksa [12]
  Sorry, say what?!

Complete Day 8 schedule here.

Image via Australian Open / © Ben Solomon

Australian Open 2011: Day 6 wrap

You know what I like most about majors? There’s always a player that breaks through. Where else can they do it, right? It’s fun to get to know a new face a few times a year. At this Australian Open, most of us we’re introduced to Milos Raonic. He’s Canadian, 20 years old, ranked #152 and is in the second week of a major. He came through qualifying then defeated 22nd seed,  Michael Llodra, in the second round and 10th seed, Mikhail Youzhny, in the third to get to where he is now. Bravo, kid!

Alexandr Dolgopolov defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga which means there’s no way I’ll even like him in this lifetime. Jo played a very loose 4th set and it got away from him pretty quick. I was hoping he’d be able to bounce back in the fifth but he ate another breadstick instead. He looked like he had some hip/back issues, of course he would, but wouldn’t admit to that being the cause of the loss in his presser.

John Isner played his first 5-setter since that Wimbledon match but this time it was against a better ball striker, Marin Cilic. John couldn’t capitalize on his break opportunities converting only 1 of 11- he needs to work on that return of serve. He also looked tired out there to start the 5th but I thought that was just his thing. Plus, he played that Wimbledon match! Marin broke him in the last game to take it 9-7.

I’d talk about Samantha Stosur, Petra Kvitova, Rafael Nadal and Bernard Tomic but I only caught the first set of Day 6′s night session. So, head over here and here to read about them.

Before I go, you should know that Agnieszka Radwanska is still in the tournament. She has not dropped a set in the last two rounds. Ninja!

Notable Day 6 results:

Rafael Nadal [1] def Bernard Tomic 6-2, 7-5, 6-3
Marin Cilic [15] def John Isner [20] 4-6, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-6(2), 9-7
Alexandr Dolgopolov def Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
Milos Raonic def Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4

Petra Kvitova [25] def Samantha Stosur [5] 7-6(5), 6-3
Flavia Pennetta [22] def Shahar Peer [10] 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4
Iveta Benesova def Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova [16] 6-3, 1-6, 7-5
Ekaterina Makarova def Nadia Petrova [13] 6-2, 3-6, 8-6

Complete Day 6 results here.

Image via Getty Images/Mark Kolbe