Whine & Cheese

Whither Federer?

Wimbledon starts on Monday.  It's usually quite safe to pencil in - or heck put in permanent marker - Roger Federer as the champ... but this year, as Fed goes for his 6th straight title, things seem a bit different.

In previous years as Wimby rolls around, Roger usually has the Australian Open under his belt along with a handful of other titles... this year, just two small tournament wins (the 2nd only last week, keeping alive his 50+ match win streak on grass)... and while his loss to Rafa Nadal in the French Open final a few weeks ago was no surprise... but that it was his worst loss at a Slam, only managing to take 4 games off the Spaniard, was.

The smack talk has already started -- most predictably from cocky Serb, the #3-ranked and current Aussie Open champ, Novak Djokovic who said this week: “Some things are changing. I think he’s a little bit shaken with that loss (at the French) and mentally he has been struggling in the last couple of months. New names are coming, fresh talented players who believe more they can win against him and I am one of them. Suddenly he is worried a little bit.”  Djokovic will get his chance - with the Wimbledon draw just out - the two could meet in the semis... with Nadal looming on the other side of the draw.

Talk of a Federer Wimbledon demise even came off the lips of Bjorn Borg who says Federer is only the third favorite to win the title this year... preferring Djokovic and Nadal.  And if that wasn't a enough of a punch in the stomach, went on further to say he wouldn't be surprised if 26-year old Federer retired from tennis next year!  Yikes!

Federer can take some comfort from words coming from the current all-time Grand Slam champ, Pete Sampras, who still believes that the 12-time Slam champ will beat his record of 14.   Sampras said he would like to be there when he does...adding his hopes that he does it in London or New York and doesn't have to make the long trip down to Melbourne.  Reading between the lines, it appears Pete doesn't have much confidence that Roger will be able to accomplish something Pete never did - win at Roland Garros.

What do I think?  I wouldn't be surprised if Federer wins... or loses.  After the French, I suggested that Nadal could win Wimbledon... he has always been in Federer's head, but has to have gained even more  confidence from the French shallacking... plus having come pretty darn close in last year's Wimby final... and having won his first grass tournament last week (taking out Andy Roddick and Djokovic along the way) certainly did nothing to change my mind.

However, all this talk could only serve to motivate Federer... and just stepping on the grass has to give him confidence.  Perhaps, he only needs to be inspired by his buddy and closest peer in the world of sports peer, Tiger Woods, who pretty much did the impossible - winning the U.S. Open last week on a bum knee and a broken leg.  The difference though is that Tiger's mental strength ultimately triumphed over his physical... and one has to wonder if Roger can do the reverse... fascinating tennis days ahead!

The ATP Tour Wants You To... Feel It

The men's tennis tour announced it's new "Feel It" campaign today.

I sense my mind is making "it" into something much more literal than "it" is intended to be...

But they are certainly helping by going on about Nadal and Federer in "a one-on-one gladiatorial battle, full of intensity and passion" ... like I need that image dancing around in my head?!   

I bet it's hot and sweaty too?!?  And Rafa grunting and...

Oh, are you still here?  For more info about the campaign, go here.

Czech It Out

This past tennis weekend it was Davis Cup.  For my non-tennis fan readers choosing to read on, this is best-of-five match national "team" competition that occurs several times a year amongst professional male tennis players (the women's equivalent is called Fed(eration) Cup). I won't bore you with too many further details... and just get to the pictures.

Due to clothing contracts, more often than not the players are not particularly coordinated with each ohter or  wear anything particularly special... usually it's just their country's name tacked onto their backs in "kick me" style.

However, the Switzerland-Czech Republic "tie" caught my eye with quite patriotic attire.

If you're Roger Federer, your clothing company tends to whip up something for you.

Above, Rog is nattily attired in the Swiss colors... right down to his feet (of course!).  My only quibble was no red swooshes on his socks.

While de rigueur for Fed, his ensemble was a yawn inducing compared to what some of his Czech opponents were wearing...   

Here Radek Stepanek models what has to be one of the most creative (and goofiest) tennis ensembles I have ever seen.  I'm guessing Roger would have vetoed this one had Nike presented him with something comparable. 

If you are not familiar the flag of what happens to be my ancestral homeland, here's the Czech cheering session:

Alas it was no laughing matter as the Czechs defeated the Swiss team 3-2.  Federer predictably won both of his singles matches, but couldn't eke out the win in doubles. 

Back In Black

It's past 8 a.m. local time and shockingly enough I am not experiencing any serious withdrawal symptoms with no U.S. Open tennis coverage to watch... yet!   

During these past two weeks, I watched an unusually high amount of tennis... even more than normal (which is really saying something)... work has been slow and in combination with my head cold (still lingering 7+ days later)... vegetating in front the TV proved to be a quite desirable behavior... or the only valid activity that required some state of consciousness.

Anyhow, yesterday afternoon was the men's final between Roger Federer and Serbia's Novak Djokovic... and Fed's all-black attire was contagious...

Tennis legend, Guillermo Vilas, was on hand for the coin toss... and prior to that, black headband and all, Liza Minnelli belted out God Bless America (why not New York, New York!?!)... starting out quite traditionally before launching into a Vaudeville-ish, Mr. Bojangles finale.

And life was indeed a cabaret for Fed as he, in his 10th consecutive Grand Slam final appearance...  won his 12th Grand Slam title (now just two shy of Sampras' all-time record)... his 4th U.S. Open title... which also made it the 4th time he has won the Wimbledon-U.S. Open double... and the 3rd time he has won 3 of the 4 Slams in one year.

In this Federer cabaret, yesterday's "old chum" was the 20-year old Djokovic... who seemed so close to making it a real match (though I am starting to suspect it is just part of Fed's "strategy" to tease opponents with break and set points).   But the talented Serb proved he's a solid #3 in the rankings and won over fans with a sparkling personality... an anecdote to the Federer's icy demeanor... having the flashiness of Nadal, but without all that seriousness.

You even had to love the Djokovic support box...

For Saturday's semifinal match they color-coordinated by row to form the Serbian flag (above left) and for the final they all donned the same Adidas shirt Djokovic wore during the match (above right)... the only exceptions being Maria "we're just (wink) friends" Sharapova (upper left corner)... and no that's not Djokovic's grandpa dressed in grey in the front row... but Robert DeNiro.  The story goes Djokovic & Co. accidentally met up and DeNiro invited the Serbs over to his Japanese restaurant.

And these pix just in... Roger's "on the town" pix in Times Square this morning.

I guess when you start hanging out with fashion designers and the editor of Vogue, it's no more t-shirt and jeans when it comes to these photo shoots.

The Man In Black

You know I love the guy, but it's turning into "Bash Roger Week" here at W&C!

It was Federer the Fashionista debuting an all-black ensemble for his first night match of the 2007 U.S. Open.

Pictured above is Oscar de la Renta chatting with Roger's girlfriend/manager, Mirka... while Vogue editor Anna Wintour is likely annoying the people by following cell-phone non-etiquette... informing the call-ee she is at the U.S. Open watching Roger Federer. 

But what were these fashion icons really thinking?!?

Roger was almost downright giddy about it... noting the black satin stripes down the sides of the shorts were "a little bit of the tuxedo look, it's something special."

Having recently caught The Devil Wears Prada on HBO, we found ourselves in a fairly dismissive "fashion" spirit.

The phrase "a bit silly" I am sure was uttered, along with "the only proper place to wear black socks and shorts is at a  retirement village."

...in the immortal words of Devil's Miranda Priestley (inspired by Wintour herself -- allegedly!)...

That's all.

Ok, So He's Not Perfect

Last night at the U.S. Open, the late Althea Gibson was inducted into Court of Champions on the ground.  50 years ago, Gibson was the first African-American, male or female, to win the U.S. Nationals.  The night featured a parade of African-American female "firsts."  Gibson is often thought of as "the female Jackie Robinson" (his widow was also in attendance), breaking tennis' color barrier just three years after Robinson did it in baseball in 1947.  After the tribute capped off by Aretha Franklin belting out "Respect"... it was a rare all-female nighttime double-header as Venus and Serena Williams played (and won) their first round matches.

As Roger Federer continues to re-write the record books (this week's record-breaker: passing Steffi Graf's longest consecutive streak at #1 -- 187 weeks), he has come across as a historian of the game... but perhaps, his knowledge is limited to the records he has broken or plans to break.  Check out this exchange in his post-first round match press interview on Monday.

Q. What do you know about Althea Gibson?
ROGER FEDERER: I don't know. You're putting me on the spot. I don't know what you're talking about.

Q. She's being honored tonight.
ROGER FEDERER: Nothing, to be honest. It's before my time. Isn't much I can really say about it. I don't know, I'm sorry.

Now, I'm willing to cut Roger a little slack.  To say the Gibson tribute was overdue is an understatement.  In its 5th year of existence, Gibson becomes the 15th inductee into the Court of Champions.  Last night's ceremony also marked the 10th anniversary of the dedication of Arthur Ashe Stadium.  While not knocking Ashe's status as one of the sport's most beloved figure and the first African-American male to win a Grand Slam and the U.S. Open, Gibson pre-dated him by over a decade... and prior to the civil rights movement.

So while I don't think Gibson's story is out there/known as much as it should be in this country (heck, before last night I admit to not knowing much beyond the very basics) let alone Europe and beyond, I still would have thought that Federer could (or would) have danced around this one a bit better.

Frothy Federer

Todd becomes a tennis widower The U.S. Open starts Monday... while 127 out of 128 chances seem like pretty darn good odds... if you are gambling on the men's field this year, my guess is that you would make more $$$ placing a bet on "the field" rather than Roger Federer.

A cyber hat-tip to Kenneth for alerting me to Roger's "ambassador" status with Jura-Capresso, a Swiss company that makes "the finest super automatic coffee and espresso centers." 

Here are the four tennis-themed print campaigns (available for closer inspection here).

Now, Kenneth thought it a bit ridiculous the image of Roger serving up a couple of cappuccinos...

... but I will shamelessly admit to finding the ads to be quite dreamy... ok, even sexy.

Now what this says about me... fantasizing about Roger Federer and premium coffee beverages (not necessarily in that order)... that I will leave up to you, my dear readers.    

Bending Over For Beckham

The post title is a bit misleading... as a gay man, I am well aware I am supposed to be in a perpetual state of tizzy over David Beckham.  While I can admire his bod (that is, what I can see of it through the tatts)... as one of his fellow countryman once wrote, for me, it's much ado about nothing.

While I am fully aware that tennis is on the D-list of the sports world, this magazine cover still got my goat...

It couldn't wait another week?  I guess the country's premier sports magazine can't be outdone by W Magazine... though this is some serious journalism... Becks is fully clothed and Posh is no where to be seen (well, at least on the cover).   I guess I shouldn't be too upset... if you look really close... up in the corners are this year's Wimbledon champs.   

Roger Federer continued his charge into the tennis history books with a 5th consecutive Wimbledon title. It was one of those seemingly unbreakable records, accomplished just once in Open era by Bjorn Borg nearly 30 years ago... and he did it in a thrilling five-set match he probably should not have won vs. his nemesis, Rafael Nadal.  In an article I read this past week comparing Roger and his new BFF Tiger Woods, it mentioned that Roger has never made the SI cover... not sure if this corner shot "counts"... but that just seems so wrong.

Venus Williams captured her 4th Wimbledon crown. Despite her history at the All England Club, it was yet another unlikely title. Riddled with injuries and lack of match play, she became the lowest ranked woman to win (outdoing her previous "record" of being the lowest ranked player with her 2005 title).

Back in 1993, SI published an infamous cover story "Is Tennis Dying?" ... is it a question worth asking again in 2007... or not. 

If Roger and Venus get pushed aside for a pretty-boy Brit, getting paid an insane amount of money to play soccer (no less, in America!??!?!)... who will likely find his (and his wife's) picture more on the cover of tabloid magazines than the sports page as they host backyard BBQs with their neighbors, and fellow scientologists, Tom and Katie... well, some 14 years later after posing that ominous question, this cover may just be tennis' unofficial obituary.

But, as usual, tennis will get its due here at W&C.  Here are some shots of Roger and Venus looking all snazzy at this year's Wimbledon Ball.

Nadal Wins Dual Duel

Just a few more pictures from the half-grass, half-clay court match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal that took place earlier today on the Nadal's home island of Mallorca, Spain.

If I didn't know that this was really real, I would swear the below picture was just a cut-and-paste Photoshop job...  and a not very good one at that... haha.

The players did switch sides and surfaces as they would in a normal tennis match... but the changeovers also entailed a change of shoes... the pros have different footwear for grass and clay.

Nadal took the victory 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10-8)... so it was a thriller of a match... or cynically, the players were nice enough to justify the expense and their paychecks (as mentioned in yesterday's post, these matches don't count for or against them... so, often times, the scoreline is quite competitive looking).

Here's a full article about the match: Nadal beats Federer on half-clay, half-grass court

Grass or Clay?

I don't know if this is silly or cool... ok, it's both.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you... it's a tennis court that is half grass, half clay... and the site of a big exhibition match (translation: big paychecks and doesn't "count") tomorrow.

Any guesses who's playing?

Who better than the man who is currently on a 48-match, 4 year win streak on grass vs. the man who is currently on a 72-match, 2+ year win streak on clay?!

Yes, it's Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal.

The court took 19 days to create at a cost of [cough, cough] $1.63 million... yikes!

So it should be interesting and fun... Nadal will certainly have the crowd advantage since the match is taking place on his home turf/dirt of Mallorca, Spain.

Roger gets to play on some cool and extreme tennis courts, that's for sure!

UPDATE: Here are some pre-match promo pics... the guys are looking good

Ah... only to have a nice head of hair... and a tan... and be 20-something... and be rich... and...