PHOTO OP: Hingis, Kournikova, Wilander and Cash get their exo on at Arthur Ashe

Anna Kournikova, Martina Hingis, Mats Wilander and Pat Cash put on a doubles exhibition on Arthur Ashe Stadium last night ahead of the Rafael Nadal-Fernando Verdasco quarterfinal match won by the top seed 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

There was a lot of hardware on the court with Chucky, Mats and Pat combining for 13 major singles titles. As for Kourny, well, she was great at doubs back in the day, winning 2 majors with Chucky at the Aussie Open, and now is great at doing stuff like this:

Listen. It pays the bills. More images from last night's exo below...

[Photo(s): Getty Images]

Hayden hits Parisian red clay for Lacoste ad campaign

Star Wars actor and tennis freak Hayden Christiansen is starring in the new ad campaign for Lacoste's latest men's fragrance Lacoste Challenge which was shot at the Tennis Club de Paris near Roland Garros. Hayden was joined on-court by tennis legend Mats Wilander for the shoot.


The fragrance's bottle features a tennis racquet design while the cologne is colored yellow to represent a tennis ball.

Images of the bottle and another from the ad campaign below!



(image via Lacoste, kennethinthe212)

+ THURSDAY NETCORDS: Andy, Lleyton, James vs. Serena, Pete vs. Steffi...Team Andy criticized, Puma plays tennis and more

- Bargain basement: Dipping their toe into the tennis conversation that is equal pay for women, Sportingo asks: in their prime, who was the better bargain for tournament organizers: Steffi Graf or Pete Sampras? "Consider the following: Pete Sampras finished his career with 14 Grand Slams and Steffi Graf, his contemporary, with 22. She also has 107 titles to her name, 43 more than Sampras. Yet Sampras finished with double the prize money of Graf. The reason is simple; men get higher prize money than women. The question, however, is why?"

- James Blake and Serena Williams will headline the 5th annual Anthem LIVE! in Norfolk, Virginia, which supports cancer research. Mardy Fish and Tatiana Golovin will also be on hand to support the cause.

- The Brits are split on Andy Murray's decision to choose a team over a single coach to help build his career. The recently retired Tim Henman told The Herald, "Andy's made a decision he wants to go in a different direction, and, as your own boss, that's your prerogative. He's now going to assemble the people around him and hopefully move forward from there."

Fellow retiree Greg Rusedski, however, isn't so keen on the 20-year old's decision saying, "You need to have one coach leading the whole situation, like there was Gilbert before, [...] "It will be interesting to see who will be the main person in his camp because with all these personalities someone's got to put a programme together, whether it's a physical trainer, the mental side, and there has to be someone who oversees all those things, [...] I was a little surprised with the team of advisors route he went down, I thought he'd hire another top coach."

The Brits aren't the only ones with an opinion about Andy's decision, though. Former Wimbledon champion Michael Stich, backing Rusedski's position, thinks this decision might be based on something other than tennis saying, "...as someone who still needs to develop both his game and as a person I think it might not be helpful for Andy to have a big entourage. [...] I think it can be dangerous having a big entourage, but Andy has to find out himself. [...] He shouldn't start feeling too special about the fact that he might be able to hire five or six people, who cost a lot of money."

- Martina keeps moving: The legendary Martina Navratilova has signed on to be the new Health & Fitness Ambassador for AARP, the world’s largest advocacy organization for people over age 50, showing all of us that age is really just a number.

- Lleyton in waiting: Aussie hot-head Lleyton Hewitt is preparing for his full assault on his country's Grand Slam with a rigorous training regimen with coach Tony Roche. The former World No. 1 told Adelaide Now, "I'm hitting every day with Rochey for three hours, [...] I'd be spending about the same time in the gym each day. [...] By the time the Australian Open comes around, I'd be fitter than I ever have been going into it." Lleyton believes this could give him the edge he needs over the top players, including Roger Federer, saying "I'm going to be a lot fresher than Federer, [...] Even when you look at (Novak) Djokovic, (Rafael) Nadal ... (Nikolai) Davydenko were getting tired at the Masters Cup so I'm going to be a lot fresher than those guys but I've just got to try and get some matches under my belt."

- Shopping for a tennis fashionista this holiday season? Puma has just released the Lydia Holiday Tennis Bag in black-dazzling blue, made from eco-friendly materials and featuring a pocket for your 'racquet' - though this is more fashion than function, of course.

- Getting to know Davis Cup champion Andy Roddick. Most revealing moment: "Favorite TV Shows: 'Lost. My Name Is Earl. I love My Name Is Earl. Don't know if it's because I get the trailer park humor since my parents lived in one before they got married, but I think the show is hilarious.'"

- Sentimental for Seles: The Daily Forehand runs down their list of Monica Seles' top-5 clashes. No. 1? The classic battle between Seles and Graf in the 1992 French Open final.

- Mats Wilander, who recently worked with Tatiana Golovin before parting ways with the Frenchwoman has signed on to co-coach another Frenchie: headcase Paul-Henri Mathieu

(images via TED ALJIBE/AFP/Getty Images, puma.com)

Tatiana, Richard and French tennis

Frenchie World No. 19 Tatiana Golovin, of the Wimbledon red knicker fashion uproar this summer, has hooked up with 7-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander for coaching assistance. According to Tati, "He doesn't like the part of women's tennis where we hit as hard as we can and not really think out there...He's going to make me think more, see the court better and play more like a guy, which could be better." (images via Tennis Served Fresh)

Speaking of the French and Wimbledon, Richard Gasquet is still on Andy "A-Rod" Roddick's mind...I mean his devastating loss to the talented Gasquet in their epic quarterfinal earlier this month, that is. A-Rod, speaking from the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, said, "I don't know if I am over it...I was pretty down. It was of the most disappointing losses of my career because I felt I was playing well enough to have a shot." Though feeling down, he went on to say, "...the best therapy for me is just getting back out there and presenting myself with a new challenge."

With the US Open around the corner, this news certainly bodes well for the French particularly with rumors swirling that Amelie Mauresmo may withdraw from the final Grand Slam and the rest of the 2007 tennis season.