THE LOW DOWN: Is it curtains for Mauresmo?

The end of the road: Amelie Mauresmo, who I think is on the fast train to retirementville, was interviewed by French sports paper L'Equipe recently and discussed the state of her game and whether it's time to call it quits on her tennis career. Speaking to the paper after her second round defeat in the Qatar Open this week, the former No. 1 said,

I want to keep on playing but at the same time I am wondering if it’s the right thing to do, [...] Just as soon as I get the feeling back that I am heading in the right direction, I get another heavy defeat like that. It’s been like that for the last few months. Obviously at some point that leaves you wondering whether it might be best just to pack it all in. [...] Obviously at some point that leaves you wondering whether it might be best just to pack it all in. But we are not quite there yet. For the moment I still want to keep trying.

Yes, of course she should keep trying but at the same time Amelie, who now sits at No. 22 in the rankings, needs to be realistic about her prospects. The 2-time Grand Slam champ was never a mental giant even during her best playing years, and those are most definitelty behind her now.

(image via wimbledon.org)

Donald Young hailed as next Federer by clueless writer

Ridiculousness: Rodney Hinds of the UK's The Voice may be writing about tennis, but he's surely not watching the game. In his recent article, Hinds leads with this stunning announcement:

RISING star Donald Young has been touted as the player to take over the mantle of Roger Federer.

Okay - I got it. The "mantle" he's referring to must be Donald's penchant for racquet throwing - just like a young Federer:



Mystery solved.

THE LOW DOWN: Nole gets political + wants the clothes stealing to stop!

No country for old men: Novak Djokovic is speaking out about the political unrest in his home country of Serbia, and even TIME magazine is taking notice. The Ausssie Open champ sent a videotaped message to his country, supporting a Serbian Kosovo and not the growing independence movement (in Serbian, translation below):

Hello to all of Serbia and all who are with us
This is the toughest of times in the history of Serbia
and I want to thank eveyone who has come here to this meeting
and to show the world that we are not small and weak,
that we are united and willing to defend what is ours
I am sad I can not be with you physically right now
and I want eveyone to know that my family and myself are with kosovo always
entire situation is very hard on me as entire history of serbian nation is stemming from kosovo
kosovo is serbian and shall remain so forever.

In other Nole news: Apparently, Team Djokovic is pissed that Nole's "official sports outfit" is being sold globally on certain websites. His website is featuring this image and the following message for the public and possible perpetrators:

In the last couple of months, the sale of Novak Djokovic’s official sports outfit has been wide spread through Online shops of certain internet sites.

We inform home and world public that the authorised seller of Novak’s outfit and other products is D.O.O. ‘Family Sport’ from Belgrade, and that in the following month, the Online shop of Novak’s official site will start selling them, too.

We point out that this kind of sales through unauthorised sites is offence, and legal proceedings will be instituted against perpetrators unless they stop this kind of illegal activity that directly violates rights of D.O.O. ‘Family Sport’, that doesn’t have authorised distributors.

Huh? I thought his "official sports outfit" was provided by adidas which is sold legally pretty much everywhere. Are they talking about the clothing in the image (which doesn't look very official to me) or the stank shirt from his Aussie Open run?

Confusion abounds!

(image via novak-djokovic.com)

The baller with the best 'brows in the business...jealous much?

I was stopped dead in my tracks after seeing these eye-catching 'brows during my daily perusal through the tennis image banks. I thought to myself, "Which baller owns these incredibly well-sculpted 'brows?" Why, none other than Fabio Fognini.

The Italian pushed Argentine head-case David Nalbandian to three tough sets at the Copa Telmex tourney in Buenos Aires, but lost 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-3.


That's okay Fabio - you may have lost the match but you def won my "Best 'Brows Award" for sure - and, no, I'm not jealous...really!

(images via Getty)

Shameless Self-Promotional Moment: Summer Olympian

Hey y'all!

I'm excited to say that I've begun blogging for a site dedicated to this summer's Beijing Olympics called Summer Olympian, part of the TFS Media Network. I'll be covering all things Olympics including the athletes, opening + closing ceremonies, individual events, socio-political issues, art & design, fashion, and, of course, tennis news leading up to and during the Summer Games.

Here are my latest Olympic tennis posts:

Federer and Sharapova Seeking First-time Olympic Glory

Justine Henin Wants Focus on Athletes, Not Politics

Former Top Ranked Tennis Doubles Team Back Together for Olympic

Here are my latest posts focusing on Olympic news:

Water Cube Makes Debut, Draws Praise

The Makings of a Beijing Olympics Medal Presenter

2008 Olympics Fashion Revealed!

Behind the Olympic Torch Design

New Starting Blocks Cause Concern for Swimmers

Olympics News: Around the Grounds

Enjoy!

Rich

FASHION FIX: Nadal gets the (Nike) blues

Change up: Our philanthropic friend, Rafael Nadal, is the top seed at this week's wordiest tourney: the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament 2008 (are all those words really necessary?) Anyways, the World No. 2 moved into the second round after defeating Russian Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-4 in their first-ever meeting. He'll take on Italian Andreas Seppi in the next round.

Now, if you recall I wrote in length about how much I disliked Rafa's Aussie Open Nike gear - something about 'roadkill'. But I'm def liking this version - it's still the Global Power Sleeveless top and Global 3/4 pant, but the shades of blue mixed with white + grey are much more appealing than the orange-red + grey disaster from earlier in the season. I'd still love to see a more interesting, innovative design on the shirt than the tire track mess, but all in all much better.

(images via Paul Gilham/Getty Images)

FASHION FIX: Qatar is cold! Break out the cool-weather tennis gear

Warming up: Though the tennis may be hot, the chilly temperatures at this week's Qatar Open in Doha are destroying any sense of style on our fave ballers, forcing the fashionistas to cover up their tennis duds (and bodies) with long-sleeved shirts and scary leggings.

In any case, Venus Williams + Maria "Shriek"apova got through to the third round, but Amelie Mauresmo continued her inevitable slide towards retirement with a 7-6(7), 7-5 loss to veteran qualifier Tamarine Tanasugarn.

(images via Getty)

THE LOW DOWN: Hewitt tired of media scrutiny, "I'm really a shy, down-to-earth lad, " says Lleyton

PR 911: Lleyton Hewitt is getting all sensitive on us now, and he wants us to know it. The Aussie hot-head spoke out recently against the constant media spotlight surrounding his family, including wife Bec and daughter Mia. The former No. 1 told The Times newspaper,

"We are on the front cover of a certain level of magazine every week, [...] The last story was `Bec's Breakdown', full of lies and made-up quotes, but then a lot of people believe it. It's hard to deal with it all, which is why I don't like having to leave them alone. Whatever people might think, I'm really a shy, down-to-earth lad who just likes being with my mates and whose favourite way of spending a weekend is a family barbecue."

Seriously - shy and down-to-earth? You're right, Lleyton, I can't imagine you spending a relaxing weekend BBQing with the fam. But that has nothing to do your belligerent attitude on and off the court or past racially-motivated remarks...nothing at all.

(images via AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

TENNIS mag's ill-fated attempt at relevancy, boots sports labels for fashion brands

Fat of the land: March is an important month for lifestyle mags - usually the major pubs ship out their "Spring Preview" issues, fat with fashion pages and, hopefully, advertisers with product to show and money to burn. The archaic TENNIS magazine makes sure it doesn't miss that boat and attempts to stay relevant with this editorial featuring major fashion labels Shipley & Halmos, Trovata, Marc by Marc Jacobs, and Band of Outsiders, Y-3, American Apparel, + Superga.

While the images are beautiful and the clothing stylish, where are the true sports labels? Is Marc Jacobs or Trovata, for that matter, advertising with the magazine?? It seems pretty ballsy for TENNIS magazine to completely ignore real sports brands in a feature editorial at a time when ad dollars are few and far between these days. Plus, who exactly does TENNIS mag think it's readers are when they feature this type of spread?

Biting the hand that feeds - now that's a great marketing strategy!

(via TSF, images courtesy of Williams + Hirakawa)

Quote of the Day: Roger Federer

"My goal is to play for as long as possible, hopefully until I'm 35."

- Roger Federer on his playing years

The rest of the ATP Tour says, "Shitballs..."

(image via rogerfederer.com)