FASHION FIX: Fila offers tank + tee to benefit Japan's relief efforts

Here's the Fila tank top Kim Clijsters was wearing during last night's event to benefit Japan and its recovery. It's only available for purchase this weekend at Fila's shop at the Sony Ericsson Open. The women's tank retails for $28 while the men's t-shirt (not pictured) will run you $30. All proceeds from the sale of these items will benefit Japan's relief efforts.

So if you're lucky enough to be in Miami taking in some world class ball bashing at the SEO make sure to swing by the Fila store and check them out!

[Photo(s): Fila, Getty Images]

PHOTO OP: He's got wings!

The Falcon has landed.

Novak Djokovic and his latest, greatest hits made their hilarious entrance into the Sony Ericsson Open for their opening round match last night in Miami. The Serb donned the helmet and goggles from his recent HEAD masterpiece and carried his racquet in a hard shell case with a shout out to his sponsors Facebook page. You guys, I need a Nole in my life. Seriously.

 
He and a number of other ballers including his opponent Dennis Istomin also wore red t-shirts with Japanese flags to acknowledge the devastation in Japan; the ballers walked the stands to collect donations from fans for the relief efforts:

All told they raised $300,000 including contributions from the WTA women's tour, the ATP World Tour, the International Tennis Federation and the four Grand Slam tournaments.

Nole took to Twitter after crushing Isto 6-0, 6-1 (extending his winning streak to 19) saying, 

Had a loooot of fun tonight on the court. Especially coming in with suitcase,glasses,hat.. Hope you guys liked it too :-)) p.s. It worked !

I know I'm biased but the tennis community, led by Nole, deserve HUGE props for the attention and effort they continue to give towards the relief efforts in Japan including the football/soccer match and gala dinner. And like Rafole, a number of the top ballers recorded video messages of support to the stricken country (to be released shortly.)

Whenever there's a global crisis you just know the tennis world will come together and show support. Kudos.

More images from last night after the jump - click the head.

Yup, it's worse

Luke: "I don't believe it."

Yoda: "And that is why you fail."

The slow slide into insanity continued today for a befuddled Andy Murray in Miami as the Brit baller fell to American qualifier Alex Bogomolov, Jr. 6-1, 7-5 in his opening round match. He stumbled at the same hurdle last year as defending champ - not the record he was looking to match me thinks.

"Wait a minute. He's ranked WHAT?!?!"

The fifth-ranked Muzz has now gone 0-9 in sets dating back to the Australian Open finals - a worrying stat for someone of his quality particularly since his loss today and at Indian Wells (to Donald Young) were to ballers ranked outside the Top 100 (Donald was ranked 143rd; Alex is ranked 118th.) He's not even winning sets off these guys and almost ate a bagel in the first set today.

So what's going on here? 

Well, Muzz may have given a clue in his post-match presser today saying,

I was trying to get myself back into the match, trying to find ways. But I just didn’t have that spark.

Ah, yes. That "spark" as in that desire, will and belief perhaps to push through tough moments in matches and pull out the win when your game is faltering. Muzz seems burnt out from his own self-induced pressure. Sure, he feels it from the media and fans but he's his own worst enemy. A frenemy, if you will.

"Mine eyes are empty."

And let's not underestimate what that loss to Novak Djokovic in Oz did to him. As much as they talk publicly of being good friends after coming up together, they're fierce competitors at heart. I'm sure it was tough for Muzz to watch his boy grab a Grand Slam first but even worse to lose a third major final to him, too. Not cute. He's falling further behind quickly - as if he needed more pressure. 

Too bad Yoga isn't available for coaching. He'd smack some sense into Muzz (who's kinda reminding me of petulant Luke in that clip above) not to mention making him raise crazy shit with his super Scottish powers. Plus, he wouldn't look half bad in a headband and adidas track suit. Don't get it twisted, y'all.


[Photo(s): Clive Brunskill/Getty Images]

THE LOW DOWN: Former tennis pro reveals sexual abuse by doubles Hall of Famer

Now, here's a sad story that began circulating around the Internet yesterday.

Heather Crowe Conner, a former tennis pro who, according to a story in the Newburyport News, "played numerous times at Wimbledon and the US Open" broke her silence last week about a secret she had been keeping for the last 35 years: She had been molested and raped by her tennis coach for 15 years.

This tennis coach was not just any old pro at her local club or park, though. Conner reveals he was "a Hall of Fame tennis star widely considered 'the best doubles player in the world' and someone who had won 'many Grand Slam tournaments.'" The tennis pro, who was married at the time, became her traveling coach in 1975 when she was 14-years old. She recalls the abuse beginning shortly after they began working together and continued into her adult years. Although she managed to have a successful tennis career for several years she believed it was "directly linked to her 'special' relationship with this man."

Last year, she took an extended medical leave of absence from her teaching position to undergo intensive therapy to deal with the abuse and its effects on her life.  Conner made attempts to file criminal charges but the statute of limitations on the alleged abuse had expired and her abuser would need to be extradited from South Africa where he currently resides. Nevertheless, she has continued to work on healing herself and according to the article believes "speaking publicly about her experience is a step in her healing process." Let's hope, though the road to recovery will be long no doubt.

So, let's face the elephant in the room: Who's the person Conner has accused of the abuse? She doesn't say, of course, but there are enough clues in the article to go on including 36, his age in 1975 when they first met - he'd be either 71 or 72 now; he's a Hall of Famer and multiple Grand Slam winner in doubles; he was married at the time and now resides in South Africa.

Here's a list of Hall of Famers from the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum website. I think if you do some quick research you could probably figure it out.

[Photo(s): NewburyPortNews.com, Bryan Eaton staff photographer]

FASHION FIX: Sharapova makes a "Statement" in her return to Miami

I'm not kidding when I say this: Her arm in that top right shot looks as long as my leg. Good GAWD woman.

Anyway, Maria Sharapova played her first match at the Sony Ericsson Open in three years last night defeating Croat Petra Martic 6-3, 6-2 in 66 minutes. The 3-time Grand Slammer had missed the tourney due to injuries but was thrilled to be back:

It has been way too long. This is one of my favorite events. It's crazy I've missed it this many years. I'm just so happy to be back. I love playing in front of this crowd, they're so enthusiastic. They love their sports and have that Latin flavor. It's fun.

Smart girl. She loves the chorizo, too.

Shrieka also busted out a new Nike dress for her return to Miami: the Maria Sharapova Cross Court Statement Dress ($110) in chlorine blue, copa and bronze. It features a side split hem for increased ventilation, Nike's Dri-FIT technology to help wick away sweat keeping those who wear it comfortable and bronze screen printing on the front and back for texture and contrast:

I'm liking this chlorine blue color on Shrieka. It works well against her fair complexion and softens her up a bit. However, the best part about this dress is the simplicity of the design. There's nothing tricky or complicated in the execution like we've witnessed in her more recent attempts - just a tank dress with a beautiful racer back. The tonal color palette is also a nice change from the color blocking they were using previously. It's a bit ironic they've named it the "Statement" dress when really it's the subtlety that makes it work well.

In any case, let's hope her game and not her fashion starts doing the talking. And soon, please.

[Photo(s): Getty Images]

Anything you can say, I can say better. Love, RF.

"Maybe she missed the London World Tour Finals. Maybe she was somewhere else climbing Kilimanjaro."

Ba-dum-bum-CHA!

That would be none other than Roger Federer cracking funnies (sorta) and responding to the comments made by Martina Navrativlova recently about his chances of regaining the top spot in the world rankings.

While speaking to the media at the launch of the Liverpool International Tennis tourney, the 18-time Grand Slammer made her thoughts known on the state of the Swiss' game and whether he could regain the top spot ever again:

"Roger is on the other side of the float, I don't think he'll ever play as well as he did three or four years ago - that's not to say he can't still win a slam, but it's difficult to see him climbing back to number one.


"Nadal is dominating and Djokovic's confidence is off the chart. Roger has lost three matches (this season) to Djokovic and lost to him at US Open last year as well, it will get under his skin." 

Maybe Andy Roddick was talking to you, Martina. But seriously, if anyone understands what it is like to be where Fed is right now it would be a legend, a former No. 1 with 18 Grand Slams under her belt. I think she has a pretty good idea of how a champion tennis career begins, evolves to the glorious middle and ends in high praise and a Hall of Fame refrigerator magnet (or something else meaningful.)

She also has a pretty good idea of how difficult it is to get back to the top once you've been knocked down a few pegs by some hungry (and sexy, if I may say so - and I did) younglings with more stamina and strength than you can or care to muster up anymore. AND. She knows how difficult it is to not only to admit this obvious truth in public (perish that thought) but also to the champion's own mind: age is not your friend in tennis. It's the natural order, and at some point the end begins.

But, understandably, if said champ is currently playing at an elite level and challenging for tourney titles and majors then why would he want to admit any of this to anyone especially himself? I doubt Martina did.

[Photo(s): Getty Images]

PHOTO OP: ATP ballers hit the pitch for Japan

Some of the top ballers on the ATP World Tour came together for a friendly football/soccer match at the Ranson Everglades School in Miami to raise funds for the relief efforts in Japan. The tennis All Stars were defeated by the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 4-2 in the 40 minute charity match.

Novak Djokovic was captain of the team that included Kei Nishikori, Feliciano Lopez, Juan Monaco, Richard Gasquet, Viktor Troicki, Andy Murray, Marcos Baghdatis, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jurgen Melzer. Baghs scored first and was voted MVP while Muzz scored the other goal in the match.

Alexandr Dolgopolov, Potito Starace, Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, David Marrero, Fernando Verdasco, Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer were on hand as alternates.

Afterward, the ballers headed out to the gala dinner which raised $10,000 for the relief efforts. Craig Hickman, who writes Craig Hickman's Tennis Blog, has been providing coverage for Tennis Panorama and was on site for the event. He provided some great commentary, photos and videos (more to come.) Check out their Twitter timeline @GVTennisNews for last night's updates and for further Sony Ericsson Open coverage. It's been awesome!

If you'd like to contribute to the relief efforts visit the Red Cross website.

More images from last night's match below and after the jump - click the head.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Andy Roddick

Anyone who wants to criticize Roger for the way he's playing tennis right now better be very, very good at his job.

- Andy Roddick at his Sony Ericsson Open presser today

Was he talking about you, Bodo?

[Photo(s): Jeff Gross/Getty Images]

SIGHTING: Brooklyn Decker's new 'do

Tennis WAG Brooklyn Decker was spotted in Miami with a new shaggy bob courtesy of celebrity stylist Ted Gibson. The model/actress is in town to cheer on hubby Andy Roddick during the defense of his Sony Ericsson Open title.

Love. It. Oh yeah, I asked out loud what A-Rod thought of his wife's new 'do over Twitter. I'll get back to you when he gets back to me. *wishful tweeting*

Two more images of Brooklyn after the jump - click the head.

PHOTO OP: SEO Baller Party blue carpet lady looks (with Boy Bonus!)

Follow my updates on Twitter @RawUncutTennis and Facebook here.

 Try saying that 10 times quickly...

The Sony Ericsson Baller Party - one of the biggest events of the year - happened last night at the Paris Theater in Miami Beach and, as usual, there were some hits and some "WTFs?!" on the blue carpet. Let's take a look!

Maria Sharapova: Shrieka looks like she's going out to a luncheon with the ladies and not hitting up a major party scene. Must be the engagement. The multi-striped top style with sheer panels and the strappy heels are working for me but the color washes her out. Even her hair and makeup seem too casual.

Caroline Wozniacki: I'm having déjà vu. I swear I've seen this dress before - not necessarily on her but on some other lady baller. In any case, the ocean/seaside-inspired print is fitting for Miami Beach and the colors fit her personality. I oppose the shoes.

 

Jelena Jankovic: There seem to be two separate outfits going on here - a floral moment on top paired with packing tape on bottom. That being said, this outfit shows off her fierce body nicely. Mladjan be very happy.

Venus Williams: So happy to see her! That is all.

More lady ballers and their outfits after the jump - click the head.