9 posts categorized "September 2011"
 The best players in the world are masters of multiple surfaces, and now Wilson is hoping to make you an all-court player with its newest shoe, the Tour Ikon. The brand bills it as "the first shoe designed for a high level of performance on both hard and clay court surfaces."
Surface-specific shoes are so common these days that frequent players find their racquet bags bloated to suitcase-sized proportions. There's hard-court shoes, clay-court shoes, and even running shoes or cross-trainers for off-court workouts. Players looking for a single shoe to carry them from punishing asphalt to slippery clay have an option in the Tour Ikon, which sells for $120 and arrives in retail stores in January.
The Tour Ikon incorporates a multi-directional herringbone outsole for traction on hard- and clay-court surfaces with Wilson's Reactive Gel Insert, supplying stability, cushioning and energy return for stress points in the big toe, forefoot and heel areas. The herringbone outsole brings gripping bite to hard court but won't chew up clay courts.
 The shoe is built lower to the ground to enhance both maneuverability and stability—whether you need to slide into a shot on clay or come to a quick stop and change direction on a hard court, the Tour Ikon is designed to accommodate the varied challenges your feet face. Elevated forefoot side walls, added Duratex toe drag support and seamless uppers are constructed to increase ventilation and endurance while decreasing the bulk and weight of the shoe.
Addressing concerns about the wear and tear multiple surface play can pose, Wilson backs the shoe with a six-month Duralast Supreme outsole guarantee.
The men's Tour Ikon is available in a traditional white with black accents, as well as a more aggressive silver, red and black. The shoe, which weighs 13.6 oz., comes in sizes 7-13 and 14. The women's Tour Ikon, which weighs 11.5 oz., comes in two cosmetics: white, silver and pink; and white and blue. Women's sizes are 5.5-10 and 11.
The Tour Ikon headlines Wilson's Spring 2012 footwear collection and will be worn by brand ambassadors including Philipp Kohlschreiber. Québec City champion Barbora Zahlavova Strycova and Melanie Oudin, who won the 2011 U.S. Open mixed doubles title with compatriot Jack Sox, also wear Wilson apparel and footwear.
The brand's 2012 footwear collection also features the Tour Vision II ($110) offering a more aggressive look, the Tour Spin II ($100), the Tour Construkt ($90), the Trance Vision II ($120) and the Pro Staff Classic Supreme ($80), which brings a new style to a familiar shoe in combining a performance-inspired outsole and midsole with a suede upper.
 Martina Hingis' creative court sense, flair for finesse and ability to create absurd angles were elements of the distinctive style that made her the youngest world No. 1 in tennis history. These days, the 31-year-old Swiss is designing a stylistic return to the sport with a new partner.
Hingis has teamed with Canadian design house Tonic Lifestyle Apparel to create Tonic Tennis by Martina Hingis, a high-end line of women's tennis apparel. The inaugural collection will debut in March 2012.
"The range of the line is going to be small, but very high quality—that's important to us," says Hingis, who wore Tonic in the Wimbledon doubles exhibition. "When you go out to play tennis, you want to feel nice. You want to feel like a woman and know that your clothes won't let you down. What's so great about this line is its versatility and comfort."
The five-time Grand Slam champion danced into design. While preparing for the British edition of “Dancing With the Stars”, Hingis was window-shopping in London when she discovered the Vancouver-based brand’s yoga clothes. She bought a few pieces for dance rehearsals, contacted Tonic and eventually began a long-distance collaboration with head designer Jenny Grad.
“This isn’t a name-only athletic endorsement; Martina is behind this line 100 percent," says Aleksa Havelaar, Tonic's business development executive. "We’re a yoga-specific brand and yoga is pretty low impact. Martina offered amazing insight into how the body moves in a match, what needs to be supported and how the clothing should fit. That was invaluable."
Hingis wore a few pieces from the new line last July while playing World TeamTennis. The 2012 line, which incorporates Merino wool and supplex fabrics, includes tennis dresses, tank tops and skirts, compression shorts and a warm-up suit. Prices have not yet been set; the brand expects the collection to sell “at premium price points comparable to some of the Stella McCartney apparel prices."
Though she spends some of her spare time pursuing her passion for horseback riding (Hingis married French show jumper Thibault Hutin last December), ask Hingis her most satisfying post WTA-experience and she replies, "playing tennis." And she does so with the chuckle of someone who still enjoys the game she made look like child’s play in a historic 1997 season, during which she registered a 75-5 record and won three of the four majors.
"What I miss is probably the winning moments—when you hold up the trophy and you know you are the best in the world and a Grand Slam champion. That is probably the moment an athlete is most happy," Hingis says. "You miss that, but you know that getting to that point takes a lot of years, a lot of hard work, a lot of practice. It doesn't come from heaven. You never forget how much work, how much pain, you go through to get there."
Hingis answered some more of our questions for this latest edition of Gear Talk.
TENNIS.com: Novak Djokovic's year is reminiscent of your amazing 1997 season. When you look at Djokovic’s season, do you see any similarities? How did you feel on court when you were on that run?
Martina Hingis: You feel invincible. You go on court and basically you don’t have a single thought that you will leave the court as a loser—it’s not gonna happen. In your mind, you won’t lose. You play very free and everything seems to go your way. You even get lucky at times because you’re so confident on the court. You find yourself riding this wave where you feel you can do exactly what you want to do on court. It’s amazing and amazing to see Novak doing it. I watch him and it’s like “Wow!”
I can feel a little bit of how he must be feeling but it doesn’t happen that many times in history that a player plays to the level Novak is playing right now. I mean, Roger was there doing it for a while as well, but what we’re seeing now is obviously very, very rare in history. If you’re patient enough and confident enough then eventually you wait for the time when you can go for the winner. That was probably Djokovic’s weakness in the past—that he did not have the patience all the time. He learned that over the course of time, and that’s one reason why he’s having so much success right now: he learned to be patient and you have to give him credit.
TENNIS.com: Monica Seles told me you were the best player she ever faced in thinking and playing one or two shots ahead. How much of that do you think was instinct—that you were blessed with a high tennis IQ—and how much of that was your ability to analyze opponents and break down tendencies?
Martina Hingis: I think once you know your opponent there are certain trademark shots that you know they like to hit and there are certain shots that you know they don’t like to hit. So you have to try to figure out what those shots are and then try to make your strategy off of that. You know once they’re comfortable or once they’re in danger what their best shot is, and what shot they are most likely to hit in that situation. And once you know that, then you know their tendencies—that’s what they’re gonna do. So I think it’s knowing your opponent, but also having anticipation and being able to apply all that into a strategy.
The bottom line is it’s like chess—it’s about making the right move at the right time. And you know what the high-percentage shots are and what shots they are most likely to hit. Today, that has likely changed because they take such high risk on their shots now that before nobody would do.
 TENNIS.com: Of all your rivals, who was your toughest and who did you like most like to play? Who brought out the best in you?
Martina Hingis: I liked playing Venus. I think it always brought out the best in both of us. Serena is one of the only top rivals of my time that I don’t have a winning record against. [Serena leads 7-6 in their head to head.] We had some great matches. Lindsay is another one where I started off pretty well against her and then she started beating up on me—she’s four years older than me—(laughs) and then it got kind of even at the end. I would say the toughest rivals for me were players who had big serves and could hit winning shots off the first ball. Those were the type of players I can honestly say I really don’t like facing. You have to be 100 percent at all times to deal with those kind of players.
TENNIS.com: You were a player who showed your emotion on court: whether you were happy, nervous, angry or frustrated, you showed it and shared the emotion with fans. What role did emotion play in your game and did being emotionally expressive hinder or help you?
Martina Hingis: Well, I was very emotional and I laughed on court because I loved playing. Tennis can test you on a lot of levels and you can get very emotional about it out there. As a competitor, obviously you hate losing and you do anything and everything you possibly can to walk off the court as a winner. Yeah, I got emotional. When I was winning I was happy and when I wasn’t winning I wasn’t happy. And I was showing that on the court. Maybe at times, I was showing it too much (laughs). But I think that’s what people liked about me: that I showed you how I felt. Today, when you see all of these same, steady faces, I think it’s almost boring (laughs).
TENNIS.com: Young players like Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska have cited you as an influence on them. When you look at the top young players, including Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka, whose game excites you most and who's best built for long-term success?
Martina Hingis: Oh definitely Kvitova. I love her game. She reminds me a little bit of Petr Korda as a lefty; the same fluid strokes like him. Even if she is in danger, Kvitova can still come out with great shots because she knows what she’s doing. It’s exciting to me to see someone so young with such a knowledge of the game. I miss that in today’s game in a lot of the girls.
TENNIS.com: Throughout your career, you always played with a Yonex racquet. How has your equipment and string changed over the years?
Martina Hingis: My mom would string my racquets and she’d string five or six racquets every match. That was gut only. Now, I do a mix of both. I still feel the need for control so I use the Luxilon mixed with gut, which gives me the feel and control. The control is very important to me as is my health as well. And I don’t want to have a shoulder or arm problem—you know I need my arm! (laughs).
 The colorful court, surrounding signage and bustling crowds eager to see a tennis spectacle can make Arthur Ashe Stadium seem like the Times Square of the sport.
Everything looks larger than life in the Crossroads of the World, and the U.S. Open served as a reminder that no matter how big you hit the ball, footwork is the E-ZPass that enables elite players to navigate through Grand Slam gridlock.
Even if fast footwork isn't your forte, you can create flashy footwear and customize your kicks to suit your surface of choice, style of play and preferred fit.
For the first time, Nike has brought performance customization to tennis with the Nike Zoom Breathe 2K11 tennis shoe available on Nike iD. Juan Martin del Potro and Thomas Berdych both wore individually customized models of the shoes at the U.S. Open. The 2009 champion created yellow, black and white shoes with the trademark swoosh in black, matching black laces and his nickname "Delpo" emblazoned across the heel.
This isn't the first time a major brand has offered players the prospect of personalizing their shoes. During her Cinderella run to the 2009 U.S. Open quarterfinals, Melanie Oudin's glass slipper of choice was a pair of multi-colored adidas Barricades with the word "Believe" inscribed on the side of the shoes.
Nike now offers customized creative control by enabling you to choose the outsole to suit your surface—
hard court, grass or clay—with the appropriate traction pattern. It's a choice Nike says is exclusive to North America. We built our own pair of custom Nikes and found creating a shoe is a quick, nine-step, process enabling you to point and click several areas of the shoe and pick performance options and style and color choices.
Performance options include preferred outsole, base and tongue—the "standard" tongue gives a more traditional fit, allowing your feet to move a bit; the "bootie" tongue is fully connected to the shoe, won't slide and offers a "glove-like fit"—and toe-drag protection. You also select one or two layers of DragOn protection: if you're a punishing player whose shoes get more beat up than a Mini Cooper in a demolition derby, you'd be best served choosing two for increased durability; if your feet sweat and breathability is a priority, select one layer.
 One of the coolest aspects of NikeiD is the ease with which you can construct the shoe, the multiple views the design tool offers—allowing you to see your vision and revision from multiple angles—and the wide range of color cosmetics you can apply. The palette ranges the color spectrum, including yellow, orange, pink, red, two shades of blue, purple, green, silver, fog and black. Colors can be applied to the mid sole and frame, heel, the swoosh, lining and shoelaces. You can go bright and bold, dark and dynamic, and everything in between. During the design process, you can stop and save and share your design with friends via email or Facebook, then revise according to their suggestions.
We selected the blue-and-orange color scheme as a show of support to our beloved, long-suffering New York Mets, and resisted the urge to opt for orange shoelaces primarily because some associate brightly colored laces with cheerleaders and oompa loompas.
The last step is adding a unique iD to the heels: you can choose up to six letters, numbers or symbols per heel ("Tennis.com", "Happy Hour" and "Cheer Up", were under considerations) or you can select the traditional swoosh symbol.
A word of caution: be sure you're completely committed to your final design before you check out; once you complete the transaction you can't change your design.
The entire process takes only a few minutes with the final product retailing for $145, which is $45 more than a pair of non-customized Nike Zoom Breathe 2K11 shoes cost.
Is it worth it? We'll let you know when we receive the customized shoes; it typically takes Nike between three and four weeks to build and ship the shoes—but they send periodic email updates to let you know its status.
 Chris Evert's trademark two-handed backhand was the signature shot that helped stamp her name on 18 Grand Slam singles titles, while she wore the familiar Ellesse logo of a tennis ball balanced between two ski tips.
The seven-time French Open champ was back on her beloved clay at New York City's Town Tennis Club on Friday night to return to her roots in relaunching Ellesse in North America. Evert, a minority shareholder in Ellesse North America and TENNIS publisher, will serve as brand ambassador and design and promotion contributor for a new collection "Chris Evert for Ellesse", created for women over 30.
The Ellesse apparel Evert wore in the 1980s featured sleeveless tops and pleated skirts—and the former No. 1 nearly always wore a touch of pink in finals. Ellesse execs say the relaunched line will build on the brand's reputation for style, fit and the use of natural fabrics.
“Our product line will offer the better design, quality fabrics, and fit that discerning consumers who enjoy these activities would expect from a luxury Italian brand," Ellesse President and Chief Operating Officer Carolyn Siskovic told us today. "We will focus on tennis, fitness and lifetime sports. We have access to all of the vintage pieces from the archives in Italy, we are working with some of the original technical design people and we will bring some of the classic looks to the updated line."
Ellesse will launch a limited collection consisting of traditional, all-white tennis clothes that will arrive in select speciality shops, pro shops and resorts in time for Christmas. The initial release will include a pleated skirt and sleeveless top for women, and polo shirt and two different shorts for men. The full line of tennis apparel, including a variety of colors, will ship to shops starting in the first quarter of 2012; Evert's collection is scheduled for release sometime in 2012. with the brand's tennis shoes set for release in the fourth quarter of 2012. Price points for the apparel have not yet been finalized, but Ellesse will likely cost a bit more than tennis apparel from Lacoste and a bit less than Ralph Lauren.
The iconic Italian brand, which was founded by Italian tailor Leonardo Servadio—his initials, L & S (elle-esse) are the basis for the brand's name—in Perugia, Italy on June 19, 1959, specialized in ski clothes before manufacturing tennis apparel. Grand Slam champions Evert, Boris Becker, Pat Cash, Guillermo Vilas (who wore the brand's popular five-stripe polo) and Goran Ivanisevic were brand ambassadors. Servadio sold 90 percent of the company to the British-based Pentland Group in the 1990s. Ellesse North America purchased American licensing rights from Pentland.
Ellesse execs concede the sagging state of the American economy make this a challenging time to relaunch, but believe that revising the brand's classic style with natural fabrics, retaining the aspirational quality of its clothes and forgoing mass distribution in favor of select pro shops, an online store and an Ellesse store planned for New York City, will help it fill a niche. The first Ellesse store is scheduled to open on Manhattan's Upper East Side in late 2012, with subsequent stores planned for Palm Beach, Greenwich, Dallas, Aspen, Beverly Hills and Chicago, depending on how the Manhattan store performs.
"If you look at tennis and golf, it's kind of a flat [sales] climate at the moment: no one is losing ground and no one is really gaining ground," Siskovic says. "We will retain what's currently missing in the arena which is the beautiful design, luxurious natural fabrics technically treated for today's tennis—be it moisture-resistant cotton or wool, linen and silk—and of course the fantastic, fashionable fit that Ellesse always brings to the table."
Ellesse will serve as official apparel and footwear provider for Peter Burwash International, the resort and club management company, and may be announcing more partnerships in the coming year.
 Empowered by the shared belief that no shot was beyond reach, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal combined the speed of sprinters with the flexibility of gymnasts in running into sliding retrievals during an awe-inspiring U.S. Open final.
There was a time when sliding was largely confined to clay. But times have changed, and the world's top two players have both made the hard-court slide almost as common as the split step, striking shots from positions previously realized only by cartoon characters and contortionists.
Flexibility, stability, balance and strength are the key components to successful sliding on hard courts. Of course, Djokovic and Nadal aren't the first players to slide on asphalt—Kim Clijsters' series of sliding splits helped carry her to the 2005 U.S. Open title—but the homogenization of surfaces and today's slower hard courts have enabled top players, wearing customized sneakers in some cases, to hit the skids with remarkable body and ball control.
"Hard court surfaces have changed to the point where players like Djokovic and Nadal can apply their clay-court sliding techniques to hard court," says Dr. Allan Grossman, a USPTA coach and podiatrist specializing in treating tennis players at the Harrisburg Foot and Ankle Center in Harrisburg, PA. "Many pro players use different sole sneakers on clay courts and hard courts—the pattern on the sole is different. I haven't personally seen the bottom of Djokovic or Nadal's shoes, but I would imagine they're using a bit of a hybrid sole on their shoes compared to a more grippy type of sole the average player would use on a hard court. That hybrid sole is more conducive to sliding on hard courts, and in the U.S. Open final you saw how both Djokovic and Nadal were making sliding shots that were absolutely amazing."
Success can spawn imitation, but even with the right shoes and ankle wraps, the sustained slide on hard courts can cause the average player to run the risk of potential injury.
"Players will always emulate success—juniors see Djokovic and Nadal make these amazing sliding shots and some are going to try it. If I was a junior and I felt invincible, quite honestly, I'd try it too," Grossman says. "The danger is the average person does not have the flexibility, athleticism, strength and sliding technique of a Djokovic or Nadal, not to mention the shoes customized for it. The other factor is most hard courts the pros play on are in pristine condition. If you try to slide on a public park court and you hit a crevice or a loose ball or even a larger pebble, you're done. Even at the pro level, there's only a handful of players who can do what Nadal and Djokovic do.
"I always tell players: 'Don't try it because you risk tearing ankle ligaments, breaking your ankle, rolling your ankle, pulling your groin, damaging your foot or even falling and landing on your wrist.' It's very exciting to watch, but dangerous to attempt if you're not one of those elite players."
 NEW YORK—Serena Williams’ methodical march to the U.S. Open final brought her face-to-face with her most demanding challenger. Williams’ gaze seldom strayed from the floor in front of her as she walked the hallway toward Arthur Ashe Stadium Court, until she locked eyes with the one who pops up in press conferences, surfaces on Grand Slam silverware and mirrors her moves.
Looking down at the 13-time Grand Slam champion was a poster-sized photo of a younger version of herself as U.S. Open champ. More than a ghost of Grand Slam past, the image on the wall is a real reminder of the legacy that shadows Serena wherever she goes. When the 28th-seeded Williams steps on court to face Samantha Stosur as an overwhelming favorite in today’s U.S. Open final, she’ll carry the immense weight of expectation with her, as well as the emotion of playing on the 10th anniversary of 9-11. Anything short of victory will be deeply disappointing.
Serena has not surrendered a set in her six wins and is riding an 18-match winning streak. But although she’s won four of six meetings with Stosur, the ninth-seeded Aussie carries the rare confidence that comes from a saving a match point and beating Serena, which Stosur did in the 2010 Roland Garros quarterfinals, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 8-6.
"I think the one good thing is that one of the matches I beat Serena was actually in a Grand Slam," said Stosur, the first Aussie woman to reach the U.S. Open final since Wendy Turnbull in 1977. "So I think that's obviously a big confidence booster...to know that I have been able to do it in a major tournament."
Stosur felt the strain that comes from favorite status in the 2010 French Open final. She knocked off three former world No. 1s—snapping four-time French Open champion Justine Henin’s 24-match Paris winning streak in the fourth round, saving a match point to defeat Serena in the quarters and annihilating three-time semifinalist Jelena Jankovic in the semis—to carry a WTA-best 20-2 clay-court record into the final. Yet she succumbed to the pressure and lost to the passionate, 17th-seeded Italian, Francesca Schiavone.
This time around, Stosur should be able to swing more freely as a first-time Flushing Meadows finalist facing a woman who has won 13 of her 16 major finals. Stosur has flown so far under the radar for much of this fortnight that she’s yet to play on Ashe, winning her last three matches on the Grandstand. Stosur has gone the distance in three of her six matches here, including a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 win over 92nd-ranked Angelique Kerber in the semifinals.
What can Stosur do to test Williams? It starts on serve. The 2005 U.S. Open doubles champ has more variety in her game than Williams’ prior opponents and is arguably the best server in women’s tennis not named Williams. The 27-year-old will need a sensational serving day to apply scoreboard pressure to Serena, who got off to strong starts in five of her six tournament wins. If she’s not holding serve regularly, Stosur, whose return game is not one of her strengths, will struggle to keep pace with the three-time U.S. Open champion.
 Stosur is at her best hitting her helium-high kick serve to set up her formidable forehand—a one-two combination Williams will try to disrupt by targeting Stosur’s weaker backhand wing. Since Stosur prefers hitting the forehand from her backhand corner, look for Williams to try to rip her own cross-court forehands, creating space to try to force Stosur to hit her backhand on the run.
The fact that Stosur will hit the kick on both first and second serves poses problems for some women, who are unaccustomed to returning off shoulder-high balls. But Williams can handle the high ball; she did so in Toronto in August, when she overwhelmed the Aussie, 6-4, 6-2. From a technical standpoint, Stosur has the tennis to pose problems for Williams—if she plays near flawless service games for the entire match.
"I feel like going in we both have the same chances of winning. She's playing great," Williams said. "I have been watching her this whole tournament. I'm not surprised that she's in the final."
Williams is much more explosive on the return, her backhand is a bigger weapon, she covers the court quicker, is better hitting on the run and is much more effective changing direction in rallies and driving the ball down the line. Then there’s the mastery of the mental game: Stosur has had a tendency to tighten up in the past, winning just two of her 11 career finals, while Williams is one of the best big-match players in the Open Era, posting a 13-3 record in major finals, with her last Grand Slam final loss coming to sister Venus at Wimbledon in 2008. Maria Sharapova is the only other woman to beat Serena in a major final; Stosur will need to play the match of her life if she’s to surprise Serena.
Twelve years ago, a 17-year-old Serena swept top-seeded Martina Hingis to capture her first career major in the 1999 U.S. Open final. Hingis, who was 6-7 lifetime vs. Serena, says Williams’ strength between the ears is a more lethal weapon than her power between the lines.
"Obviously, she’s one of the greatest athletes to ever play the game. I think the thing I admire the most about Serena is her will to win,” Hingis told me days before the Open began. “She's a tremendous athlete with enormous power. The strongest part of her game [is] the mental part. She can hit a huge serve when she needs to. When she’s on her game I think she is the most difficult player to beat that I ever faced."
Williams’ name no longer tops the Tour rankings, but she’s not suffering an identity crisis: Serena is convinced she’s still the world’s premier player and will be pumped to prove it in this final.
The Pick: Serena in straight sets.
 The tattoos that adorn his arms combined with the sports spectacles on his face make Janko Tipsarevic — very likely the only man on the ATP Tour who can discuss Dostoevsky and Family Guy plot lines in equal depth — look a little bit like a biker moonlighting as a philosophy professor clad in Fila tennis clothes.
Tennis’ tattoo king may want to consider celebratory ink on his arm after advancing to his first career major quarterfinal in style today.
Engaged in a demanding duel former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, Tipsarevic lifted his level of play when it mattered most, delivering 54 winners, including 20 aces, without surrendering serve in a 7-5, 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2 U.S. Open victory over 2003 finalist Ferrero.
The explosive Belgrade baseliner battled into his first career Grand Slam quarterfinal where he will face Davis Cup teammate and long-time practice partner Novak Djokovic for a spot in the quarterfinals.
"I feel unbelievable and excited and just feel overwhelmed because I’m first time into the quarterfinals and I play Novak," said Tipsarevic. "When I played Roger [Federer] a couple of years ago in Australia, I said ‘I’m going to the court to win.' Because if you have an idea that you are going to win, the opportunities on the court which are going to be given to you, you’re going to use them. If you go there with the idea to do your best and have fun on the court you’re gonna be happy if you lose, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 and that’s not good."
A by-product of Tipsarevic’s success is the exposure generated for his racquet brand, Tecnifibre. The 20th-ranked Serbian plays with the T-Fight 325 V02 Max strung with the brand’s 17 gauge Black Code co-poly strings at 24 kilos (about 52.8 pounds).
"For a short time, I was using just Red Code on the racquet because I had a lot more power from the racquet and didn’t need it from the strings," Tipsarevic said. "Now I am just using the Black Code because the string, I feel, is much faster and the ball leaves the racquet much faster than the Red Code string."
Tecnifibre recently released the new 2012 versions of its T-Fight Series, which feature the identical specs as the prior versions with a cleaner cosmetic that eliminates the character images of Zeus and a Ninja that appeared on old versions of the racquet. Tecnifibre General Manager USA, Paul Kid, told us today the brand’s decision to update the cosmetics without altering the specs was based on feedback from consumers and players like Tipsarevic.
"We introduced the VO2 Max Series two years ago in our T Fight racquets and our players, like Janko, and our consumers did not want any changes in the racquet specs," Kid said. "They told us ‘These are great racquets; don't change them and don't make me think you changed it either.’ We didn’t change the specs or the cost of the racquets. Our problem was at retail they didn't like what they call the personalities of Zeus and the Ninja that appeared on the racquets. So we kept the racquets exactly the same and changed the cosmetic. Janko is still playing with the old cosmetic because he did not want to change mid season so in the offseason we will give him his new painted racquet so he has time to get comfortable with it."
In an era where racquet manufacturers introduce new technologies almost annually, Tecnifibre faces the challenge of selling the same technology in a cleaner cosmetic.
"It is a huge challenge because some people are like ‘Well what's new and improved?’ Kid said. "But our reliability and commitment to quality are foundations and racquets fatigue they don't last forever."
Technifibre, like fellow French brand Babolat, built its brand as a string company that began manufacturing racquets, in part, to showcase their strings.
"In France both Tecnifibre and Babolat are very competitive string companies — they're one and two in terms of market share in Europe — however like Babolat we know string is not as visible a product as a racquet," Kid, a former college player at Baylor, said. "String is very small and hard for some to understand. In order for a string company to get visibility how do you get your racquet and brand out there? The racquet and bag is the window to your company in providing visibility. It doesn’t happen overnight, but our foundation is built on our strings — we are produce all of our multifilament and all of our polyester strings — and we don’t outsource our racquet designs, which are all designed by our engineers based in the States."
Tipsarevic, former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis and Gisela Dulko are Tecnifibre’s most prominent pros. The challenge of working with a smaller racquet company is gaining exposure for the products; Tipsarevic said the benefit of working with a smaller brand is the personalized attention he receives.
"The thing is I am the number one, two or three player of Tecnifibre," Tipsarevic told us today. "Depends if [Marcos] Baghdatis is playing well or Gisela Dulko is playing well. But the thing is that so far they are really treating me like I’m the number one player in the world, which is good. I obviously didn’t choose Tecnifibre [for size] because it’s not as big of a company as Head or Wilson or Babolat is, just so I could be treated differently."
Interestingly, a brand which bases its mission statement on quality performance was inspired to sign Tipsarevic because of his unique character; personality plays a part in which players they pursue.
"It comes down to that special personality," Kid said. "It does factor in our decisions. We are very hands on with our players and we like the personalities behind the brand. If you take Janko or Gisela or Marcos they all have a bit of a unique personality. We don’t sign the masses. If they don’t have that special personality it doesn’t quite fit with the Tecnifibre family."
That family is expanding its American branch. Tecnifibre has signed young Americans Denis Kudla, Bjorn Fratangelo, Sachia Vickery, Mitchell Krueger and Shane Vinsant.
"Janko's success here at the U.S. Open certainly gives us a visibility bump, but we have to sustain it over time with different players," said Kid, with one eye on the juniors hitting on outer courts in the shadow of Arthur Ashe Stadium. "So we're working with several talented American players and we're excited by our future."
 NEW YORK—The balls came at Serena Williams from different directions—shoulder high, stomach level and even over her shoulder—and she faced nearly every one with a smile and swift swipe of her hand.
Moments after the 13-time Grand Slam champion crushed qualifier Michaella Krajicek, 6-0, 6-1, to zoom into the third round of the U.S. Open, she was swarmed by soccer ball-sized Wilson U.S. Open souvenir balls thrust in front of her by young arms in eager anticipation of an autograph.
The big ball, which sells for $40 at the Wilson booth, has become the signature souvenir for kids at the Open and piqued our interest in the tournament's souvenir gear. So we walked around the National Tennis Center grounds, scouring the site for the best bargains and most functional gear available. While the U.S. Open boasts some prices that can drain your ATM card faster than Rafa saps the strength from opponent’s legs—a Heineken will set you back $8, a bottle of Evian costs $5 and a brownie sells for $4.25—there are some decent values if you know where to find them. Here’s our choices for top gear values at the Open; please feel free to share yours in the comments below.
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 The U.S. Open Eco Bag ($5). We spotted this blue bag with the same 2011 U.S. Open art design that adorns the pricier Jumbo Beach towel ($35) on the shoulder of long-time fan Jean Kirshenbaum, who says it’s a purchase she makes at the Open annually.
"It’s the best bargain, bar none, at the U.S. Open," Kirshenbaum says. "It’s sturdy so it can hold everything, you can re-use it for grocery shopping, and the great thing is you can come to the Open with no bag, so you don’t have to wait in the long bag-check lines—you buy one of these and they give it to you in a plastic bag, so you really get two bags for the price of one and carry around everything you need."
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The Nike store across from Arthur Ashe Stadium has been one of the busiest booths during the first week of the tournament. Two t-shirts that honor Nike stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal while paying homage to iconic NYC images caught our eye.
The Nike “Federer Express” t-shirt incorporates the red circle logo (and distressed lettering) New Yorkers identify with the No. 1, 2 and 3 subway trains, while the “Vamos Rafa” tee uses the checkerboard pattern and bright yellow color that are common on NYC taxi cabs. Both shirts, available in five sizes and two colors (white and black), retail for $35, are made of Nike’s Dri-FIT fabric to wick moisture from the skin (ideal if you're playing or watching a long match) and capture a bit of the city vibe.
 If you’re a Nike fan with old-school taste, a silk screen image of John McEnroe’s shoulder-length hair and headband, circa 1980, as well as a silk-screen image of McEnroe in action with the phrase “I’ll let my racket do the talking” both sell for $24 and pay tribute to New York’s most notable player.
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Wilson shows its cheeky side with the phrase “I’d hit that” in aggressive font type splashed across an adult tee that retails for $25. The Wilson store in Armstrong Stadium sells the shirt in yellow, though we saw one fan wearing a red version of it. For the junior player with plenty of swagger, Wilson sells a yellow tee with the phrase “more ace in your face”, greeting viewers coming and going—“more ace” appears on the front of the shirt, with “in your face” on the back. The shirt sells for $23, a bargain compared with some of the official merchandise prices. For the junior getting ready for school, the yellow Wilson Cinch Sak, a low-tech backpack that can hold everything from the large yellow tennis souvenir balls to books to lunch, retails for $10.
 If you’ve got a long gift list to fulfill, key chains are a cool, functional and affordable option. Two of our favorites are the 5” long Racquet and Wilson Ball Spinner key chain, which sells for $10. “U.S. Open Championships” is engraved on the silver key ring, with a miniature yellow Wilson U.S. Open tennis ball embedded inside the silver racquet at the bottom of the chain. “It’s one of the best selling items here,” a salesperson told us at the U.S. Open store in the bottom of Louis Armstrong Stadium. “They sell quickly so I tell people to grab one fast.”
If that key chain is out of the sales draw when you arrive on the grounds, check out the U.S. Open Bottle Opener key chain ($10), ideal for fans who build up a thirst watching tennis. Fans who want to combine memorabilia with function can spend $20 for a silver key chain containing an official piece of the U.S. Open court surface.
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 When it comes to apparel, the official U.S. Open store has something for everyone, but clothes, towels and umbrellas are some of the more expensive items on the grounds, with men’s sweatshirts ranging from $40 to $96 and women’s sweatshirts selling for between $48 and $88.
The men’s distressed long-sleeve t-shirt that sells for $34 on site ($30 online at usopenshop.org) is of the best buys we’ve seen for official apparel. The shirt, available in blue or white, features the flaming patriotic ball logo across the chest with the words "U.S. Open Championships" inscribed along the left sleeve. You're getting the iconic logo on a shirt already broken in, and the long sleeves help shield your arms from the sun—or provide protection from the late night chill of second-week matches.
 NEW YORK—Jimmy Connors played in 22 U.S. Opens, a men’s Open Era record, and reached a record 12 straight semifinals from 1974 to 1985. But one participant has shown a longer shelf life than the brash baseliner in bouncing around the Flushing Meadows grounds year after year.
Wilson balls have been the only balls used in competition since the tournament moved to Flushing Meadows from Forest Hills in 1978. Wilson ships about 90,000 balls to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center each August for use in practice, qualifying rounds and main-draw matches. The USTA estimates it uses about 70,000 balls throughout the event. When the tournament ends, the balls behave a little bit like players with busy schedules, scattering from the site to hit the next court. The USTA donates the balls for reuse to community and youth organizations throughout the country.
While their rubbery resiliency, optic-yellow fuzzy exteriors and trademark bright red U.S. Open tattoos make them look like bouncy identical twins, there is some difference between the extra-duty felt Wilson ball used by the men and the regular-duty felt Wilson ball used by the women. And contrary to popular perception, there is no weight disparity in the two balls, according to Wilson.
"The Wilson U.S. Open extra duty and regular duty balls weigh the same. But it’s the regular duty ball’s performance through the air that creates the sensation that they’re lighter," says Jason Collins, Wilson Global Business Director of Tennis Balls. "Sometime people think ‘the balls are extra duty then they must be heavy duty,’ but that’s a misconception. The real difference is dynamic performance—the static measurements are all the same. If we dropped the two balls from the same height, they would bounce to the same height, they would weigh the same. The difference is regular duty balls play tighter because of minimal fluffing, this results in quicker performance through the air. The extra duty ball has additional fluff, which results in the ball sitting on the strings longer, creating a sensation that the ball is heavier."
Players grow accustomed to adjusting to different balls at different times throughout the season—Dunlop is the official ball of Masters Series clay-court events before Babolat takes over as the official ball of Roland Garros—and the quest for continuity is one reason why women play with a regular-duty ball at the U.S. Open.
"Part of the WTA by-laws is that the WTA players use regular-duty balls in their events, so the U.S. Open women’s matches use the regular-duty ball, which is consistent with what women use throughout the year," Collins says.
The next time you watch a U.S. Open match, look for the shoulder tube that chair umpires carry onto court. It typically contains about 10 cans of balls, and an umpire will usually open five of them (four for play and one for replacement balls) at the start of the match. At the Open, fans are allowed to keep stray balls that scamper into the stands, though you don’t have to be at Flushing Meadows to gain the U.S. Open ball experience.
"The Wilson U.S. Open balls you buy in the store are really identical to the ones pros use at the U.S. Open," Collins says. "When you look at ITF and USTA specifications for tennis balls, there are four areas that are measured — rebound, size, weight and deformation. While U.S. Open balls for every day play need to meet each of these criteria, tournament production has very little variance from ball to ball. Using rebound as an example, all balls need to bounce between 53-58 inches when dropped from a certain height. While in regular production the variance is still small, we inspect 100 percent of tournament balls to ensure there is as little variance as possible. This guarantees that players will experience the same ball performance over the two week event — the first ball hit plays identical to the last ball hit. So when Roger Federer goes out on court at the Open, any ball he plays is going to play virtually identical. The U.S. Open ball is used in USTA and rec leagues all year, so if you’re playing with the U.S. Open ball at your club, you’re playing with the U.S. Open tournament ball."
Which ball should you use? That depends on the surface you play on, if you’re playing indoors or outdoors and, of course, personal preference.
"A Wilson regular-duty ball is largely designed for clay-court play and indoor play. It’s for clay-court play because it’s a tighter weave of the felt, so it doesn’t pick up as many of the clay particles and won’t fluff up as much," Collins says. "There’s a lot of static electricity in indoor court buildings, so again, the regular-duty ball won’t fluff up as much. Typically, extra duty is sold more in the U.S. because outdoor public park hard courts are where a lot of frequent players play."
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